Course description
From keychains and shot glasses to postcards and t-shirts, material souvenirs are an indelible part of the international tourism industry. While they are often overlooked in academic literature, these objects tell important stories about the people who make, buy, and sell them. Souvenirs are more than simple memories of a place: they are layered expressions of how people, both those local and non-local to a place, imagine a location. Souvenirs help reveal the complex networks of history and cultureincluding the processes of colonialism and exploitationthat determine contemporary life. This course is an anthropological investigation of tourism and material culture. Students consider a survey of material objects as manifestations of historical and cultural processes. In addition to anthropological theory and method, indigenous theory and postcolonial studies guide this course. Ultimately, this course explores what it means to make, sell, and buy objects that originate in tourism landscapes. Classes take a global cross-comparative approach to course themes. While there is a heavy focus on international examples, there is significant emphasis on objects produced by indigenous North American makers.
