defining place authenticity: my heritage can beat up your history

Defining Place Authenticity:My Heritage Can Beat Up Your History

Alan A. Lew, Ph.D.Northern Arizona Universityhttp://AlanLew.comhttp://AlanALew.com

North of Lake Tahoe, California

“My History Can Beat Up Your Politics” podcast http://myhistorycanbeatupyourpolitics.blogspot.com/

The Postmodern Tourism Past

Authenticity is NegotiableCulture is Continually InventedMultiple Layers of Place Identity

Heritage & Culture are (Re)-Interpreted

for Economic DevelopmentCommodification

for Nationalism

“The Past is a Foreign County”We Cannot Know the Past

Except through the Values of the Present Also true of Interpreting Cultures

Nostalgia ExplosionReaction Against Postmodern Uncertainty

Requires1. Linear sense of Time2. Apprehension over

limitations/deficiencies of the Present

3. Social Change is detectable over one’s lifetime

4. Evidence of the past exists • artefacts, images & text

“If the Past is a Foreign Country, Nostalgia has made it “the foreign country with the healthiest tourist trade of all”

Lowenthal, 1985: 4

Defining / Fixing Heritage Authenticity

Heritage Success =1 - Semblance of Authenticity

BelievabilityCredibility

2 - Acceptance by its Audiences

Fixing of Heritage Traditionto establish or stabilize cultural identitiesto legitimate institutions; and to socialize people in(to) particular contexts

The traditional and the new are not mutually exclusive states

Approaches to Authenticity

1. Authenticity as a Product Feature vs. Authenticity as Experience

2. Stakeholders and Negotiation in Authenticity

3. Primordial vs Situational Authenticity

4. Simulations and Dissimulations

5. Objective, Constructive & Existential Authenticity

Revitalization of Older Retail Districts

Four Oregon Case Studies– Sisters (#19)– Junction City (#9)– Oakland (#13)– Florence (#7)

Case Study #1 – Sisters, Oregon- Western Facade

On Eastern Slopes of Cascade Mountains3 Major Highways converge just before Sisters

Formerly known for gas stations and restaurants only

Sisters Rodeo was already well established

Junior Chamber of Commerce in early 1970sConverted two small buildings into Cowboy Theme

One at each end of town

By 1977 – 1880s Cowboy Western Façade was made mandatory for entire retail district

Design guidelines written into local ordinances & building code

Strong community support for Western ThemeMakes Community more Interesting

Increases Shopping variety and Opportunities

Sisters is #19

Sisters Yesterday and Today

4th of July, 1946

Sisters BoomsNamed after the Three Sisters Mountain Peaks

Population of about 600 in town in 1990

Retirement and Recreation RegionLarge Second Home Subdivisions near Sisters

Developers Funded Architectural Sketches to Show Businesses how they could be “Westernized”

Saw Sisters as an “Attraction” for recreation subdivisions

Other AmenitiesMount Bachelor Ski Area to north

Hunting and Fishing in Cascades

High Plateau climate

High Level of Retail Organization100% Retail Membership in Chamber of Commerce !

Sisters, Oregon The Cascades:

Snowcapped Volcanoes, Lava Flows and Pine Trees

SistersCity Hall

Hotel Sisters – the only truly Historic building in town

The New West in Sisters, Oregon

An Award is given each year to the Best (most authentic) Western Theme Building

- a past winner (right) >>

Issues of Authenticity

The Sno-Cap Drive Inn – A SistersTradition

Front Porch of a New Retail Store

Which of these is more Authentic? More ‘Disney’?

Which is gives a Real ‘Sense of Place’?

Case Study #2 – Junction City, ORJunction City, Oregon

settled by ethnic Danish migrants from the Midwestjoined late by other ethnic Scandinavian migrants

Bypassed by Interstate 5 in the late 1950smajor economic downtown

Initiated the Scandinavian Festival in early 1960sto boost community pride

Suggested by a local M.D. & supported by the Chamber of Commerce

Draws over 200,000 visitors yearly over 4 daysFocus on Non-profit organization

Schools, Social organization – including the Danish Sisterhood and Sons of Norway

Emphasis on Authenticity of Booths and DisplayAuthenticity is checked before and during the festival

Junction City is #9

Junction City Scandinavian Festival

•The Scandinavian Festival is ranked by Sunset Magazine as one of the best in the U.S. – due to its emphasis on authenticity.

•Planning for the festival is a year-round activity

•The Junction City High School is opened for RV trailer parking and use of the schools showers and restrooms.

Landscape Impacts of the Scandinavian Festival

Festival Hall & Flower Boxes

A Junction City Travel Agency

•The Festival Hall is used for the Art Show and Dances

•It is the only permanent festival building

The higher end of Authenticity?

Retail Efforts to Encompass the Scandinavian Theme

Downtown Junction City (above) and the Viking Inn (right)

• Impacts on ‘For Profit’ community has been minimal

• these are resented by the festival’s ‘non-profit’ organizers

Do Shingles (especially Red ones) signify Scandinavia?

Scandinavia along US Highway 99

More Shinglesplus Painted Tulips on a gas station sign

Attracting the passing traffic

Case Study #3 – Oakland, Oregon Historic District

1890s brick and stone architecture

First designated Historic District in Oregon

High level of Architectural Authenticity

Both in Retail District and adjacent Residential Area

Early 1960s –Oakland Lumber Mill Closed

Historic Preservation effort initiated

To raise community spirits & Revitalize downtown Oakland

But – final Historic District Zone – only for Retail Area

Did not include Residential Area

Businesses accused of trying to create a “Tourist Trap”

Residents rejected Historic Preservation – never implemented

Early 1970s – State mandated comprehensive planning

New Historic District boundaries drawn to include Residential

Oakland is #13

Oakland, Oregon

Bank Building in Downtown

Historic Home

Old School Building

The total population of Oakland in 1990 was about 900

Downtown Oakland, Oregon

1928 “Turkey Capital of the World”

Who’s Downtown is it?

New 1970s Historic District encompassed residential areas

More acceptable to citizens

Lion’s Club began some initial promotional effortsBut - New Economy of Oakland had made it a Bedroom Community for the much larger Roseburg, OR

Residents opposed ‘Disneyfication’ of downtown‘Visitors’ are OK, but Not ‘Tourists’

Continuing Distrust of Downtown Retailer Motives

1980s Gradual moves by retailers to expand marketInformation sign in Interstate 5 Rest Area

Signage of Oakland, Oregon

`

Lion’s Club 1970s sign

1980s Interstate 5 Rest Area information sign

Case Study #4 - Florence, Oregon – Waterfront Theme

Old Town FlorenceBypassed by new bridge over the Siuslaw River

Revitalization of Old Town started by tourists from California in early 1970s

Combination of Historic Preservation & Waterfront

High Seasonality – closed in winter months

Regional ResourcesOregon Coast – most popular destination in OR

Sport Fishing

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

Regional Marketing

Florence is #7

Oregon CoastRegional Resources

Oregon Dunes & the Coast

A Variety of Tourist ‘Traps’

Florence, Oregon – Old town

The large white building is historic, none of the others are

Florence, OR

Fishing boats in the Siuslaw River

New Tourist Shops in Old Town

Florence, OR

Good Signage indicates a well organized retail community

Thematic Singapore ? Thematic AsiaHow Are Themes Used in Retail Districts in

1. Singapore ?

2. Asia ?

List

1. Places

2. Themes

3. Symbols / Examples

Sisters, OR (western)

Junction City, OR (Nordic)

Oakland, OR (historic buildings)

Florence, OR (waterfront)

Approaches to Authenticity

1. Authenticity as a Product Feature vs. Authenticity as Experience

2. Stakeholders and Negotiation in Authenticity

3. Primordial vs Situational Authenticity

4. Simulations and Dissimulations

5. Objective, Constructive & Existential Authenticity

1. Heritage Authenticity as a Product Feature vs. Consumed Experience

Authenticity takes multiple forms and thus we can only unpack its meaning by analyzing the context and the specific instance it is used each time (Bruner 1994)

Product Authenticity Features - 5 types: Object-related, Factual, Locational, Personage, and EnvironmentalHampton (2006) – Gettysburg, PA Battlefield

All five Product types [of product authenticity] gave value to the heritage experience by helping visitors achieve a temporary but profoundly intense imaginary flight in the past…. Perceived authenticity of the product can, therefore, trigger consumers imagination and transport them through narrative worlds.

Consumed Authentic Experiences‘Constructive Authenticity’, ‘Symbolic Authenticity’, and othersTourist Types:

Recreational, Diversionary, Experiential, Existential, …


1. Experience


1. Experience

Oakland, OR (historic buildings)

1. Product-Factual


1. Product-Locational + Experience

2. Stakeholders and Negotiation in Heritage Authenticity

Perspectives of authenticity as seen by different stakeholders

Authenticity is Negotiable - depending upon 1. State Regulations2. Tourist / Visitor Expectations3. Tourism Industry / Business Goals4. Host community Knowledge and Belief in their

‘own’ past

Each creates a Subjective Framework of what constitutes the authentic aspects of heritage

Permutations/Changes of authenticity that have taken place in the ongoing discourse

Authenticity as a Dynamic Process


1. Experience – 2. Tourism Industry


1. Experience – 2. Host Community

Oakland, OR (historic)

1. Product-Factual – 2. State Regulation


1. Product-Locational + Experience – 2. Tourism Industry

3. Primordial vs Situational Heritage Identity

Cultural Identity as an ongoing process, politically contested and historically unfinished, and as always mixed, relational and inventive

Primordial Heritage Processes by which heritage identities and boundaries were originally created, modified and maintained.

Geographic and historic isolation resulting in cultural differences

Situational HeritageRegards heritage as ‘a set of processes and social relations, which may be invoked according to circumstances’ (Hitchcock, 1999: 21). e.g.: Tourism turns culture into a commodity and heritage is modified to accommodate the visitors and the locals

Situational Heritage ALWAYS Dominates Primordial Authenticity in defining heritage identity (Hitchcock 1999)


1. Experience – 2. Tourism Industry – 3. Situational


1. Experience – 2. Host Community – 3. Premordial


1. Product-Factual – 2. State Regulation – 3. Premordial


1. Product-Locational + Experience – 2. Tourism Industry - 3. Primordial+Situational

4. Simulations and DissimulationsBaudrillard (1995)

Dissimulation = the masking of reality by presupposing its absolute existence

= the inauthenticity of Product AuthenticityProduct Authenticity can never be absolutely confirmed

Simulation = ‘devours’ reality, leaving nothing except signs which merely refer to each other

‘Reality’ created and supported by mass mediaDisneyland as a Virtual RealityFilm & Movie TourismBut also - Ethnic Histories / Traditions / Identities

= Social inventions and the recycling of myths

Similar to: Situational Authenticity


1. Experience – 2. Tourism Industry – 3. Situational – 4. Simulation


1. Experience – 2. Host Community – 3. Premordial – 4. Dissimulation


1. Product-Factual – 2. State Regulation – 3. Premordial – 4. Dissimulation


1. Product-Locational + Experience – 2. Tourism Industry - 3. Primordial+Situational – 4. Simulation

5. Objective, Constructive & Existential Authenticity (Ning Wang 1999)

Objective Authenticity Authenticity of objects; “Objective” measures

Constructive Authenticity Socially constructed authenticityBelievability based on points of view, beliefs, perspectives, or power elitesRelative, negotiable, contextually determined, and even ideological

Existential Authenticity Personal subjective feelings of authenticityCan be unrelated to Objective or Constructive authenticity4 Types: Bodily feelings, Self-making, Family ties, Touristic communitas


1. Experience – 2. Tourism Industry – 3. Situational – 4. Simulation – 5. Constructive


1. Experience – 2. Host Community – 3. Premordial – 4. Dissimulation – 5. Existential


1. Product-Factual – 2. State Regulation – 3. Premordial – 4. Dissimulation– 5. Objective


1. Product-Locational + Experience – 2. Tourism Industry - 3. Primordial+Situational– 5. Existential (body feelings?)

Scales of Authenticity in Theme Towns

Spontaneous Retail DistrictsDeveloped unselfconsciously over a long period of timeHigher Object Authenticity - Lower Existential Authenticity

Renovation ProgramsUsually part of a historic preservation effortAn attempt to preserve the past in an authentic manner

False FacadesPlaced over existing store frontsThese include many Western and European theme towns

Recreated DowntownsNewly created shopping centers emulating images of a specific theme; the Postmodern “Simulcra” and the “Fantasy City”

“Main Street” in Disneyland; Las Vegas Casinos Lower Object Authenticity - Higher Experiential Authenticity

Theme Town Formation Revisited

Original Factors Influencing Theme Town Formation Economic Restructuring – pushing change Mass Images – framing change Architectural Resources – level of ‘authenticity’ Location / Access – resource & visitor markets Cultural Heritage / History – a human resource

Other Factors – as seen through the Case StudiesLocal Agency

• Identifiable Individuals often serve as spark of change Local Politics

• Multiple interpretations of themes is common– One usually predominates + guides development

Negotiation of Authenticity, Meaning and Significance• Multiple interpretations of ‘Success’ and ‘Quality’

– economic, cultural, social, design, others?…

My Heritage Can Beat Up Your History

• History is:1. A Product Feature

2. Government & Hosts

3. Primordial

4. A Simulation

5. Objective

• Heritage is:1. Experiential

2. Tourist Industry & Tourist

3. Situational

4. A Dissimulation

5. Constructed and Existential

Sources1. Authenticity as a Product Feature vs. Authenticity as

Experience• Athinodoros Chronis and Ronald D. Hampton, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Authenticity

at Gettysburg. Advances in Consumer Research - V33, 2006 – pp.367-368

2. Stakeholders and Negotiation in Authenticity• Philip Feifan Xie, A Life Cycle Model for Aboriginal Arts Performance in Tourism: Perspectives on Authenticity,

J of Sustainable Tourism, V.14, N.6, 2006, pp.545-561and

• Stroma Cole, 2007. Beyond Authenticity and Commodification. Annals of Tourism Research v.34, N.4, pp.943-960/

3. Primordial vs Situational Authenticity• Hitchcock, m. 1999. Tourism and ethnicity: Situational perspectives. International Journal of Tourism Research

1, 17–32

4. Simulations and Dissimulations• Baudrillard, Jean. 1995. Sociedade de consumo, A. Rio de Janeiro. Elfos.

5. Objective, Constructive & Existential Authencity• Ning Wang. 199. Rethinking Authencity in Tourism Experience. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol.26, No.2,

pp.349-370.

defining place authenticity: my heritage can beat up your history

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