Danielle LaSusa | Southwest Minnesota State University (original) (raw)
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Papers by Danielle LaSusa
The Philosophical Forum, 2007
Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found ... more Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops.-Kurt Vonnegut 2 Until now, the question and study of contemporary tourism has been largely addressed by sociologists, anthropologists, and those who practice "cultural studies," but rarely by philosophers. Even less popular, among all of these communities, is a focused look at the tourist's practice of collecting souvenirs: the habit of returning home from a trip carrying suitcases packed with foreign art pieces, miniature statuettes, key chains inscribed with state names, magnets, T-shirts, bottles of sand, etc. Perhaps there are those in the philosophical community who would consider such an investigation beyond the scope of philosophyfor, indeed, it has been neglected and all but ignored by philosophers. Although souvenir collecting may be thought of as simply a quirky element of family vacations, I believe a closer look at this activity will reveal a rich and unique insight into a variety of philosophical issues. A product of modernity, tourismand by extension, the tourist-has become symbolic, for many social theorists, of the modern and postmodern condition and how modern members of society interact with the world. Thus, one of the primary activities of the tourist-souvenir collecting-should be considered important in the illumination of various elements of the modern and postmodern state of being-in-the-world. It gives insight, I will argue, into the contemporary person's relationship to identity and 1 I would like to thank Susan Feagin, Nöel Carrol, Lewis Gordon, Robert Money, and Jo Ellen Jacobs for remarks that have improved the final form of this article. Also, I am especially grateful to Paul C. Taylor for his careful and detailed comments on several drafts.
This project offers a unique contribution to the scholarship on Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of... more This project offers a unique contribution to the scholarship on Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of bad faith by providing a sustained exploration of bad faith in the context of contemporary tourism. More specifically, I explore the bad faith of what I call "checklist tourism," which defines the tourist trip as a rapid succession of visits from one "must-see" site to the next, snapping photos and collecting souvenirs along the way. I argue that checklist tourism offers a safe and comfortable structure for travel that protects tourists against Sartrean anguish--that is, the experience of alienation, fear, freedom, and responsibility--that travel can sometimes evoke. This analysis contributes to the literature on bad faith in three main ways. First, I provide an extended analysis of the Sartrean spirit of seriousness, highlighting part of this concept that has thus far been underdeveloped in the scholarship. I argue that checklist tourism manifests the spirit of seri...
Sartre Studies International, 2013
Teaching Documents by Danielle LaSusa
The Philosophical Forum, 2007
Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found ... more Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops.-Kurt Vonnegut 2 Until now, the question and study of contemporary tourism has been largely addressed by sociologists, anthropologists, and those who practice "cultural studies," but rarely by philosophers. Even less popular, among all of these communities, is a focused look at the tourist's practice of collecting souvenirs: the habit of returning home from a trip carrying suitcases packed with foreign art pieces, miniature statuettes, key chains inscribed with state names, magnets, T-shirts, bottles of sand, etc. Perhaps there are those in the philosophical community who would consider such an investigation beyond the scope of philosophyfor, indeed, it has been neglected and all but ignored by philosophers. Although souvenir collecting may be thought of as simply a quirky element of family vacations, I believe a closer look at this activity will reveal a rich and unique insight into a variety of philosophical issues. A product of modernity, tourismand by extension, the tourist-has become symbolic, for many social theorists, of the modern and postmodern condition and how modern members of society interact with the world. Thus, one of the primary activities of the tourist-souvenir collecting-should be considered important in the illumination of various elements of the modern and postmodern state of being-in-the-world. It gives insight, I will argue, into the contemporary person's relationship to identity and 1 I would like to thank Susan Feagin, Nöel Carrol, Lewis Gordon, Robert Money, and Jo Ellen Jacobs for remarks that have improved the final form of this article. Also, I am especially grateful to Paul C. Taylor for his careful and detailed comments on several drafts.
This project offers a unique contribution to the scholarship on Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of... more This project offers a unique contribution to the scholarship on Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of bad faith by providing a sustained exploration of bad faith in the context of contemporary tourism. More specifically, I explore the bad faith of what I call "checklist tourism," which defines the tourist trip as a rapid succession of visits from one "must-see" site to the next, snapping photos and collecting souvenirs along the way. I argue that checklist tourism offers a safe and comfortable structure for travel that protects tourists against Sartrean anguish--that is, the experience of alienation, fear, freedom, and responsibility--that travel can sometimes evoke. This analysis contributes to the literature on bad faith in three main ways. First, I provide an extended analysis of the Sartrean spirit of seriousness, highlighting part of this concept that has thus far been underdeveloped in the scholarship. I argue that checklist tourism manifests the spirit of seri...
Sartre Studies International, 2013