The Implications of Lacanian Theory for Understanding Authenticity in Tourism

University of Nottingham - Travel Cultures Network and Development Studies Association - Tourism Study Group  

2017-2018 seminar series:  Authenticity and Development Discourses in Tourism

Guest Speaker: Professor Daniel Knudsen, Indiana University 
The Implications of Lacanian Theory for Understanding Authenticity in Tourism

In light of the introduction of Lacanian theory to discussions on authenticity, current categorizations of authenticity cannot do the concept justice. Given that authenticity functions at both the unconscious and conscious levels, only performative approaches can hope to capture the full richness of the term, for it is only in action, which is partly explicable and partly inexplicable, that the contours of authenticity emerge. We also must consider how desire that is both conditioned by society and embodied in certain ways when at home, might be conditioned by society and embodied in alternative ways when on tour. This, in turn, leads to reconsideration of the role of ergic and ludic behaviors of tourists while on tour which spill over into the realm of host-guest interactions, power-relations and ultimately the manner in which tourism sites develop. Finally, a Lacanian point of view demands a more serious consideration of postmodern authenticity.