Souvenir / Rolf Potts.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Potts, Rolf, author.

Series:

Object lessons.

Object lessons

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tourism--Social aspects.

Tourism.

Souvenirs (Keepsakes).

Souvenirs (Keepsakes)--Social aspects.

Physical Description:

illustrations. 1 online resource (145 pages).

Distribution:

London, England : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020

Place of Publication:

London, England : Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.

Summary:

"Or as long as people have traveled to distant lands, they have brought home objects to certify the journey. More than mere merchandise, these travel souvenirs take on a personal and cultural meaning that goes beyond the object itself. Drawing on several millennia of examples--from the relic-driven quests of early Christians, to the mass-produced tchotchkes that line the shelves of a Disney gift shop--travel writer Rolf Potts delves into a complicated history that explores issues of authenticity, cultural obligation, market forces, human suffering, and self-presentation. More than just objects, souvenirs are a personalized form of folk storytelling that enable people to make sense of the world and their place in it"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: an embarrassment of Eiffel Towers

Souvenirs in the age of pilgrimage

Souvenirs in the age of Enlightenment

Interlude: museums of the personal

Souvenirs in the age of mechanical reproduction

Souvenirs and human suffering

Souvenirs and (the complicated notion of) authenticity

Souvenirs, memory, and the shortness of life.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 111-115) and index.

ISBN:

9781501329432

150132943X

9781501329425

1501329421

OCLC:

1201426516