Anthropology 3120 6.0 Final Exam
The Anthropology of Tourism / 2016-17 Review Sheet
Structure of Exam:
The exam will have two parts: 1) identification, worth a total of 25 points; and 2) one essay
question, worth 20 points.
Identification: You will be asked to define five terms, chosen from the review terms above,
and explain their relevance to class material and issues chosen from the review terms above.
Generally, each response should be ½ page to ¾ page (single-spaced). There will be five
sets of two terms. You should define one from each set (five in total). Each response
will be worth a possible 5 points.
Essay Questions: You will be asked to answer one essay question. You will have a choice
from three to four questions. Your response should be roughly 4-5 pages double-spaced (or
2-3.5 pages single-spaced). Your answer will be worth a possible 20 points. To study for the
essay question, you should ensure that you understand the overall points that have been
made in each lecture – and how the lectures in each section fit together as part of a larger
story of the analysis of the tourist experience.
Review Sheet
Commodification and authenticity
Tourism and Authenticity (Assumptions)
Tourism and commodification changes meaning of cultural products
Thus leads to inauthenticity and staged authenticity
Staged authenticity is obstacle to genuine search for authentic experience - it creates
a false touristic consciousness
- fake cultural products are staged for tourists to make it look authentic
- not only points to the problems of the concepts of authenticity to
exploit anyone's experiences, he also makes an attempt to rethink the concept
from a cultural perspective
Cohen challenges these assumptions by critiquing notion of authenticity – rethinking
authenticity – emergent authenticity
Consider various cultural constructions of authenticity
Medina: utilize new channels to access cultural traditions of great antiquity
- argues there’s still access to the original traditions
- medina links debates of commodification and authenticity
Links debates about commoditization and authenticity to debates in the field of Maya
studies
Rethinking ‘culture’ (objectivist/constructivist approaches)
Constructivist Approach: Beliefs constantly created, contested, and changed as
ideas of who we are and where we come from change
No ‘authentic’ meaning passed on unchanged
Thus no ‘authentic’ value of indigenous culture to be strengthened or destroyed
Objectivist Approach: Tradition as an objective entity
A core of inherited culture traits whose continuity and boundedness are analagous to
that of a natural object
they argued that the naturalistic approach that by the very nature of traditional
societies that the external force of tourism would destroy them
this perspective however did not last
,Anthropology 3120 6.0 Final Exam
The Anthropology of Tourism / 2016-17 Review Sheet
‘Balanced’ perspectives on tourism’s ‘impact’
Factors Influencing the Impact of Tourism (1980s) - called for more balanced
view of effects of tourism
it depended on:
Interaction between tourist/host (race, gender, ethnicity, class)
Kind of tourism development in a region
The scale of tourist activity
Origins and ethnic backgrounds of tourists - in SEA only white people are considered
tourists
- it became apparent that it was impossible to generalized the impact of tourisms
- not always found negative consequences
- more specific analysis of the consequences of tourism -
consistent contradictory patterns of responses
- sometimes negative, sometimes positive, sometimes neutral
- sometimes these local seems to suffer and others seem to flourish
- anthropologists still labeled traditional and native culture
Considering the complexities of tourism’s impact on indigenous culture
- possibility that commodification strengthens production of local culture
But continuing concern that commodification produces inauthenticity
Alarde
Alarde Festival - traditional public ritual that commemorates victory
Re-enacting victory every year
Traditional ritual form
Commemoration of 1638 defeat of the French
Yearly, all-day festival involving entire community
Emphasizes community solidarity and affirms community identity (meaning of the
ritual), both historical and contemporary identity that they are spanish and not french
because they defeated the french
Greenwood argues that as a tourist spectacle
Loss of community interest
As ritual is commodified it loses meaning
Inauthentic cultural form
Men women and children take part
Occurred every summer
If people in community don’t participate then it doesn’t have the same communal
meaning
Not traditionally a public show but solely for the benefit of the participants
Inevitably became a tourist attraction
Alarde was such important draw for tourist, they would change it to twice a day instead
of once a day, two shows
Drastically changed meaning of this ritual
He’s arguing that its changed the significance and meaning of the ritual
He found that ppl were no longer interested in participating bc spanish gov has made
it a tourist attraction
Meaning depends on community, it became commodified, it loses meaning
This argument has some problems with it
, Anthropology 3120 6.0 Final Exam
The Anthropology of Tourism / 2016-17 Review Sheet
Argues its not an authentic cultural form because it is commodified
The approach that argues that tourism development will have a negative impact on
cultures because it commodifies it
This assumes these traditions are authentic traditions, passed on from one gen to
another
Objectivist/naturalistic approach to tradition
Cohen – assumptions about tourism’s ‘impact’
we have to be careful in assuming there is always a negative impact from tourism
when anthropologists began studying tourism they were concerned with the impact
on traditional society
problematic assumption that traditional/native culture is not supposed to change
the earliest studies of consequences of tourism anthropologists said any changes in
native culture is negative
special concern with impact of tourism in terms of expressive culture, traditional
rituals, art forms, craft forms, etc
argued tourism would lead to certain number of things (below)
Anthropological concerns about the impact of tourism on indigenous culture in the
1970s - focus on the problem of preserving 'traditional cultures' in the face of tourism
Assumption that changes to indigenous culture would be negative
Anthropological Perspectives on the ‘Impact’ of Tourism (1970s)
o Denigration of traditional cultural forms - not the same inherent
value/cohesiveness that had for traditional purposes
o Corruption of traditional values - traditional ritual for tourism purposes
would corrupt the moral foundation
o Loss of traditional pride and ethnic identity - somehow if you’re producing it for
tourism it bases you on your own ethnic identity?
o Inauthenticity of local cultural forms
o Commodification of cultural forms - production of cultural form for the purposes
of the market and would destroy its authenticity, it would lose its purity towards
the traditional culture. no longer being original. no longer being produced for
original purposes (tradition)
o Example – Greenwood reading from Hosts and Guests: The Anthropology of
Tourism (1977) + Alarde Festival of Fuenterrabia, Spain as public ritual of
commemoration
All this demonstrates a central point, we cannot reduce tourism development to a
matter of its impact, good or bad. we’ve been focusing on is how diff ways people
have looked at positive and negative impacts. we have been attempting to recognize
the integral role of tourism in touristic communities
Cohen – rethinking authenticity
- recognize power of authenticity as negotiable cultural concept
- “emergent authenticity”
- how cultural authenticity can be constructed
he points to the:
Scholarly/traditional perspectives on authenticity - the idea that something is authentic if:
- Conforms to traditional forms
- Created for traditional purposes - not for the market, for traditional purposes
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