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Shifting positions

Trent University, Canada, Jharrison{at}trentu.ca

This article discusses the research methodologies used to gain an understanding of what the touristic/cottage experience meant to a group of Canadians who traveled internationally on a regular basis; and a sampling Ontario second home tourists, or cottagers. Spatial, temporal and cultural constraints prevented me from engaging in traditional models of participant observation with them. The article details how I selected my subjects; how I positioned myself in relation to them to find out what I needed to know; and how I gained insight into th affective dimensions of these experiences. I argue here that mobile populations suc as tourists prompt a continual shifting of the ethnographic `I', challenging any taken-for-granted notions of how ethnography is best done. I end with reflections o the tensions between single/multi-sited ethnographic positionings and my research with these two groups of tourists.

Key Words: Canadian • cottage • cottage country • home • interviews • middle class • Ontario • second home tourists • tourist

Tourist Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1, 41-59 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1468797608094928


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