Date of Award

Spring 2012

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Foreign Languages

First Thesis Reader

Carmen Sanjuán-Pastor

Second Thesis Reader

Fazia Aitel

Third Thesis Reader

César G. López

Rights Information

© 2012 Michelle Diana Gloster

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Abstract

This thesis examines the commercialization of ethnic tourism in Guatemala and Morocco in a postcolonial world. Addressing notions of authenticity, Western expectations of the ethnic tourism experience, and colonial portrayals of the Mayas and the Berbers, the thesis argues that the Guatemalan and Moroccan governments reduce their indigenous populations to ‘authentic’ living museums in their touristic promotions targeting Western tourists. Catering to Western tourists’ expectations, the Guatemalan and Moroccan governments perpetuate the stereotypes of their indigenous populations that were established during colonialism. Despite Guatemalan and Moroccan cultural repression of the Maya and the Berber populations, respectively, the governments exploit their indigenous populations for touristic purposes.



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