Seeing and Being Seen: Tourism in the American West / Edition 1

by David Wrobel, Patrick Long

Overview

You can see them cruising for Indian art in Santa Fe, waiting for Old Faithful at Yellowstone, or pausing for shrimp cocktails on San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. The American West attracts vacationers of every stripe, who comb its varied landscapes for the ultimate trip. And for better or worse, those who come to see this multifaceted region have changed what they have come to see.

Seeing and Being Seen explores the history of tourism in the American West and examines its effects on both the tourists and the places and people they visit. Scholars from the humanities, social sciences, and business-Patricia Nelson Limerick, Hal Rothman, and others-join government and National Park Service professionals to investigate the dilemmas that tourism poses for western communities, from economic and environmental questions to cultural change.

The selections are organized around three broad topics: scholarly perceptions of tourism, tourists, and those toured upon; tourism in its historical context, including an assessment of its cultural impact on communities and on tourists themselves; and the history and impact of tourism on the West's national parks, with particular emphasis on efforts to maintain the delicate balance between natural preservation and public enjoyment.

These essays cover the span of tourism history, from early-twentieth-century "See America First" campaigns to the problematic place of automobiles in national parks today. They also pay special attention to policy choices that the growth of tourism sometimes forces on communities, as towns try to bounce back from failed economies by capitalizing on an "Old West" image—or even, in the case of Kellogg, Idaho, "Old Bavarian."

In response, the authors offer suggestions by which communities can begin to make rational choices about the role and place of tourism in their lives. Seeing and Being Seen is enlightening—and necessary—reading for scholars, policy makers, residents of the West, and even tourists themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700610839
Publisher:	University Press of Kansas
Publication date:	06/05/2001
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.79(d)

Table of Contents

Foreword: Still Searching for the Golden West, Earl Pomeroy

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction: Tourism, Tourists, and the Toured Upon, David M. Wrobel

I. Perspectives: Scholars and Tourists

2. Seeing and Being Seen: Tourism in the American West, Patricia Nelson Limerick

3. Why I Love Tourists: Confessions of a Dharma Bum, Rudolfo Anaya

4. For Residents and Visitors Alike: Seeking Tourism’s Benefits, Minimizing Tourism’s Costs, Patrick T. Long

5. A Devil’s Bargain: Tourism in the Modern West, Hal Rothman

II. Processes: Tourism and Cultural Change

6. No Aid or Comfort: Transportation and the Origins of Tourism in the Northern West, Carlos A. Schwantes

7. Tourists and Indians in Fred Harvey’s Southwest, Leah Dilworth

8. Seeing America First: The Search for Identity in the Tourist Landscape, Marguerite S. Shaffer

9. Tourism, Whiteness, and the Vanishing Anglo, Sylvia Rodriguez

III. Parks: Tourists in Western Wonderlands

10. Privations and Inconveniences: Early Tourism in Yellowstone National Park, Paul Schullery

11. Glaciers and Gasoline: The Making of a Windshield Wilderness, 1900-1915, David Louter

12. Selling the Scenery: Advertising and the National Parks, 1916-1933, Peter Blodgett

13. A Dignified Exploitation: The Growth of Tourism in the National Parks, Dwight T. Pitcaithley

Contributors

Index

Editorial Reviews

"This book is an important contribution to the ongoing debate about tourism in western America. It conveniently collects important scholarship in the field, making it available to the academic community and students of the American West."—New Mexico Historical Review

"This collection deserves an audience as diverse as the contributors. The future of Western cultural uniqueness and economic development largely depends upon the wisdom with which we deal with tourism"—The Historian

"A highly recommended read for scholars, planners, environmentalists, and those engaged in the tourism industry. For historians, the book suggests questions on a wide range of issues to keep future generations fruitfully occupied."—Journal of Arizona History

"There has been no shortage of hype and shallow thinking about the role of tourism in the modern West—but there has been a severe shortage of the kind of wisdom that comes from thinking hard and historically about tourism. This book offers the region that kind of wisdom."—Daniel Kemmis, Director of the Center for the Rocky Mountain West and author of Community and the Politics of Place

"Seeing and Being Seen goes to the heart of the dilemmas of tourism in the western United States. . . . Insightful, provocative, and engagingly written, it is a valuable book for anyone with an interest in tourism—from park managers, community leaders, and students of the West to all of us in our recurrent roles as tourists."—Chris Wilson, author of The Myth of Santa Fe: Creating a Modern Regional Tradition

From the Publisher

Contributors from the humanities and social sciences, business faculty, and National Park Service employees explore the history of tourism in the American West and examine its effects on both the tourists and the places and people they visit. They investigate dilemmas that tourism poses for Western communities, from economic and environmental questions to cultural change. Chapters are organized around three broad topics: scholarly perceptions of tourism; tourism in its historical context; and the history and impact of tourism on the West's national parks. Most material originated at a spring 1997 conference. Wrobel teaches history at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Long teaches tourism management at the University of Colorado. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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