Tourism and Globalization

Reaction Paper #2: A Site Analysis

In past and upcoming weeks, we have been and will be exploring such themes as globalization, commoditization, authenticity, and cultural and historical representation. In this reaction paper, I want you to apply these themes and insights to a particular touristic site: a museum, a historical landmark, a cultural event or display, etc. In analyzing the site you choose, your paper should demonstrate both a mastery of the course material and an engagement with the complexities of such things as the social construction of the tourist gaze, claims about authenticity, the representation of culture, tradition, history, and heritage, the effects of commoditization, and the interaction of the local and the global.

Ideally you should carry out fieldwork at the site you choose, analyzing both the formal content of the site and the kind of social interaction that goes on there. (As stated, I will agree to exceptions to this, but it will be incumbent on you to demonstrate that your memory and collected materials will enable you to undertake an analysis at the expected level of engagement and detail.) If you have questions about the appropriateness of your site, please check with me.

I have specified the due date as March 10th, and will expect you to incorporate relevant insights from the reading for that date. Because this is a rather tight schedule, I will agree to extensions into the Spring Break (preferably not beyond March 20th), but these must be arranged with me in advance. I would like you to present briefly your findings in our meeting on March 24th.