Dr. Andrew Wood
Office: HGH 210; phone: (408) 924-5378
Email: wooda@email.sjsu.edu
Web: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/wooda

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Postcolonial studies of tourism: Unreal beauty

Reading: Kincaid (second half)

This week: We conclude Kincaid's A Small Place with a discussion of the ironic definition of culture in Antigua. Here, we focus on Kincaid's thesis that culture, needing to be defined and affirmed through the political process, typically serves non-native interests. We also discuss postcolonial Antiguan experiences of time, examining the imposition of power made possible by natives' inability to position themselves outside of their world. We finally address the nature of reality in Antigua. To Kincaid, a "small place" is beautiful in an unreal way, in a manner which serves a subtle form of oppression realized through tourism.

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