Karen Stocker is assistant professor of anthropology at California State University, Fullerton. Her publications include Historias Matambugueñas (1995) and "I Won't Stay Indian, I'll Keep Studying": Race, Place, and Discrimination in a Costa Rican High School (2005).

“Based on nearly two decades of field research in Costa Rica, Karen Stocker explores a range of tourism projects in that country—from indigenous attempts to ‘brand’ their unique cultural traditions, to eco-tourism, to resorts appealing to both Costa Rican clientèle and international tourists. Stocker provides a much more nuanced tourism analysis than most studies. She navigates the complexities of both the benefits (achieved and potential) vs. the negative impacts of tourism and shows the multiplex ways in which the providers and consumers respond to these complexities. She concludes by offering recommendations by which the various participants might practice a ‘responsible tourism.’”

• Revised Table of Contents:Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Methodological ConsiderationsAn Anthropologist, a Quaker, and Porn Star Walk Into a Bar: Participant ObservationInterviewsAn Invitation to Insight: Methodological Insights and Considerations of ObjectivityMetiche Anthropology, “Characters,” and Contributions. Engaged AnthropologyEthical Considerations and ConsentA Globalized Context for Localized ResearchChapter 3: Community Portraits: Two Beach TownsPlaya del Carmen: A “Locally-Owned” Beach TownWho Counts as a Local: Costa Rican-Foreigner Interaction and PerceptionsOn Locals and Outsiders: Varied LabelsExpat ExperiencesSegregated SpacesPersistence of Local CultureTourism-Related Changes: Cost of Living, Corruption, and WaterPlaya Extranjera: A Foreign-Owned Beach TownLocals: All or NothingChanging Populations and Foreign Locals’ ExperiencesDrugs, Prostitution, and Development“Feels Like Home”: Catering to ForeignersOverdevelopment, Water, and Tico ResistanceChapter 4: Nambué, The Chorotega Reservation: Portrait of a Community on the Cusp of TourismIndigeneity in Flux: The Reservation’s HistoryChanging Indigenous Identities: From Shame to PrideTourism as a Motivator for Revitalization of Tradition and Chorotega Customs MaintainedWitchcraft and Oral TraditionGlobalization and More Recent ConcernsDivision and Unity: Community Life in the ReservationCommunity ChangesLand Rights, Water, and Community ConcernsChapter 5: Montañosa, The Rainforest Community“Facets of a Diamond”: Official Histories of MontañosaWho Counts as a Local: Complex CategoriesQuaker Comments on Local Belonging: Language and CommunityTico Perceptions of QuakersConservation and Religious Philosophy EnactedSocial IntegrationSegregated SpacesThe Effects of ChangeChanging Economies: From Farming to TourismFrom Ecotourism to Adventure Tourism and their Respective ClienteleThe Commission System and Competition Among BusinessesFrom Agriculture to Tourism and Back AgainCommunity Concerns and the Downsides of Tourism: Water Issues, Drugs, ProstitutionThe Larger ContextChapter 6: “The Cows Will Be Your University!”: Positive Effects of TourismChanging Gender Roles“Art Has Been Like a Medicine for Us”The Jam Revolution: A Second Women’s CooperativeDancing While Washing the ClothesNew Challenges for the CooperativePositive Effects of TourismJobs and Education, Broadly DefinedInfrastructureCross-Cultural UnderstandingConservationChapter 7: Negative Effects of TourismDrug Trade and AbuseWhat Happens in Vegas…ProstitutionSex Tourism and Romance Tourism: Variations on a Theme?Muddying the Waters. How “Eco” is Ecotourism?Additional ConcernsThe Trade-Offs of TourismChapter 8: Performing Local Life on the Reservation“Patenting the Pueblo”: A Trademark for TraditionTourism, the Commodification of Culture, and Authenticating Cultural PracticesFrom Stigma to Economic ValueChorotega TM: Local ProductsSymbolizing Indigeneity. Media and Other InfluencesOwnership of Tradition through Corporate StrategyLocal Disputes over Cultural OwnershipLocal Festivals and Culture Performed for InsidersInsiders and Outsiders. A Relative MatterObstacles to the TrademarkPerforming Indigeneity in the ReservationChapter 9: Performing Identity in the Other Communities of StudyHeritage Tourism and AuthenticityBranding NaturePerforming Local LifeScripted Lives and Sanitized Tours Sustainability, Locally-Owned, Organic, Fair Trade, and Family-Owned: Marketable LabelsBob Marley in Costa RicaParallel PerformancesMarketing the NationPerformance of Identity among Tourists and OthersChapter 10: Sanitized Tours of Exploitable Work Zones. The Nexus of Tourism and Its Alternatives“Learning to Walk through Mud Without Getting Muddy”: Bananera MemoriesChapter 11: Striking a Balance: Possibilities for Responsible TourismRecommendations for TouristsRecommendations to Potential Expatriates or Foreign ResidentsAdvice from Expats for ExpatsRecommendations for Costa Rican Towns or the National GovernmentTrade-Offs, Revisited

Karen Stocker is assistant professor of anthropology at California State University, Fullerton. Her publications include Historias Matambugueñas (1995) and "I Won't Stay Indian, I'll Keep Studying": Race, Place, and Discrimination in a Costa Rican High School (2005).

“Based on nearly two decades of field research in Costa Rica, Karen Stocker explores a range of tourism projects in that country—from indigenous attempts to ‘brand’ their unique cultural traditions, to eco-tourism, to resorts appealing to both Costa Rican clientèle and international tourists. Stocker provides a much more nuanced tourism analysis than most studies. She navigates the complexities of both the benefits (achieved and potential) vs. the negative impacts of tourism and shows the multiplex ways in which the providers and consumers respond to these complexities. She concludes by offering recommendations by which the various participants might practice a ‘responsible tourism.’”

• Revised Table of Contents:Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Methodological ConsiderationsAn Anthropologist, a Quaker, and Porn Star Walk Into a Bar: Participant ObservationInterviewsAn Invitation to Insight: Methodological Insights and Considerations of ObjectivityMetiche Anthropology, “Characters,” and Contributions. Engaged AnthropologyEthical Considerations and ConsentA Globalized Context for Localized ResearchChapter 3: Community Portraits: Two Beach TownsPlaya del Carmen: A “Locally-Owned” Beach TownWho Counts as a Local: Costa Rican-Foreigner Interaction and PerceptionsOn Locals and Outsiders: Varied LabelsExpat ExperiencesSegregated SpacesPersistence of Local CultureTourism-Related Changes: Cost of Living, Corruption, and WaterPlaya Extranjera: A Foreign-Owned Beach TownLocals: All or NothingChanging Populations and Foreign Locals’ ExperiencesDrugs, Prostitution, and Development“Feels Like Home”: Catering to ForeignersOverdevelopment, Water, and Tico ResistanceChapter 4: Nambué, The Chorotega Reservation: Portrait of a Community on the Cusp of TourismIndigeneity in Flux: The Reservation’s HistoryChanging Indigenous Identities: From Shame to PrideTourism as a Motivator for Revitalization of Tradition and Chorotega Customs MaintainedWitchcraft and Oral TraditionGlobalization and More Recent ConcernsDivision and Unity: Community Life in the ReservationCommunity ChangesLand Rights, Water, and Community ConcernsChapter 5: Montañosa, The Rainforest Community“Facets of a Diamond”: Official Histories of MontañosaWho Counts as a Local: Complex CategoriesQuaker Comments on Local Belonging: Language and CommunityTico Perceptions of QuakersConservation and Religious Philosophy EnactedSocial IntegrationSegregated SpacesThe Effects of ChangeChanging Economies: From Farming to TourismFrom Ecotourism to Adventure Tourism and their Respective ClienteleThe Commission System and Competition Among BusinessesFrom Agriculture to Tourism and Back AgainCommunity Concerns and the Downsides of Tourism: Water Issues, Drugs, ProstitutionThe Larger ContextChapter 6: “The Cows Will Be Your University!”: Positive Effects of TourismChanging Gender Roles“Art Has Been Like a Medicine for Us”The Jam Revolution: A Second Women’s CooperativeDancing While Washing the ClothesNew Challenges for the CooperativePositive Effects of TourismJobs and Education, Broadly DefinedInfrastructureCross-Cultural UnderstandingConservationChapter 7: Negative Effects of TourismDrug Trade and AbuseWhat Happens in Vegas…ProstitutionSex Tourism and Romance Tourism: Variations on a Theme?Muddying the Waters. How “Eco” is Ecotourism?Additional ConcernsThe Trade-Offs of TourismChapter 8: Performing Local Life on the Reservation“Patenting the Pueblo”: A Trademark for TraditionTourism, the Commodification of Culture, and Authenticating Cultural PracticesFrom Stigma to Economic ValueChorotega TM: Local ProductsSymbolizing Indigeneity. Media and Other InfluencesOwnership of Tradition through Corporate StrategyLocal Disputes over Cultural OwnershipLocal Festivals and Culture Performed for InsidersInsiders and Outsiders. A Relative MatterObstacles to the TrademarkPerforming Indigeneity in the ReservationChapter 9: Performing Identity in the Other Communities of StudyHeritage Tourism and AuthenticityBranding NaturePerforming Local LifeScripted Lives and Sanitized Tours Sustainability, Locally-Owned, Organic, Fair Trade, and Family-Owned: Marketable LabelsBob Marley in Costa RicaParallel PerformancesMarketing the NationPerformance of Identity among Tourists and OthersChapter 10: Sanitized Tours of Exploitable Work Zones. The Nexus of Tourism and Its Alternatives“Learning to Walk through Mud Without Getting Muddy”: Bananera MemoriesChapter 11: Striking a Balance: Possibilities for Responsible TourismRecommendations for TouristsRecommendations to Potential Expatriates or Foreign ResidentsAdvice from Expats for ExpatsRecommendations for Costa Rican Towns or the National GovernmentTrade-Offs, Revisited

Karen Stocker is assistant professor of anthropology at California State University, Fullerton. Her publications include Historias Matambugueñas (1995) and "I Won't Stay Indian, I'll Keep Studying": Race, Place, and Discrimination in a Costa Rican High School (2005).

“Based on nearly two decades of field research in Costa Rica, Karen Stocker explores a range of tourism projects in that country—from indigenous attempts to ‘brand’ their unique cultural traditions, to eco-tourism, to resorts appealing to both Costa Rican clientèle and international tourists. Stocker provides a much more nuanced tourism analysis than most studies. She navigates the complexities of both the benefits (achieved and potential) vs. the negative impacts of tourism and shows the multiplex ways in which the providers and consumers respond to these complexities. She concludes by offering recommendations by which the various participants might practice a ‘responsible tourism.’”

• Revised Table of Contents:Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Methodological ConsiderationsAn Anthropologist, a Quaker, and Porn Star Walk Into a Bar: Participant ObservationInterviewsAn Invitation to Insight: Methodological Insights and Considerations of ObjectivityMetiche Anthropology, “Characters,” and Contributions. Engaged AnthropologyEthical Considerations and ConsentA Globalized Context for Localized ResearchChapter 3: Community Portraits: Two Beach TownsPlaya del Carmen: A “Locally-Owned” Beach TownWho Counts as a Local: Costa Rican-Foreigner Interaction and PerceptionsOn Locals and Outsiders: Varied LabelsExpat ExperiencesSegregated SpacesPersistence of Local CultureTourism-Related Changes: Cost of Living, Corruption, and WaterPlaya Extranjera: A Foreign-Owned Beach TownLocals: All or NothingChanging Populations and Foreign Locals’ ExperiencesDrugs, Prostitution, and Development“Feels Like Home”: Catering to ForeignersOverdevelopment, Water, and Tico ResistanceChapter 4: Nambué, The Chorotega Reservation: Portrait of a Community on the Cusp of TourismIndigeneity in Flux: The Reservation’s HistoryChanging Indigenous Identities: From Shame to PrideTourism as a Motivator for Revitalization of Tradition and Chorotega Customs MaintainedWitchcraft and Oral TraditionGlobalization and More Recent ConcernsDivision and Unity: Community Life in the ReservationCommunity ChangesLand Rights, Water, and Community ConcernsChapter 5: Montañosa, The Rainforest Community“Facets of a Diamond”: Official Histories of MontañosaWho Counts as a Local: Complex CategoriesQuaker Comments on Local Belonging: Language and CommunityTico Perceptions of QuakersConservation and Religious Philosophy EnactedSocial IntegrationSegregated SpacesThe Effects of ChangeChanging Economies: From Farming to TourismFrom Ecotourism to Adventure Tourism and their Respective ClienteleThe Commission System and Competition Among BusinessesFrom Agriculture to Tourism and Back AgainCommunity Concerns and the Downsides of Tourism: Water Issues, Drugs, ProstitutionThe Larger ContextChapter 6: “The Cows Will Be Your University!”: Positive Effects of TourismChanging Gender Roles“Art Has Been Like a Medicine for Us”The Jam Revolution: A Second Women’s CooperativeDancing While Washing the ClothesNew Challenges for the CooperativePositive Effects of TourismJobs and Education, Broadly DefinedInfrastructureCross-Cultural UnderstandingConservationChapter 7: Negative Effects of TourismDrug Trade and AbuseWhat Happens in Vegas…ProstitutionSex Tourism and Romance Tourism: Variations on a Theme?Muddying the Waters. How “Eco” is Ecotourism?Additional ConcernsThe Trade-Offs of TourismChapter 8: Performing Local Life on the Reservation“Patenting the Pueblo”: A Trademark for TraditionTourism, the Commodification of Culture, and Authenticating Cultural PracticesFrom Stigma to Economic ValueChorotega TM: Local ProductsSymbolizing Indigeneity. Media and Other InfluencesOwnership of Tradition through Corporate StrategyLocal Disputes over Cultural OwnershipLocal Festivals and Culture Performed for InsidersInsiders and Outsiders. A Relative MatterObstacles to the TrademarkPerforming Indigeneity in the ReservationChapter 9: Performing Identity in the Other Communities of StudyHeritage Tourism and AuthenticityBranding NaturePerforming Local LifeScripted Lives and Sanitized Tours Sustainability, Locally-Owned, Organic, Fair Trade, and Family-Owned: Marketable LabelsBob Marley in Costa RicaParallel PerformancesMarketing the NationPerformance of Identity among Tourists and OthersChapter 10: Sanitized Tours of Exploitable Work Zones. The Nexus of Tourism and Its Alternatives“Learning to Walk through Mud Without Getting Muddy”: Bananera MemoriesChapter 11: Striking a Balance: Possibilities for Responsible TourismRecommendations for TouristsRecommendations to Potential Expatriates or Foreign ResidentsAdvice from Expats for ExpatsRecommendations for Costa Rican Towns or the National GovernmentTrade-Offs, Revisited