TGPodcast #62: Defining Place Authenticity: My Heritage Can Beat Up Your History

This is a Travel Geography Podcast related post (click on the title above to download the .mp3 file)

This is a recording of a classroom presentation made by me in April 2008 at the National University of Singapore. The entire podcast is 50+ minutes long. I do two things in this podcast: (1) discuss four thematic communities / retail districts in the state of Oregon (Sisters, Junction City, Oakland and Florence) -- based on my Master's Thesis from many years ago; and (2) discusses five perspectives on authenticity which are then applied to the four cases studies. There is also some background perspectives on the issue of authenticity and some conclusions at the end.

The powerpoint slides for this presentatin can be found here:
http://www.slideshare.net/alew/slideshows

I also created the Slidecast, below. However, I had a hell of a time working with the interface -- not sure what the problem was. So only the first few slides are synchronized with the lecture. You have to make your own way through the remainder.

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Direct download: TGPod62-13Apr08-Defining-Authenticity.mp3

G4T #55: Mike Pesses on Authentic Spaces of Bicycle Tourism

This is a Geography for Travelers Podcast related post (click on the title above to download the .mp3 file)

This is another presentation from the Association of American Geographers annual meeting in San Francisco, California, April 12-21, 2007. Here is the abstract from the AAG.org website:

Author: Michael W. Pesses - California State University, Northridge

Abstract:
In the past thirty years, bicycle touring has become a legitimate form of tourism. This paper serves as an attempt to examine bicycle touring as an "authentic" form of tourism as well as to examine how the trip affects the bicycle tourist's sense of identity. Through a qualitative analysis of the journals of bicycle tourists, this paper will look into how authentic space and authentic experiences affect the individual's concept of identity and self. The authenticity of the toured space is in constant tension with existential authenticity; one cannot exist without the other in bicycle touring. To find meaning in one's travels, and consequently in one's life, both forms of authenticity are constantly being challenged by the experience and the landscape.
Keywords: Tourism-bicycle, authenticity, landscape, produced spaces

Also mentioned in the podcast intro:

• B.E.S.T. Eduction Network Think Tank/Conference
• Photos from my Alaska cruise
• This original blog post (for sploggers)