Abstract
Arts, culture, and nature are central features of tourism, strategically employed by the public and private sector alike and in government initiatives to elevate nations onto the global stage. In this paper we examine how the “art of hospitality” guiding commercial tourism intersects with national identity, ethnic culture, and the politics of representation across human and non-human landscape. Building on successive years of study abroad programming in Norway, the authors problematize common allures of tourist travel, and explore how to mediate contested meanings of heritage, culture and ethnicity, and sense of belonging as part of intercultural learning. Study abroad is designed to deepen student knowledge about the impact human activity in different global locations have for climate change. Art and culture have become an increasingly significant catalyst for exploring, expressing, advocating, and redressing environmental crisis, often in ways that words and dialogue defy. It is a vital lens through which to understand the diverse sociocultural forces that shape anthropogenic drivers of climate change worldwide. Students apply cross-cultural learning and local expertise to envision solutions, including the lifeways of marginalized groups and indigenous peoples. Triangulating theory, practice, and pedagogy, the authors investigate a series of conceptual cartographies that emerge as part the intercultural teaching-learning nexus, under two subheadings: (1) Heritage, Culture, Indigeneity; and (2) Nature, Nationalism, Museums. The analyses seek to tease out and contextualize the complexities that iconic arts and culture markers often conceal, uncovering the tensions that “national treasures” touted as undisputed emblems of cultural authenticity reveal.
Presenters
Ragnhild UtheimDirector, School of Liberal Studies, Purchase College, SUNY, New York, United States Melissa Forstrom
Associate Professor, Global Studies (Chair) and Arts Management, Purchase College, New York, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
ARTS AND CULTURE; TOURISM; HERITAGE; INDIGENEITY; NATIONALISM; CLIMATE CHANGE; ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE; MUSEOLOGY
