Print

Print


Apologies for cross-posting
Dear Friends and Colleagues
The following books are now available for review in the Journal of Heritage Tourism. Reviews should be around 750 words long and take the form of a constructively critical review of the book's contribution to knowledge on the subject of heritage tourism. They should be written in a lively and accessible style, and go beyond simple description of the content of the book to make an assessment of its qualities. Selected reviewers are normally invited to submit their reviews within four weeks of receipt of the book by mail.
If you are interested in reviewing one or more of these books, please email me with your name, affiliation, mailing address and the title(s) of the book(s) you would be willing to review. If we have not communicated before, a brief summary of your background and your reasons for wishing to review the book(s) you have indicated would be most welcome.
Apologies in advance to those whose generous offers I will be unable to accept. There are always more willing reviewers than books available.
Thank you.
Brian
Dr Brian Garrod, Reader in Tourism Management, Aberystwyth University
Book Reviews Editor, Journal of Heritage Tourism

Alivizatou, M. (2012) Intangible Heritage and the Museum: New Perspectives on Cultural Preservation, Left Coast Press.

In this comparative, international study Marilena Alivizatou investigates the relationship between museums and the new concept of "intangible heritage." She charts the rise of intangible heritage within the global sphere of UN cultural policy and explores its implications both in terms of international politics and with regard to museological practice and critical theory. Using a grounded ethnographic methodology, Alivizatou examines intangible heritage in the local complexities of museum and heritage work in Oceania, the Americas and Europe. This multi-sited, cross-cultural approach highlights key challenges currently faced by cultural institutions worldwide in understanding and presenting this form of heritage.
Bhatti, S. (2012) Translating Museums: A Counterhistory of South Asian Museology, Left Coast Press.

Shaila Bhatti's immersive study of the Lahore Museum in Pakistan is one of the first books to offer an in-depth historical and ethnographic analysis of a South Asian museum. Bhatti thus presents an alternative example of visitor experience and museum practice to that of the West, which has been the dominant museological model to date. This examination of the Lahore Museum's objects, staff, and visitors (past and present) provides an informative case study that reveals local perceptions and uses of museums in non-Western societies to be fraught with social, political, and cultural implications and appropriations. Through Lahore, Bhatti examines the history of exchange between Britian and South Asia and advances our current understanding of what constitutes postcolonial museum interpretation and its public.
Salazar, N. (2010) Envisioning Eden: Mobilizing Imaginaries in Tourism and Beyond, Berghan Books.

As tourism service standards become more homogeneous, travel destinations worldwide are conforming yet still trying to maintain, or even increase, their distinctiveness. Based on more than two years of fieldwork in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and Arusha, Tanzania, this book offers an in-depth investigation of the local-to-global dynamics of contemporary tourism. Each destination offers examples that illustrate how tour guide narratives and practices are informed by widely circulating imaginaries of the past as well as personal imaginings of the future.
Stafano, M., Davis, P. and Corsane. G. (eds) (2012) Safeguarding Intangible Heritage, Boydell Press.

Awareness of the significance of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) has recently grown, due to the promotional efforts of UNESCO and its Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003). However, the increased recognition of intangible heritage has brought to light its undervalued status within the museum and heritage sector, and raised questions about safeguarding efforts, ownership, protective legal frameworks, authenticity and how global initiatives can be implemented at a local level, where most ICH is located. This book provides a variety of international perspectives on these issues, exploring how holistic and integrated approaches to safeguarding ICH offer an opportunity to move beyond the rhetoric of UNESCO; in particular, the authors demonstrate that the alternative methods and attitudes that frequently exist at a local level can be the most effective way of safeguarding ICH. Perspectives are presented both from "established voices", of scholars and practitioners, and from "new voices", those of indigenous and local communities, where intangible heritage lives. It will be an important resource for students of museum and heritage studies, anthropology, folk studies, the performing arts, intellectual property law and politics.

Brulotte, R. (2012) Between Art and Artifact: Archaeological Replicas and Cultural Production in Oaxaca, Mexico, Universityof Texas Press.

Oaxaca is internationally renowned for its marketplaces and archaeological sites where tourists can buy inexpensive folk art, including replicas of archaeological treasures. Archaeologists, art historians, and museum professionals sometimes discredit this trade in "fakes" that occasionally make their way to the auction block as antiquities. Others argue that these souvenirs represent a long cultural tradition of woodcarving or clay sculpting and are "genuine" artifacts of artisanal practices that have been passed from generation to generation, allowing community members to preserve their cultural practices and make a living. Exploring the intriguing question of authenticity and its relationship to cultural forms in Oaxaca and throughout southern Mexico, Between Art and Artifact confronts an important issue that has implications well beyond the commercial realm.  Demonstrating that identity politics lies at the heart of the controversy, Ronda Brulotte provides a nuanced inquiry into what it means to present "authentic" cultural production in a state where indigenous ethnicity is part of an awkward social and racial classification system. Emphasizing the world-famous woodcarvers of Arrazola and the replica purveyors who come from the same community, Brulotte presents the ironies of an ideology that extols regional identity but shuns its artifacts as "forgeries." Her work makes us question the authority of archaeological discourse in the face of local communities who may often see things differently. A departure from the dialogue that seeks to prove or disprove "authenticity," Between Art and Artifact reveals itself as a commentary on the arguments themselves, and what the controversy can teach us about our shifting definitions of authority and authorship.

Lyon, S. and Wells, E. (2012) Global Tourism: Cultural Heritage and Economic Encounters, Alta Mira Press.

Global tourism is perhaps the largest scale movement of goods, services, and people in history. Consequently, it is a significant catalyst for economic development and sociopolitical change. While tourism increasingly accounts for ever greater segments of national economies, the consequences of this growth for intercultural interaction are diverse and uncertain. The proliferation of tourists also challenges classic theoretical descriptions of just what an economy is. What are the commodities being consumed? What is the division of labor between producers and clients in creating the value of tourist exchanges? How do culture, power, and history shape these interactions? What are the prospects for sustainable tourism? How is cultural heritage being shaped by tourists around the world? These critical questions inspired this volume in which the contributors explore the connections among economy, sustainability, heritage, and identity that tourism and related processes makes explicit. The volume moves beyond the limits of place-specific discussions, case studies, and best practice examples. Accordingly, it is organized according to three overarching themes: exploring dimensions of cultural heritage, the multi-faceted impacts of tourism on both hosts and guests, and the nature of touristic encounters. Based on ethnographic and archaeological research conducted in distinct locations, the contributors' conclusions and theoretical arguments reach far beyond the limits of isolated case studies. Together, they contribute to a new synthesis for the anthropology of tourism while simultaneously demonstrating how emerging theories of the economics of tourism can lead to the rethinking of traditionally non-touristic enterprises-from farming to medical occupations.

Roura, R. (2011)  The Footprint of Polar Tourism: Tourist Behaviour at Cultural Heritage Sites in Antarctica and Svarlbard, Barkhuis.
This thesis aims to describe and interpret the effects of tourism on historic sites in Antarctica and Svalbard (also known as Spitsbergen), and to assess the implications for management. Explorers, whalers, seal hunters, scientists and others have left many material remains in the Polar Regions that are significant because they tell the history of the exploration and exploitation of these regions. Contemporary polar tourism represents a new phase in this "exploration" and exploitation of the Polar Regions. The potential for the transformation of historic sites has increased following the substantial expansion of polar tourism in recent decades. Key cultural heritage sites are regularly included in standard tourist itineraries and are also the subject of specialized tourism. In this context, the central research question of this thesis is: What are the effects of tourism on polar historic sites, and what are the implications of this for the management of tourism and these historic sites?

Simpson, B. and Simpson, C. (2011) From Heritage to Terrorism: Regulating Tourism in an Age of Uncertainty, Routledge.
Critical in style, From Heritage to Terrorism: Regulating Tourism in an Age of Uncertainty examines the law and its role in shaping and defining tourism and the tourist experience. Using a broad range of legal documents and other materials from a variety of disciplines, it surveys how the underlying values of tourism often conflict with a concern for human rights, cultural heritage and sustainable environments. Departing from the view that within this context the law is simply relegated to dealing the 'hard edges' of the tourist industry and tourist behaviour, the authors explore: the ways that the law shapes the nature of tourism and how it can do this; the need for a more focused role for law in tourism; the law's current and potential role in dealing with the various tensions for tourism in the panic created by the spread of global terrorism. Addressing a range of fundamental issues underlying global conflict and tourism, this thoroughly up-to-date and topical book is an essential read for all those interested in tourism and law.





__________________________________________________________________________________________

Dr Brian Garrod

Reader in Tourism Management, School of Management and Business, Aberystwyth University, Cledwyn Building, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, UK, SY23 3DD. Tel. 01970 621638. Website http://users.aber.ac.uk/bgg. Skype: brian.garrod.aber

Co-Editor, Journal of Destination Marketing & Management http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/727232/description#description

Co-Editor in Chief, Contemporary Cases Online
http://www.goodfellowpublishers.com/academic-publishing.php?promoCode=&partnerID=&content=story&storyID=210&fixedmetadataID=

Book Reviews Editor, Journal of Heritage Tourism
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/1743873X.asp

Associate Editor, Journal of Ecotourism
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/14724049.asp

Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Tourism Research
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1522-1970

Editorial Board Member, Tourism in Marine Environments
http://www.cognizantcommunication.com/filecabinet/Tme/tme.html

Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Sustainable Development
http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalCODE=ijsd