Doctoral Dissertation Research: An Ethnographic Study of Memory Entrepreneurship and Community

该奖项支持的研究调查了社区如何驾驭遗产旅游业。2016年，非商务旅行为全球经济贡献了7.6万亿美元，为美国经济贡献了5000亿美元。然而，对于一些社区来说，遗产旅游可能是一种祝福和诅咒。一方面，它承诺提供必要的经济支持和文化保护。然而，这些经济机会有时可能需要贬低地方特性的商品化和标准化。了解为什么人们参与遗产旅游和他们使用的战略，以渠道其机会富有成效，将告知方案和政策，以更公正地代表不同的经济，社会和文化利益的地方社区在美国。研究结果还将帮助社会科学家更好地了解传统创业的影响和美国文化多样性的未来。这项研究将由印第安纳州大学博士生道格拉斯D. Peach在丹尼尔B医生的支持和监督下里德这项研究将在沿海的南卡罗来纳州进行，那里的非商务旅行是该地区最大的雇主。研究人员将专注于Gullah Geechees，一个拥有独特文化和语言的非裔美国人社区，并将使用音乐及其表演作为调查的主要透镜。为了了解Gullah Geechees和新兴遗产旅游业之间的关系，合作伙伴将专注于以下问题：Gullah Geechees在遗产创业中使用的表演策略（如品牌，美学，历史叙事）是什么？哪些因素决定了Gullah Geechee如何参与围绕其文化遗产的活动？该研究还将调查非洲裔美国人旅行者和来自非洲的游客，以及国家，州和地方政治当局如何影响Gullah Geechees参与的遗产旅行的背景。本研究采三种方法搜集资料：参与观察、访谈、媒体搜集与分析。这个民族志知情的研究将解释如何少数民族社区管理他们的遗产，在不断变化的话语和文化上适当的手段，社会，经济和政治流动性。该研究将有助于将文化多样性作为一种故意构建的理论，而不是当代社会的静态或特定特征。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The research supported by this award investigates how communities navigate the heritage travel industry. Non-business travel contributed $7.6 trillion dollars to the global economy and $500 billion dollars to the United States economy in 2016. However, for some communities, heritage travel can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it promises needed economic support and cultural preservation. Yet, these economic opportunities may require sometimes demeaning commodification and standardization of local identities. Understanding why people participate in heritage travel and the strategies they use to channel its opportunities productively, will inform programs and policies to represent more justly the diverse economic, social, and cultural interests of local communities in the United States. Findings from the research will also help social scientists better understand the effects of heritage entrepreneurship and the future of American cultural diversity. The research will be undertaken by Indiana University doctoral student Douglas D. Peach, with the support and oversight of Dr. Daniel B. Reed. The research will be conducted in coastal South Carolina, where non-business travel is the region's largest employer. The researcher will focus on Gullah Geechees, a community of African Americans with a unique culture and language, and will use music and its performance as the primary lens of investigation. To understand the relationship between Gullah Geechees and the emergent heritage travel industry, the Co-PI will focus on the following questions: What are the performative strategies (such as, branding, aesthetics, historical narratives) used by Gullah Geechees for identification in heritage entrepreneurship? What factors shape how Gullah Geechees participate in initiatives surrounding their cultural heritage? The research will also investigate how African-American travelers and visitors from Africa, as well as national, state, and local political authorities influence the contexts of heritage travel in which Gullah Geechees participate. The research uses three methods for gathering data: participant observation, interviews, and the collection and analysis of media. This ethnographically informed study will explain how a minority community manages their heritage, amidst shifting discourses and culturally appropriate means, for social, economic, and political mobility. The research will contribute to theories of cultural diversity as a deliberately constructed rather than a static or given feature of contemporary societies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.