Sombreros and Motorcycles in a Newer South
The Politics of Aesthetics in South Carolina's Tourism Industry
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5704284 |
|---|---|
| Authors | B Martins (0000-0003-1961-8188), B W Martins (0000-0003-3098-6053, Middle Tennessee State University, corresponding author), B Martin |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 100 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 920-921 |
| Publication date | 2013-12-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of American History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8723 • E-ISSN: 1945-2314 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jahist/jat420 |
| OpenAlex | W2327727356 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
In the last decade several scholars have revealed tourism's transformative influence on the culture and economy of the U.S. South. P. Nicole King, an assistant professor of American studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, contributes to this growing body of work with her book Sombreros and Motorcycles in a Newer South. Exploring the complex racial landscapes of two South Carolina tourist sites, South of the Border and Atlantic Beach, she explores the interplay between politics, aesthetics, and tourism in a “newer South,” which she defines as a post-1970s regional consciousness that has endured through rapid change and mobility. Following the introduction, which presents the theoretical concepts of the study and provides the historical context for the development of South Carolina's modern tourism industry, King shifts her focus to South of the Border, a popular campy roadside attraction on the North Carolina–South Carolina border. Alan Schaffer, a local entrepreneur who was the force behind the creation and evolution of South of the Border, used his outsider status as a southern Jewish businessman to create one of the most recognized kitschy tourism attractions in the nation from what was a small bar. As King points out, Schaffer was a shrewd promoter who was not afraid to generate controversy by adopting the stereotypical aesthetics of Mexicans to lure tourists off the highway. Yet Schaffer negotiated racial attitudes and regional politics to make South of the Border an enduring and irreverent icon of the southern tourism landscape
Archaeology · Context (archaeology · Environmental ethics · Political science · Politics · Sociology · South carolina · Tourism · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · History · Law · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Public Administration · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts
| Citations per year | 0.25 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2018 - 2023 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |