Situated Experiences
Thirty Years of Tourism Development in the Dominican Republic
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kathleen Skoczen
Over thirty years of anthropological research in a northeastern province of the Dominican Republic documents the transitions of an agrarian based economy to a tourism-service based economy, and hence the region into the global economy. This research explores narratives of local residents as they contemplate the benefits and consequences of tourism development as a strategy for eliminating poverty. Following structural adjustment programs implemented by the International Monetary Fund in the 1980s, the Dominican Republic moved toward foreign investment that has come primarily in the form of tourism development. This strategy has created expanded wealth for some Dominicans, while the majority in this region have not benefitted, at least not directly. Statistics suggest that overall poverty may not be alleviated by the presence of tourism development in a community. Some members of the community have noted that the tangible and visible inequality of wealth, along with the increased exposure to foreigners and their values, have increased social problems, notably drug use and violence among the youth. Globalization in its many forms has arrived in this region of the Dominican Republic bringing with it mixture of responses from the community, and varying degrees of economic restructuring.
Graffiti in Gdansk: Hip Hop, Solidarity, and the Graffiti of Gdansk
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jonathan Gross
This essay explores the proliferation of graffiti in and around the solidarity museum in Gdansk, exploring the literary heritage of that city. My essay explores 2-3 images of Graf placed within 1000 meters of the solidarity museum, contrasting the official narratives of World War II and the Cold War as explained in the museum and the history of Wojciech Jaruzelski and Lech Walesa, with a Chicagoan's visit to that city's Graf community. What does street art tell us, prophetically, about the effects of globalization on local manifestations of art? How does graffiti in Gdansk compare with images from Italy (Florence, Naples) , Greece (Thessaloniki, Athens, Messolonghi), and the United States (Chicago, the Bronx, New York, Philadelphia). How does street art reconfigure the statues and memorials erected to commemorate historic events? What is the tension between street art and the monumentalizing of the past? How is such tension embodied in the deconstruction of the letter and the use of cartoons in Graf?
Tour Operator, Tour Guide, and Interpreters in The Thailand Context
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Umaporn Muneenam, Pongbaworn Suwannattachote, Pruessayos Jitsumpun
This paper reviews tour operators, tour guides, and interpreters in the Thailand context. Results found that both tour operators and tour guides in Thailand have to registered with and licensed by the government, if not they are guilty to do so. Tour guides are preserved qualified career for Thai nationality only; furthermore, they are very important person in tourism industry for they are the closest person with tourists especially in mass tourism industry. They are also the person who is able to give right information and warn tourists not to harm any negative impacts to environment and society. However, there have been shortage some of the non-speaking Thai licensed inbound tour guide. Hence, the illegal of non-Thai and non-licensed tour guides have been found and worked in Thailand tourism industry that they may not give correct information or may not guide the right way to behave to tourists. In addition, tour guide and interpreter are quite similar and overlap. Interpreter--the concept that Thailand acknowledged from overseas--means the person who has art of communication that tells story with non-personal interpretation so that the tourists feel respect, appreciate, and protect the environment. From the definition, interpreter is not limited to only the tour guide that the interpreter may be educator, ranger, biologist, historian, and naturalist, etc. This study also describes examples of good practice of tour operators and tour guides that are also good interpreters in the Thailand context.
