Tourists of History: Memory, Kitsch, and Consumerism from Oklahoma City to Ground Zero

by Marita Sturken

Book Overview

In Tourists of History, the cultural critic Marita Sturken argues that over the past two decades, Americans have responded to national trauma through consumerism, kitsch sentiment, and tourist practices in ways that reveal a tenacious investment in the idea of America's innocence. Sturken investigates the consumerism that followed from the September 11th attacks; the contentious, ongoing debates about memorials and celebrity-architect designed...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0822341220
• ISBN13: 9780822341222
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Duke University Press
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Worth a read!

This book was actually required reading for a Communication class in college. It was a surprisingly interesting and in depth read. I would recommend adding it to your collection. Definitely enlightens you to how American's react to tragedy, as well as, how our society has grown accustomed to exploiting tragedy.

The limits of materialism...

Marita Sturken's "Tourists of History" is an enlightening overview about how America dealt with the two most catastrophic events of its recent history - the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 - by wrapping itself in a mantle of kitschy products which tried, but ultimately failed, to bring comfort to the bereaved. The quintessential object of comfort is the teddy bear, given to children (and adults) affected by these two tragedies (and the sequential wars in Afghanistan and Iraq). These teddies (almost all of them cheaply manufactured overseas) are tasked with the job of saying, "All will be well over time" - a promise that neither they nor anyone else can keep. Nor can a teddy bear tell anyone about the social and political roots of terrorism, both domestic and international. What teddies do best is reinforce the intractable belief that America is innocent: We are the good guys, we have done nothing wrong in the world, how can anyone hate us? Anyone who has paid attention to history knows that America is not and has never been innocent. Sturken urges us to take a good look at all of American history, and not be mere tourists only interested in the parts that are nice to look at. Buy this book today.