Dr. Kathleen M. Adams

Loyola University of Chicago

Email: kadams@luc.edu                                                                                                                     

Office Hours: M F 1:30-3:00 & by appt.                                                                                   

955D Damen Hall, tel: 508-3458

 

The Anthropology of Tourism

 

Anthro 319, Spring 2003

 

 

“There are no foreign lands.  It is the traveler alone who is foreign.”

-Robert Louis Stevenson

 

Course Description:

Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. It has become an important aspect of globalization, is intrinsic to our lifestyles and has had a profound impact on peoples of the world and the environments in which they live.  This course explores the phenomenon of tourism from an anthropological/sociological perspective. The first portion of the course analyzes the history and socio-cultural structure of tourism, and addresses the institutions of tourism (museums, souvenirs, travel agencies etc) and their role in the construction of "exotic others."  We also look at “tourist cultures” (tourism as pilgrimage, tourism as status-marking, and the psycho-cultural motivations of the tourist, etc.).  The second portion of the course will focus on the social, economic, and ecological dynamics entailed in tourism.  The seminar draws heavily on case studies from the Pacific, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Throughout the course, ethnographic observations are related to anthropological and sociological theories concerning globalization, cultural change, economic development, cross-cultural communication, ethnicity, nationalism, and gender.

 

Learning Objectives:

You should come away from this seminar with the following:

           

-Awareness of the strengths & limitations of various theoretical models for understanding the dynamics of tourism

-Ability to discuss tourism as a part of globalization

-Ability to discuss the role of tourism in national development

-A critical appreciation of the role of tourism in the creation of cultural imagery

            -Knowledge of the history of social science approaches to understanding tourism

            -A critical awareness of the subtle messages embedded in touristic materials

            -Enhanced written and verbal communication skills

           

Course Structure & Requirements:

 

This class will run in seminar format.  Generally, I will open the class with a group activity or presentation pertaining to the topic at hand, introducing new material relevant to the theme. Then we will shift to a group discussion of the readings.

 

You will be graded on the basis of class participation, a mini-travel piece (1-2 pages), a 5 page essay assignment, 3 quizzes, a mid-term, final "mega-quiz" and a 10 page research paper (for graduate students 16 pages minimum).  Late assignments will be docked one-half grade per day late, except in documented cases of illness or family emergency.  Please don’t be shy about coming to see me.  I encourage each of you to visit me in my office early in the semester so that I may become better acquainted with you and your interests.  I anticipate that this will also serve as an opportunity to brainstorm about potential term paper projects.  I look forward to getting to know each of you better.

 

As this course is heavily oriented towards discussion, there will be three unannounced quizzes (to ensure that readings are completed on time and students are prepared for discussion).  Quizzes will cover specific points in the assigned readings for that week.  The lowest quiz grade will be dropped.  Given that this class will only meet 15 times, attendance is essential and absences will result in a lowered grade.

 

Detailed assignment guidelines will be distributed in class. All papers will also be presented orally in class and missing the presentation will entail a grade reduction.

 

Texts

 

Class texts may be purchased at Beck’s Bookstore or at the Loyola university bookstore.  The van den Berghe book is available only at Beck’s.

 

-Picard, M. and Robert Wood

    1997            Tourism, Ethnicity and the State in Asian and Pacific Societies. Honolulu: Univ. of Hawaii Press.

-van den Berghe, Pierre

1994  The Quest for the Other: Ethnic Tourism in San Cristobal, Mexico Seattle: Univ. of Wash. Press.

-Kincaid, Jamaica

    1988  A Small Place.  New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.

-Urry, John

    1990   The Tourist Gaze: Leisure and Travel in Contemporary Societies.  London: Sage. (2^nd edition)

-Reading packet available at SOS Copy Center, Sheridan Ave.

 

Optional  Text

-Lippard, Lucy

    1999 On the Beaten Track: Tourism, Art and Place. New York: The New Press.

 

-Optional articles & grad student readings available in 957 Damen (Soc/Anth Lounge) class file cabinet.

 

Grading

 

Student grades will be based on the following formula:

 

Midterm Exam:.................................................……………………….25%

Term Paper:......................................................………………………20%

Annotated paper bibliography (10 NEW sources)................................5%

Final quiz: ....................…....................................…………………….15%

3 quizzes (5% each), lowest grade dropped:.......…………………….....10%

Write-up of Chicago tourist site research............…………………….....15%

(above includes in-class presentation)

Class participation:..........................................………………………..10%

 

Academic Integrity:  Plagiarism will have severe ramifications, as outlined in the Undergraduate Studies Catalog (p. 12-13). Plagiarism may result in failure of the class.

 

Students with disabilities who need disability-related testing accommodations are encouraged to notify me.  The coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities in the Learning Assistance Center (101 Damen, 508-2741) is also available to assist students in arranging these accommodations.

 

Important Dates

 

Feb 12: Paper topic selection deadline

Feb 26: Individual write-up & team oral presentation of analysis of Chicago tourist site

Mar 12: Midterm exam date

April 2: Annotated paper bibliography due

Ap 23 (during first 30-40 minutes of class): Final mega-quiz.

May 7, 10:20-12:20 (final exam slot): Oral presentation of term papers

May 7 (at beginning of class) Term Papers due.

 

Seminar Themes and Reading Assignments:

NOTE: As this is a 300 level seminar, readings for the class can be heavy.  Budget your time accordingly to insure that you complete the readings prior to class.

 

Reminder: Optional articles are located in the files in the Soc-Anthro lounge on the 9th floor of Damen Hall. Please be considerate of your fellow classmates and leave a note as to where you can be found if you have left the lounge to photocopy the article.  Please do not leave the lounge with an article for more than 30 minutes.  Also note that the lounge is open only M-F 9-5.

 

NOTE: *ed items in “optional readings” are required readings for graduate students

 

WEEK 1 (Wed Jan 15): Introduction

 

-review of syllabus, research resources, and travel writing exercise.          

WEEK 2 (1/22): Orienting Tour: Tourism History and the Rise of the Socio-cultural Study of Tourism (Classic Issues in the Study of Tourism)

 

Read:   -Lucy Lippard, Ch 1 “On Rubbernecking” On the Beaten Track  (p. 2-11.)  (R=in reader)

            -Malcolm Crick, “Anthropology and the Study of Tourism: Theoretical and Personal Reflections”, Ch 1 in Resplendent Sites, Discordant Voices: Sri Lankans and International Tourism.  1994. Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Publishers. (R=in reader)

 -John Urry, The Tourist Gaze, Ch. 1 & 2 in The Tourist Gaze: Leisure and Travel in Contemporary Societies.  London: Sage.

-Robert Wood, “Tourism and the State: Ethnic Options and the Construction of Otherness” Ch 1, PAGE 1-10, only. In Picard and Wood Tourism, Ethnicity and the State in Asian and Pacific Societies.

 

WEEK 3 (Jan 29): Tourism as Quest: Pilgrimage and Authenticity Issues

 

            Read:            -Graburn, Nelson "Secular Ritual: A General Theory of Tourism.” Ch 3 in V. Smith & Maryann Brent (eds) Hosts and Guests Revisited: Tourism Issues of the 21^st Century. (R)

-Errington and Gewertz “Tourism and Anthropology in a Post-Modern World” in Oceania (Sept. 1989). (R)

--Wang, Ning Rethinking Authenticity in Tourism Experience” Annales of Tourism Research 1999 Vol 26(2). (R)

-Bruner, Edward M. & Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, “Maasai on the Lawn: Tourist Realism in East Africa”  Cultural Anthropology 1994. (R)

-MacCannell, D., “Staged Authenticity” in The Tourist A New Theory of the Leisure Class Ch 5. 1989[1976] (A Classic--skim only , but make sure you understand the concept of staged authenticity.) (R)

 

Optional Readings (*ed items are mandatory for graduate students):

*- Cohen, Erik “Tourism and Religion: A Comparative Perspective.” Pacific Tourism Review  Vol 2 p. 1-10.

-Excerpt from Andrew Causey’s More than They Bargain For Univ. of Hawaii  Press. (In Press)

-Pfaffenberger, B. “Serious Pilgrims and Frivolous Tourists: The Chimera of Tourism in the Pilgrimages of Sri Lanka” in  Annals of Tourism Research 1983 (10)1: 57-94.

-Special issue on “Pilgrimage and Tourism” edited by Valene Smith   Annals of Tourism Research 1994.

-Adams, Vincanne Tigers of the Snow and Other Virtual Sherpas: An Ethnography of Himalayan Encounters 1996 Princeton Univ. Press.

 

Video: “Cannibal Tours”

 

 

WEEK 4 (Feb 5): Tourism, Commerce and Commoditization: Is Tourism Tantamount to Cultural Degradation?

 

            Read:            -G. Ritzer, “McDisneyization and Post-Tourism:  Complementary Perspectives on Contemporary Tourism.” In The McDonaldization Thesis 1998 London: Sage. (R)            

-Timothy Oakes, “Ethnic Tourism in Rural Guizhou: Sense of Place and the Commerce of Authenticity” Ch 2 in Picard and Wood book.           

--Linnekin, Jocelyn “Consuming Cultures: Tourism and the Commoditization of Cultural Identity in the Island Pacific” Ch. 8 in Picard and Wood book.

-Gordon, Beverly, “The Souvenir: Messenger of the Extraordinary.” Journal of Popular Culture. p. 135-145. (R)

 

Optional readings:

*-Laurence Wai-Teng Leong, “Commodifying Ethnicity: State and Ethnic Tourism in Singapore” Ch 3 in Picard and Wood book.

-Cohen, Erik “Primitive and Remote: Hill Tribe Trekking in Thailand” Annals of Tourism Research 1989.

-Lippert, Lucy “Trespassing on Common Ground” On the Beaten Track p. 24-32.

            -Greenwood, “Culture by the Pound” in Valene Smith’s  Hosts and Guests. (ch 8)

 

In class video: Trekking on Tradition      

WEEK 5 (Feb 12): Tourism, Class and Social Inequality

            Note: Readings are briefer this week to enable you to devote time to reflection on your term paper project.

 

Read:             -Munt, Ian “The Other Post-Modern Tourism: Class, Travel and the New Middle Classes.”  Theory, Culture and Society 1994 11:101-123. (R)           

            -Urry, John The Tourist Gaze Ch 5.

-Sandford, M. “Tourism in Harlem: Between Negative Sightseeing and Gentrification.” Journal of American Culture. 1987 vol. 10: 99-105. (R)

-Munt, Ian “Ecotourism or Egotourism?”  1994 Race and Class 36(1): 49-59. (skim)

 

Optional Readings:

*-Urry, John The Tourist Gaze Ch. 4 & 7           

 

            DEADLINE FOR TERM PAPER TOPIC SELECTION: bring typed 1-2 paragraph description of your term paper topic to class

WEEK 6 (Feb 19): Field Research Trips to Locale Tourist Sites (No formal class meeting)

 

-Read BEFORE visiting your tourist site or writing your paper. These readings will aid in your analysis of your site.

 

-Fjellman, Stephen  Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World and America 1992.  Boulder: Westview.  Ch 1, 2, and 4. (R)

-Urry, J. “Gazing on History” Ch 6 The Tourist Gaze.

 

-Optional readings:

            *-Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara “Destination Museum” in Destination culture: Tourism, Museums, and Heritage. 1998 Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.

-“Museums and Tourism”, Special issue of Museum Anthropology 1993 (17)3.

 

-Write a paper on your research trip and be prepared to present your work orally in class on Feb 26.  (see handout for specific paper instructions)

 

 

WEEK 7 (Feb 26): Tourist Sites/Sights: The Heritage Industry, Museums & Cultural Theme Parks

 

-Discuss Week 6 readings.

-Presentations of research trip projects.

 

WEEK 8 (Mar 5): No Class: Spring Break

-Read:  -van den Berghe book The Quest for the Other

(this will not be covered on the midterm but will be discussed following the exam)

 

Week 9 (March 12): Midterm Exam

-2nd Half of Class: Tourism and Ethnicity: Case Study of Mexico

 

-discussion of van den Berghe book

video excerpt: Incidents of Travel in Chichen Itza

Week 10 (Mar 19): The Politics of Tourism, Ethnicity, and the State

Read:            -Wood, R. Ch 1, p. 7-34. Tourism, Ethnicity and the State in Asian and Pacific Societies.

-Adams, K. “Touting Touristic Primadonas: Tourism, Ethnicity and National Integration in Sulawesi, Indonesia” Ch. 6 in Picard and Wood book

-Picard, M. “Cultural Tourism, Nation-Building, and Regional Culture: The Making of a Balinese Identity” Ch 7 in Picard and Wood book.

Optional readings:

*Kahn, Miriam, “Tahiti Intertwined: Ancestral Land, tourist Post Card and Nuclear Test Site.” 2000 American Anthropologist Vol 102 (1).

*Hitchcock, Michael “Tourism and Ethnicity: Situational Perspectives.”  International Journal of tourism Research.  1999 1:17-32.

-Wood, Robert "Ethnic Tourism, the State & Cultural Change in Southeast Asia" Annals of Tourism Research Special issue on “Tourism and Ethnicity” 1984.

-Richter, L. "The Politics of Tourism: An Overview" In The Politics of Tourism in Asia  ed by L. Richter, 1989.

-Esman, Margaret "Tourism as Ethnic Preservation: The Cajuns of Louisiana" in Annals of Tourism Research Special Issue on “Tourism and Ethnicity” 1984.

            Video:

                        Sight Unseen (27 mins)

Week 11 (Mar 26) EnGENDERing the Other: Tourism, Exoticism and Sexuality

 

Read:            -Enloe, Cynthia, “On the Beach: Sexism and Tourism” in Bananas, Beaches, and Bases 1990.  Berkeley: Univ. of Calif. Press. (R)

-Kelsey, Karen, “Flirting with the Foreign: Interracial Sex in Japan’s International Age” in Rob Wilson and Wimal Dissanayake, eds. Global Local: Cultural Production and the Transnational Imaginary. 1996. Duke Univ. Press. (R)

-Marshment, Margaret “Gender Takes a Holiday: Representation in Holiday Brochures” in M. Thea Sinclair (ed) Gender, Work and Tourism London & New York: Routledge.

-Askew, Marc “Strangers and Lovers: Thai Women Sex Workers and Western Men in the “Pleasure Space” of Bangkok.”  1999. In J. Forshee , C. Fink, & S. Cate (eds) Converging Interests: Traders, Travelers and Tourists in Southeast Asia.

 

Optional readings:

*-Bowman, Glen, “Passion, Power and Politics in a Palestinian Tourist Market.” 1996.  In The Tourist Image.

*-Bishop, Ryan and Robinson, Lillian, “In the Night Market: Tourism, Sex, and Commerce in Contemporary Thailand.  Women’s Studies Quarterly 1999 (1&2):32-45.

-Cohen, Erik “Open-Ended Prostitution as a Skillful Game of Luck: Opportunity, Risk, and Security Among tourist-Oriented Prostitutes in a Bangkok Soi” in Thai Tourism: Hill Tribes, Islands and Open-ended Prostitution.  1996. Bangkok: White Lotus Press.

-Richter,L. "Thailand: Where Tourism and Politics Make Strange Bedfellows" in Richter, ed. The Politics of Tourism in Asia. pp. 82-101.

-Kruhse-Mount Burton, Suzy “Sex Tourism and Traditional Male Australian Identity” in Lanfant, Allcock and Bruner  International Tourism: Identity and Change.  1995. Sage.

-Troung, Thanh-Dam Sex, Money and Morality: Prostitution and Tourism in southeast Asia.  London: Zed Books.

-Kinnaird, V. And D. Hall Tourism: A Gender Analysis.  

 

In class video excerpt: “The Toured: The Other Side of Tourism in Barbados.”

 

 

Week 12 (April 2):Tourism and “Nature”: Ecotourism, Nature Parks & Debates Concerning Sustainable Development

 

Read:            - Patullo, Polly “Green Crime, Green Redemption: The Environment and Ecotourism” Ch 5 in Last Resorts. (R)

-Luis Vivanco “The Truth Behind the International Year of Ecotourism.”  Avail. at: http//zayan.org/docs/IYE%20critique.doc

-MacCannell, Dean, “Nature Incorporated” In Empty Meeting Grounds: The Tourist Papers. 1992 London: Routledge. Pp. 114-117. (R)

-Desmond, Jane “Ch 7:The Industries of Species Tourism” & “Ch 8: In/Out-of/In-

Fake-Situ” excerpt from Staging Tourism: Bodies on Display from Waikiki World to Sea World. 1999, Univ. of Chicago Press.

 

Optional Readings:

*-Butler, Richard “Alternative Tourism: The Thin Edge of the Wedge.” In Valene Smith and Eadington Tourism Alternatives: Potentials and Problems in the Development of Tourism   1992 Univ. of Penn. Press.

-“Ecotourism: Marketing Gimmick or Real Hope?” special Issue of Contours: Concern for Tourism: The Quarterly Newsletter of the Ecumenical coalition on Third World Tourism 1998 8(2).

-Hitchcock “Cultural, Economic and Environmental Impacts of Tourism Among the Kalahari.”  In Erve Chambers (ed), Tourism and Culture: An Applied Perspective.

                                                                                               

In class video: The Environmental Tourist

 

Annotated Bibliography for Term Paper due in class.

 

 

  Week 13 (April 9): The “Touree” Talks Back: Indigenous Voices on Tourism

 

Read:    -Trask, Haunani-Kay “Lovely Hula Hands: Corporate Tourism and the Prostitution of Hawaiian Culture” in From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii. 1993. Monroe (Maine): Common Courage Press.

            -Kincaid, J. A Small Place

 

Optional Reading:

-Patullo, P. “New Footprints in the Sand: The Future” Ch 9. Last Resorts.

-Helu-Thaman “Beyond Hula, Hotels and Handicrafts: A Pacific Islander’s Perspective of Tourism Development”           

 

Video segment: Troubled Paradise

 

 

Week 14 (April 16): New Directions in the Anthropology of Tourism: Globalization, Tourism and Terrorism

Read:             -Wood, Robert “Carribean Cruise Tourism: Globalization at Sea” Annals of Tourism Research 27(2): 345-370. 2000. (R)

-Bruner, Edward “The Masaii and the Lion King: Authenticity, Nationalism and Globalization in African Tourism.”  2001 American Ethnologist 28(4): 881-908.

-Adams, Kathleen “Danger Zone Tourism: Prospects and Problems for Tourism in Tumultuous Times” in Peggy Teo, T.C. Chang and K.C. Ho (eds) Interconnected Worlds: Tourism in Southeast Asia. 2001. Pergamon Press. (R)

-Lippard, Lucy, “Tragic Tourism” chapter in On the Beaten Track: Tourism, Art and Place 1999.

 

Optional:

*Phills, Peter “Tourists, Terrorists, Death and Value.” In Travel Worlds: Journeys in Contemporary Cultural Politics. 1999, Zed.

Adams, Kathleen, “Global Cities, Terror and Tourism: The Allure of the Urban Jungle.” In R. Bishop et. al. (eds)  Postcolonial Urbanism: Southeast Asian Cities and Global Processes 2003, Routledge.

 

 

Week 15 (April 23): Concluding Remarks and Final Test

 

First 30-40 minutes: Test

 

Remainder of Class: Concluding remarks

Wed May 7, 10:20-12:20: Final Exam Slot

 

TERM PAPERS DUE. 

 

Oral presentation of papers in class.

 

 

 

Upload: 5/2/2003