Tourists at the Taj : Performance and Meaning at a Symbolic Site

ISBN-13: 9780415167130 / Angielski / Miękka / 1998 / 240 str.

Tim Edensor

Opis

This text presents a sociological analysis of the cultural phenomenon, the Taj Mahal. The author describes the conflicting narratives which surround the site; those which remain rooted in Western post-colonialism, viewing the monument as a symbol of love, of India and of splendid exuberance and those which challenge this ethnocentricity, for whom the Taj is the symbolic centre of Islamic power or a site of Moghul appropriation. It goes on to describe many of the tourist practices around the Taj as well as considering the notion of tourism in a wider context. It concludes with the idea of tourism as performance and the tourist site as a stage on which tourists are directed and rehearsed as well as being able to improvize cultural conventions, all in the complex production of leisure space.

Spis treści

Introduction 1 Constructing tourist space 2 The regulation of tourist space 3 Narratives of the Taj Mahal 4 Walking, gazing, photographing and remembering at the Taj 5 Enclavic and heterogenous tourist spaces in Agra 6 Tourist plans for Agra and the Taj 7 Conclusion

O autorze

Tim Edensor is lecturer and researcher in the department of cultural studies at Staffordshire University. He has researched extensively in tourist practices and popular culture.