Souvenir
Series: Object Lessons
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Published: Mar 08, 2018
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 144
ISBN-13: 9781501329418
Description: "Or as long as people have traveled to distant lands, they have brought home objects to certify the journey. More than mere merchandise, these travel souvenirs take on a personal and cultural meaning that goes beyond the object itself. Drawing on several millennia of examples--from the relic-driven quests of early Christians, to the mass-produced tchotchkes that line the shelves of a Disney gift shop--travel writer Rolf Potts delves into a complicated history that explores issues of authenticity, cultural obligation, market forces, human suffering, and self-presentation. More than just objects, souvenirs are a personalized form of folk storytelling that enable people to make sense of the world and their place in it"--