Identifier

etd-11182013-120505

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Geography and Anthropology

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Backpacker tourists are able to boldly lay claim to authenticity to local place—especially as they see themselves in relation to more (by their categorization) mainstream tourists—through the feeling of an authentic self that arises through backpacking tourism. Backpacker discourse about travel embodied travel experiences reflects and shapes sense of existential authenticity, a transformative travel euphoria in which the backpacker’s true identity is discovered through intense, sensuous experiences and perception of immersion in a foreign culture. This thesis uses ethnographic information and methods collected in a number of hostels—but primarily in Bogotá, Colombia—in order to demonstrate the relationship between the material, discursive, and phenomenological construction of identity and understanding of “authentic” local place. Through backpacking travel, these young travelers are constructing understanding of self, community, and the local, making backpacking a productive area of study for the study of tourist identity formation through language and bodily engagement.

Date

2013

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Managan, Kathe

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.3759

Download

Share

COinS