The language of super-elite tourism

Thurlow, Crispin (24 June 2016). The language of super-elite tourism (Unpublished). In: Ways of Seeing, Ways of Being: Representing the Voices of Tourism. Bergamo, Italien. 23.-25.06.2016.

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This presentation arises from my discourse-ethnographic research on so called luxury tourism and other modes of super-elite travel. This research is underpinned by a desire to renew sociolinguistic/discourse analytic commitments to social class and to centre elitism as an everyday accomplishment at the heart of social inequality. In the presentation, I will examine a range of multimodal data from multiple sites and genres to show how the symbolic economies of super-elite travel hinge on an artful criss-crossing and mixing of semiotic resources. It is this clever rhetorical game which helps sustain an oxymoronic world of “affordable luxury” and “red carpet privileges for all” – a world where elite status appears expansive and inclusive while remaining restricted and exclusive. In keeping with the theme of this conference, I want to show how we are nowadays being constantly taught to see elitism as desirable and to imagine ourselves being elite. Indeed, tourism is a powerful site for both the promotion of luxury and distinction, and for the normalization of privilege/inequality.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Division/Institute:	06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies > Institute of English Languages and Literatures 06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies > Institute of English Languages and Literatures > Modern English Linguistics
UniBE Contributor:	Thurlow, Crispin
Subjects:	400 Language 400 Language > 410 Linguistics 400 Language > 420 English & Old English languages
Language:	English
Submitter:	Federico Erba
Date Deposited:	27 Apr 2017 15:56
Last Modified:	14 Mar 2024 12:31
Additional Information:	An International Conference hosted by CERLIS
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/93767