Worshiping at Nature's Shrine
Bremer TS. 2016. Worshiping at Nature's Shrine. Practical Matters Journal. (9)
Yellowstone National Park serves as a historical case study for considering the role of travel practices, sociocultural constructions of identity, discourses on authenticity, and consumerist orientations in the designation of particular places as sacred. The history of pilgrimages to America’s national parks offers an example of the touristic translation of spiritual value into economic value. Specifically, places in the modern world are constructed (both materially and conceptually) largely in accordance with the values and logic of consumer capitalism. Consequently, any discussion of particular locales that people find significant must account for the ways that they conceptualize and utilize places through a consumerist orientation.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Bremer, Thomas
- Units
- YELL
- Keywords
- aesthetics, authenticity, consumerism, history, identity, religion, spirituality
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Human Use | Visitor and Recreation Use | Visitor Use , Ecological Framework: Human Use | Cultural Landscapes | Cultural Landscapes