Erik Cohen - Böcker

After years of study of mainstream tourism in Thailand, brought together in two volumes the author realized the existence of a multiplicity of tourist phenomena and events of considerable interest but as yet unexplored in tourism research. These were conducted in the course of the last four years via a series of case studies of these phenomena. This book brings these studies together, providing them with a unifying theoretical background and drawing from them broader theoretical and ethical conclusions.Contemporary Thailand is marked by processes of rapid social transformation, economic and communicative globalization, and the commodification of culture and environment. These processes lead to the juxtaposition of diverse, often conflicting, cultural domains, economic interests and political aims, which engender conflicts in many fields, but these are particularly salient in tourist situations. This book explores the different dynamics of a variety of such situations and show how they are shaped by these incongruities and conflicts. While the case studies will be analyzed on the background of the Thai context, the theoretical implications of the analyses will be of more general significance. By presenting a number of apparently unrelated case studies, and linking them in a common conceptual framework, the book will be an innovative theoretical and methodological contribution to tourism studies.

These original articles relate to major themes in the comparative study of the dynamics of cultures, modernization, and social and political change. The authors, ranking scholars in their fields, provide fresh and important insights to the study of topics such as the interface of anthropological and sociological theory, the dynamics of Latin Americ

This book includes essays that provide fresh and important insights to the study of topics such as the interface of anthropological and sociological theory, the dynamics of Latin American and Asian societies, and social change in Israel and in developing countries.

Examines the backpacking trip usually taken by Israeli youth following military service.In the period after their military service, Jewish Israeli youth customarily embark on a unique touristic practice: the backpacking trip. Combining sociological, anthropological, and psychological research-based on innovative fieldwork conducted with Israeli backpackers in Israel and abroad-this book depicts the complex relationship between the traveling youth and their society of origin. Via a perspective the editors term "outside-in," we learn how social and cultural tensions and tenets, identities, fantasies, and preoccupations are acted out within a symbolic, touristic space by scores of Israeli youth.

Examines the backpacking trip usually taken by Israeli youth following military service.In the period after their military service, Jewish Israeli youth customarily embark on a unique touristic practice: the backpacking trip. Combining sociological, anthropological, and psychological research-based on innovative fieldwork conducted with Israeli backpackers in Israel and abroad-this book depicts the complex relationship between the traveling youth and their society of origin. Via a perspective the editors term "outside-in," we learn how social and cultural tensions and tenets, identities, fantasies, and preoccupations are acted out within a symbolic, touristic space by scores of Israeli youth.