Tourism and Globalization

Liberal Studies Graduate Course
(56:606:631) Spring 2005

Robert E. Wood
Professor of Sociology

Course Description

Beginning with the migration of human beings out of Africa, travel has always been central to human history. While the mass tourism and leisure industry only originated in the nineteenth century, pilgrimage and other forms of travel for non-commercial purposes existed in most societies. Today, the desire to travel and to be a tourist is practically universal, and touristic practices pervade many areas of social life. Tourism has been a central dimension of globalization, and it offers a useful lens on many key questions about where globalization is taking us: questions about identity and heritage, commoditization, historical and cultural representation, authenticity and ownership, neoliberalism, inequality, gender relations, environmental sustainability, and more. This course will explore tourism not only as an important human activity and industry (the world’s largest), but also as a way of achieving a better understanding of the complex relationship between globalization and culture. Course requirements include occasional short presentations in class about assigned readings; two 4-5 page reaction papers on course materials (20 and 30% of grade); and a research final paper on a topic approved by the instructor (40% of grade). Regular attendance, preparation, and active participation are expected and will account for the other 10% of the final grade. [Note: students may also choose to write two "exploratory" papers, elaborating on issues in the readings with additional sources, in lieu of the final research paper. The second "exploratory paper" is to be based on the April 14 and 21 readings, along with the Alain de Botton book.]

Required Texts

Sharon Bohn Gmelch, ed., Tourists and Tourism: A Reader (Waveland Press, 2004)
John Urry, The Tourist Gaze, 2nd ed. (Sage Publications, 2002)
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Destination Culture: Tourism, Museums and Heritage (University of California Press, 1998)
Michael F. Brown, Who Owns Native Culture? (Harvard University Press, 2003)
Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel (Vintage, 2004).

The course management system WebCT will be used for accessing copyrighted readings, submitting some assignments, accessing grades and comments, and carrying on asynchronous discussion. Note: Some of the file sizes for readings in WebCT are large, and should be accessed with a high-speed internet connection.

Research Note: The Rutgers libraries have recently simplified access to their databases. If, when you go to a library page, you see on the left a yellow box with the words "not logged in," all you need to do is click on that box and sign in, using your Net ID and password. Three journals worth browsing or searching online are Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, and Tourism Geographies. Students new to online bibliographic searching are encouraged to consult my department's Library Resources web page. Academic Search Premier (Ebsco) is a generally-useful database for tourism-related articles. All students should familiarize themselves with my department's Plagiarism Policy and Citation Guidelines. Although APA is the style preferred in my department, students in this course may use whatever citation style they wish, as long as they use it appropriately and consistently.

Tentative Schedule
(subject to modification; please check regularly)

January 20
Introduction to the Study of Tourism and Globalization
Nayan Chanda, Globalization in the Shadow of History Slide Show (Yale Global Online)
Film: Global Tourism (27 min.)
Resource: World Tourism Organization website
Central Themes in the Study of Tourism
Sharon Gmelch, "Why Tourism Matters," T&T #1
Nelson Graburn, "Secular Ritual: A General Theory of Tourism," T&T #2
Dean MacCannell, "Sightseeing and Social Structure; The Moral Integration of Modernity," T&T #4
John Urry, The Tourist Gaze, Ch. 1
Adrian Franklin, "Introduction," Tourism: An Introduction (London: Sage, 2003), pp. 1-15. Available in WebCT References.
Robert Wood, "Preface" and "Tourism and the State: Ethnic Options and Constructions of Otherness," in Michel Picard and Robert E. Wood, Tourism, Ethnicity and the State in Asian and Pacific Societies (Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 1997). Available in WebCT References.

Globalization and the Political Economy of Leisure
Erve Chambers, "From Travel to Tourism", pp. 1-17 of his Native Tours: The Anthropology of Travel and Tourism (Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, 2000). Available in WebCT References.
John Urry, The Tourist Gaze, Chapters 2, 5
Greg Richards, "Time for a Holiday? Social rights and international tourism consumption," Time and Society 7,1 (1998). Available in WebCT References.
Juliet B. Schor, "The Triple Imperative: Global Ecology, Poverty and Worktime Reduction," (working paper published in Berkeley Journal of Sociology, 2001) and "Real Vacations for All" (2001)
Mark Landler, "Slaves for Vacation: Europe Ponders the Meaning of Life," New York Times (Aug. 15, 2004). Available in WebCT References.

Additional resource (recommended): Tony Judt, "Europe vs. America," New York Review of Books 52,2 (Feb. 10, 2005). [Not about leisure and tourism per se, but explores contrasts directly related to them.]

Reaction Paper due: Relating to Tourism: Academic Themes and Personal Experience (come prepared to discuss your conclusions)

February 10

Discussion
Questions

The Globalization of Tourism/The Touristification of the Globe I
Robert Wood, "Cruise Tourism: A Paradigmatic Case of Globalization?" in Ross Dowling, Cruise Tourism, Impacts, Issues, Cases, 2005 forthcoming. Available in WebCT References.
Polly Pattullo, "Sailing into the Sunset: The Cruise-ship Industry," T&T #26
Peter Phipps, "Tourism and Terrorism: An Intimate Equivalence," T&T #5
Kathleen M. Adams, "Danger-Zone Tourism: Prospects and Problems for Tourism in Tumultuous Times," in Peggy Teo, T.C. Chang and K.C. Ho, Interconnected Worlds: Tourism in Southeast Asia (London: Pergamon Press, 2001). Available in WebCT References.

February 17

Discussion
Questions

The Globalization of Tourism/The Touristification of the Globe II
John Urry, The Tourist Gaze, Chapters 7-8

Orvar Lofgren, "The Global Beach," T&T #3

John Tagliabue, "Preserving a Heritage via Beds and Barns: European Governments Subsidize Tourism (New York Times, August 13, 1998) Available in WebCT References.
Lawrence Mintz, "In a Sense Abroad: Theme Parks and Simulated Tourism," T&T #11
Peggy Teo and Lim Hiong Li, "Global and Local Interactions in Tourism," Annals of Tourism Research 30,2 (2003) Available in WebCT References.
Brian Moeran, "Rereading the Language of Japanese Tourism," T&T #7

February 24

Discussion
Questions

Sites and Sights of Tourist-Local Interaction: Authenticity and Commoditization
Davydd J. Greenwood, "Culture by the Pound: An Anthropological Perspective on Tourism as Cultural Commoditization," T&T #9
Edward M. Bruner, "The Maasai and the Lion King: Authenticity, Nationalism, and Globalization in African Tourism," T&T #8
Fredderick Errington and Deborah Gewertz, "Tourism and Anthropology in a Postmodern World," T&T #12
Edward M. Bruner, "Tourism in the Balinese Borderzone," T&T #13
Kjell Olsen, "Authenticity As a Concept in Tourism Research," Tourist Studies 2,2 (2002). Available in WebCT References. (optional)
Robert Shepherd, "Commodification, Culture and Tourism," Tourist Studies 2,2 (2002). Available in WebCT References.
Film: Trekking on Tradition
Presenting and Representing Culture and Heritage in a Global Context
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Desination Culture, "Introduction," "Objects of Ethnography," and "Destination Museum."
Melanie K. Smith, "The Globalisation of Heritage Tourism," in her Issues in Cultural Tourism Studies (London: Routledge, 2003). Available in WebCT References.
Michael Hitchcock and Victor T. King, "Discourses with the Past: Tourism and Heritage in Southeast Asia," Indonesia and the Malay World 31, 89 (2003). Available in WebCT References.
Film: Cannibal Tours
UNESCO World Heritage Convention
Representing History: Historical Sites and Theme Parks Around the World
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Destination Culture, "Ellis Island" and "Plimoth Plantation."
Edward M. Bruner, "Tourism in Ghana: The Representation of Slavery and the Return of the Black Diaspora," American Anthropologist 98,2 (1996).
Available in WebCT References.
Eric Gable and Richard Handler, "After Authenticity at an American Heritage Site," American Anthropologist 98,3 (1996) and Ch.9 in their The New History in an Old Museum: Creating the Past at Colonial Williamsburg (Durham: University of North Carolina Press, 1997). Available in WebCT References.
John Urry, The Tourist Gaze, Ch. 6
Recommended: Faith Davis Ruffins, "Culture Wars Won and Lost: Ethnic Museums on the Mall, Part I: The National Holocaust Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian," Radical History Review 68 (1997) and "Part II: The National African-American Museum Project" Radical History Review 70 (1998). Available in WebCT References.
Spring Break

March 24

3-16 email

Reaction Paper due on a museum, exhibition, or tourist site that you've visited, integrating relevant course readings and at several other sources (reviews, articles, catalogs, etc.). It is possible to make this paper a basis for your research paper. Please come prepared to discuss your topic and findings.
March 31
Cultural Ownership in a Global World I
Michael F. Brown, Who Owns Native Culture? Preface, Introduction, Chapter 1-4
Video: excerpts from The Amish and Us
April 7

Cultural Ownership in a Global World I
Michael F. Brown, Who Owns Native Culture? Chapters 5-8
.
Video: Bali: Masterpiece of the Gods
Optional exploratory paper #1 due

Global-Local Dynamics: Strategies of Opportunity, Accomodation, Resistance, and Control
Jeremy Boissevain, "Coping with Mass Cultural Tourism: Structure and Strategies," T&T #15
Jon G. Abbink, "Tourism and Its Discontents: Suri-Tourist Encounters in Ethiopia," T&T #16
M. Estellie Smith, "The Role of the Elite in the Development of Tourism," T&T #21
James F. Fisher, "Sherpa Culture and the Tourist Torrent," T&T #-22
Kathleen M. Adams, "Making-up the Toraja? The Appropriation of Tourism, Anthropology, and Museums for Politics in Upland Sulawesi, Indonesia," Ethnology 34,2 (1995). Available in WebCT References.
Optional: Irene Ateljevic and Stephen Doorne, "Culture, Economy and Tourism Commodities: Social Relations of Consumption and Production," Tourist Studies 3,2 (2003). Available in WebCT References.

Responsibility, Fairness and Voice in Global Tourism
Martha Honey, "Giving a Grade to Costa Rica's Green Tourism," T&T #24
Deborah McLaren, "Rethinking Tourism," T&T #27
Appendix C: "Tourist Guidelines," T&T pp. 467-478.
Robert Cleverdon and Angela Kalisch, "Fair Trade in Tourism," International Journal of Tourism Research 2 (2000). Available in WebCT References.
Websites to explore:
Tourism Concern
International Centre for Responsible Tourism
Global Exchange Reality Tours
Responsible Tourism Resources

April 28
Read and come prepared to discuss: Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel (available for $9.75 or less from Amazon.com)
Mon. May 9
"Personal travel strategy" paper due.