The Anthropologist as Tourist: An Identity in Question

Abstract

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Recognizing Emotion and its Postcolonial Potentialities: Discomfort and Shame in a Tourism Encounter in Turkey

“…However, as Holmes andMarcus (2005: 1103) also point out, such studies inevitably render an 'uneven distribution or depth of knowing in ethnography'. Whilst the suggestion is not unfamiliar that 'doing ethnography' is not too far removed from 'doing tourism' (Crick 1995), in my previous ethnographic work in Göreme (see, particularly, Tucker 2003) I have tended to treat the tourist as if she or he were a distanced 'other' in relation to me, just as I have done with the toured Göreme 'other'. In this article, through discussion of the emotional-affective dimensions of the encounter, I have become more aware of my own alignment, not only with the (colonizing) tourist, but also with what Hollinshead (2004) refers to as the 'declarative' value of tourism and the 'textual authority' of Tourism Studies.…”

The tourist with a hidden agenda? Shifting roles in the field of tourism research

“…However, in the case of tourism research this can lead to rather confusing situations. Crick (1995) argues that there is a certain overlap in identities between anthropologists and tourists in the field. Both travel to (exotic) places to have a certain experience and then go home to tell about it.…”

“…Both travel to (exotic) places to have a certain experience and then go home to tell about it. Anywhere anthropologists might go to gather data he/she is likely to encounter tourists (Crick, 1995). The researcher becomes part of the subject of the research and, to a further extent than in any other situation, they are integrated in the field.…”

“…Bruner, 1995;Crick, 1995;Phillimore and Goodson, 2004). Recognising the subjectivity of the researcher and the importance of the context of social science research is the first step in understanding the dynamics of researcher-object relations (Denzin and Lincoln, 2003).…”

“…As both Bruner (1995) and Crick (1995) have pointed out, researchers in tourism have to take into account the specific tourism context of the field. When an anthropologist travels to a place to conduct fieldwork, especially in developing countries, they are likely to be identified as tourist by both locals and other tourists.…”