Tarzan Was an Eco-tourist

Luis Vivanco is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Vermont. His research focuses on the cultural politics of environmentalism and ecotourism in Latin America. He is author of Green Encounters: Shaping and Contesting Environmentalism in Rural Costa Rica (Berghahn Books, 2006).

“The editors and the authors of the essays in this book have made a clear attempt to unravel the complexity of adventure, including a re-affirmation of the importance of Simmel’s seminal essays on adventure and the Alpine journey, and in doing so have offered the reader some fascinating analyses of adventure in contemporary society.”  ·  Environmental Sciences“An important strength of this collection is the ethnographic grounding of the chapters, which directly engage rich ethnographic understandings with Simmel’s work. This book is a useful addition to the anthropological literature on travel and tourism, and it is a pleasurable adventure to read.”  ·  American Anthropologist

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsNotes on ContributorsChapter 1. IntroductionRobert J. GordonPART I: THE ADVENTUROUS WORLDS OF SIMMEL AND TARZANChapter 2. Simmel and Frazer: The Adventure and the AdventurerAram A. YengoyanChapter 3. Adventure in the Zeitgeist, Adventures in Reality: Simmel, Tarzan, and BeyondDaniel BradburdChapter 4. Tarzan and the Lost Races: Anthropology and Early Science FictionAlan BarnardChapter 5. Avant-garde or Savant-garde: The Eco-Tourist as TarzanA. David NapierPART II: EXHIBITIONARY ADVENTURESChapter 6. They Sold Adventure: Martin and Osa Johnson in the New HebridesLamont LindstromChapter 7. Jacaré: Cold War Warrior from the Jungles of the AmazonNeil L. WhiteheadChapter 8. The Work of Environmentalism in an Age of Televisual AdventuresLuis A. VivancoPART III: HIGH ADVENTURESChapter 9. Five Miles Out: Communion and Commodification among the MountaineersDavid L.R. HoustonChapter 10. Crampons and Cook Pots: The Democratization and Feminizations of Adventure on AconcaguaJoy LoganChapter 11. The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love: The Peace Corps as AdventureMichael J. Sheridan and Jason J. PriceChapter 12. Doing Africa: Travelers, Adventurers, and American Conquest of AfricaKathryn Mathers and Laura HubbardPART IV: CROSS-CULTURAL ADVENTURESChapter 13. “Oh Shucks, Here Comes UNTAG!”: Peacekeeping as Adventure in NamibiaRobert J. GordonChapter 14. A Head for AdventureSteven RubensteinPART V: BRINGING ADVENTURE HOMEChapter 15. Riding Herd on the New World Order: Spectacular Adventuring and U.S. ImperialismKeally McBrideChapter 16. Adventure and Regulation in Contemporary Anthropological FieldworkDavid StollBibliographyIndex