SOAS Research Online

Abstract

What does it mean to study tourism ethnographically? How has the ethnography of tourism changed from the 1970s to today? What theories, themes, and concepts drive contemporary research? Thirteen leading anthropologists of tourism address these questions, focusing on the experience-near, interpretive-humanistic approach to tourism studies that emerged in the 1990s and continues to be prominent today. Widely associated with the work of American anthropologist Edward Bruner, this perspective is characterized by an attentiveness to representation, imagination, interpretation, meaning, and the inherent subjectivity of both ethnography and tourism as social practices. Contributors draw on their ongoing fieldwork to illustrate, critically engage, and build upon key concepts in tourism ethnography today—from experience, encounter, and emergent culture to authenticity, narrative, contested sites, the touristic borderzone, embodiment, identity, and mobility. Using Bruner’s work as a lens for delving into the past, present, and future of interpretive-humanistic tourism ethnography, these scholars provide a critical introduction to the state of the art. With its comprehensive introductory chapter, keyword-based organization, and engaging style, this volume will appeal to students of anthropology and tourism studies, as well as scholars in both fields and beyond.