Coming "home" : constructing small town sense of place through the nostalgic discourses of tourism
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(Published version)
Date
2010
Authors
George, Jodie
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thesis
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Abstract
This thesis examines the way in which nostalgia is used in tourism to frame small town communities as idyllic cultural landscapes. As an industry, tourism has commodified 'place', creating consumer expectations about how particular landscapes will appear. Extant research suggests that the small town is strategically positioned as a 'timeless' place, a contemporary haven embodying a 'golden age' where the past may be used to make sense of the present. Yet such calculated positioning denies the constructed nature of these images and the identities they may force upon small town residents. This thesis critically questions the impact such constructions may have upon the diversity of these spaces, the individuals who live there, and the social sustainability of such practices, using a creative and academic discourse in the form of a fictional artefact and an exegesis respectively.The fictional artefact, Longing for the Lobster People (and other tourist traps), narrates one young woman's attempts to rescue her small town from financial hardship through tourism, and the conflict caused when an alternative option is raised. The narrative adopts a female-centric approach, following in the style of Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Mary Ann Evans, and more recently, Maeve Binchy and Cathy Kelly. These authors explore the complicated nature of women's lives within a geographical location which itself often acts as a significant character within the novel, as is this case here. Although the fictional artefact examines the processes of tourism and the impact of stereotypical representations of place, it avoids a didactic approach. Instead, these themes are alluded to within the context of the novel's action.Using cultural geography and social constructionism as lenses, the exegesis critically questions the nature of postmodern tourism and the ways in which it reconstructs small towns as 'authentic'.Detailed consideration is given to the history and development of nostalgia and its strategic use by the tourism industry in relation to the small town. Discourse analysis is carried out on the history of the 'small town' concept, the promotional materials developed by tourism and government bodies, and the interviews conducted with small town residents.This thesis finds that small towns are being reconstructed by the tourism industry as idyllic cultural landscapes through nostalgic discourses. However, this reconstruction may have a detrimental impact on residents, as the commodification process turns their communities into palimpsests, upon which identity may be written, erased, and written again to suit customer desire. Nostalgic reconstructions of small town communities are found to be selective, creating questions about whose meanings may be inscribed in the space, the reason those meanings are chosen, and the histories that are obscured as a result. This thesis concludes that such practices are socially unsustainable as they belie the complexities of these cultural landscapes. Alternative approaches are discussed, focusing primarily on the possibility of practical community involvement and the necessity for greater recognition of diversity.
School/Discipline
University of South Australia School of Communication, International Studies and Languages
School of Communication, International Studies and Languages
School of Communication, International Studies and Languages
Dissertation Note
Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2010
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Copyright 2010 Jodie George
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EN-AUS
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