Reading
Discussion Questions Note: these questions do not by any means exhaust the discussion potential of the readings. They are intended to orient you towards some of the issues, but I encourage you to identify other issues as well. 1. How do the six different readings relate to each other? How are they distinctive and to what degree do they overlap? What is the key idea or theme in each? Can you think of a typology or classification scheme to clarify these approaches vis a vis each other? 2. Tourism studies might be said to have an "image" problem. Why? What is meant by the "coming of age" of tourism studies? 3. Several articles address the changing meaning of "culture"--both as a reality and as a concept. What has changed and how does this relate to tourism? 4. The question of how globalization and tourism relate to each other will run through this entire course. What ideas are put forward about their interrelation in these readings? 5. The readings vary in the degree to which they focus on tourists per se. How do Graburn's and MacCannell's themes of ritual and the search for authenticity relate to each other? Do they ring true to you on the basis of your own experience? 6. What are the components of a tourist attraction, according to MacCannell? What are the stages of site sacralization? Can you identify sites you know of that could be classified at different stages of this process? 7. What does it mean to say that tourist attractions and behavior make up a code constituting society? How is sightseeing related to social structure, according to MacCannell? 8. What distinctive things does Urry's concept of the "tourist gaze" compel us to look at? Why do you think Urry's concept has been so influential, although also critiqued? 9. How are changes in tourism related to changes in society, including changes in consumption? 10. How is Franklin's approach to tourism rather different from the other readings (in varying degrees)? What is most distinctive in his approach to study of tourism and why he thinks it is important? 11. How does Franklin see the field of tourism studies changing in recent years? How does this affect our view of tourism? To what forms of tourism does it redirect our attention? 12. An early influential anthology in the field of tourism studies was entitled Hosts and Guests, and the "host-guest" conceptual framework became the basis of many studies. Several of the readings question whether this is an adequate conceptualization of the object of tourism studies. Why do they do this? What alternative perspectives to they put forward? 13. A good deal of research has been devoted to the study of tourism's impact on ethnic cultures. How does Wood's article seek to redefine this subject? What are its key themes? 14. Based on your own touristic experience, broadly defined, which concepts and ideas in the readings seem most interesting and valuable to you? Do they help you gain new insight on your own experience? 15. Is a general theory of tourism possible? January 23, 2005 |