ANTH 3559 - University of Virginia

each country we visit students are expected to consider, apply and test the various theories we
are reading about and discussing in class.
!. Field Lab:
Students in this class are required to go on the class Field Lab, and to participate actively in the
follow-up discussion in class. The field lab is listed below:
PA-L1 FIELD LAB: ANTHROPOLOGY OF TOURISM [ADAMS] (Friday, 5 June, 0900-1600) :Assessing the
Touristic Transformation of Casco Viejo (old Panama City)
This Field Lab takes us to Casco Viejo, the striking historic area of Panama City that was named a
World Heritage Site in 1997 and has undergone dramatic touristic gentrification in recent years. A
walking tour will take us to the local Fish Market, along the ramparts, to a variety of local businesses
(to a local crafts gallery/studio, to a plaza where Kuna sell molas, etc) and will enable us to talk with
various stakeholders about what the touristic redevelopment of Casco Viejo has meant to them.
Ultimately, our visit will give us an opportunity to assess the extent to which Casco Viejo’s touristic
transformation has contributed to UN Millennium Development Goals. Following lunch in Casco
Viejo, we have tentatively planned a visitto the soon-to-open Frank Gehry-designed Museum of
Biodiversity, a museum that it is expected to bring in foreign tourists. At this site we will have a 30
minute discussion with the museum’s communication department about the vision for the museum
and how it interfaces with Panama’s tourism planning.
2. Tourism Site Analysis:
Students in this class are required to analyze one of the many tourist sites we will be visiting as
part of this voyage. You may work alone or in teams (I recommend teams), although each student
will write his or her own paper analyzing the site in terms of class concepts and in terms of the
ways in which the sites intersects for better or for worse with UN Mill. Development goals (or the
site’s potential for doing so). We will discuss this project in more detail in class. Some possible
relevant port activities to consider for this written assignment:
-A city orientation tour in any port. (What sorts of sites are featured? Which parts of the city are
avoided / not highlighted-any speculations why? How are those featured sites framed and/ or
sacralized? Who (ethnically/nationally/culturally/class-wise) is the tour guide? The driver? Can you
discern any tourism hierarchies from making observations about those you see in the tourism
sector on this tour?)
-Visit a cultural/ ethnic /national history museum tour in any port (I recommend the Museum of the
Revolution in Havana. As you visit the museum, ask yourself: What history is depicted in the
museum? Which indigenous groups are featured in the displays? Which are missing? What sort
imagery is projected about each group? Which parts of the nation’s history are featured? Missing?
Who visits the museum? Any locals? What exhibits do they most closely attend to? Does this
contrast with what foreign tourists attend to? Who (ethnically/nationally/culturally/class-wise) is the
museum guide? Tour guide? Driver? Can you discern any tourism hierarchies from making
observations about those you see in the tourism sector on this tour? What kind of food is sold at
the museum café? Souvenirs in the museum shop? Do these give you clues as to the target
market for the museum?)
-A tour of an ethnic village/homeland (one that is in the habit of receiving visitors)—meet with
those involved in tourism and discuss their experiences (e.g. local artisans who sell to tourists,
9