Abstract
Dr. Valene L. Smith is a name that is known across tourism and anthropology circles as one of the founding mothers of the study of tourism. Not only is she credited for the ground-breaking 1977 edited anthology Hosts and Guests: The Anthropology of Tourism, but also being an inspiring educator, visionary, and adventurous risk-taker. Dr. Smith’s love of travel and curiosity of world cultures and social change was a passion from childhood, and became her profession for life. This article traces Dr. Smith’s journey and how her lifelong motto, “learn by doing, teach by being,” was put into practice. Today, the Museum of Anthropology at California State University, Chico, that bears her name, represents a testament to Dr. Valene L. Smith’s vision, pushing boundaries to engage and collaborate, promoting and supporting education and opportunities of students, and connecting the public to the diversity of the human experience. Dr. Valene L. Smith left us this year, 2024, with much more than a wealth of publications and a life devoted to curiosity and education, she gave us a thirst to learn by doing.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 The list of scholars who Dr. Smith and Hosts and Guests contributors have influenced over the last 50 years and who have contributed to investigating these areas is indeed too long to acknowledge here. Cohen (Citation1974, Citation1979, 1988), MacCannell (Citation1976), Jafari (Citation1977), Graburn (Citation1983), Adler (Citation1989), Crick (Citation1989), Nash et al. (Citation1981), Nash (Citation1996), Nash and Smith (Citation1991), Towner and Wall (Citation1991), Bruner (Citation1991, Citation2005), Burns (Citation1999), Chambers (Citation1999), and Salazar and Graburn (Citation2014). This short list does not even touch the surface of the many region-based case studies on tourism anthropology. For further explanation on the field of tourism anthropology, or the Anthropology of Tourism, see also Nash et al. (Citation1981) and Stronza (Citation2001).
2 In 1989, Dr. Smith foresaw this future tourism development. She wrote “I believe that eventually tourism in China, Taiwan, and Korea will greatly increase, first as a form of domestic tourism within their respective countries; then, in years to come, Chinese, Taiwanese and Koreans will become tourists to adjacent Pacific rim nations, and finally overseas visitors. Thus the predicted increase in world tourism will probably come in large measure from the Pacific rim countries” (Smith, Citation1989, p. 3).
Jafari, J. (1977). Editor’s page. Annals of Tourism Research, 5, 6–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-7383(77)80002-9 Graburn, N. (1983). The anthropology of tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 10(1), 9–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(83)90113-5 Adler, J. (1989). Origins of sightseeing. Annals of Tourism Research, 16(1), 7–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(89)90028-5 Crick, M. (1989). Representations of international tourism in the social sciences: Sun, sex, sights, savings, and servility. Annual Review of Anthropology, 18(1), 307–344. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.an.18.100189.001515 Nash, D., Akeroyd, A. V., Bodine, J. J., Cohen, E., Dann, G., Hermans, D., Jafari, J., Kemper, R. V., LaFlamme, A. G., Manning, F., Noronha, R., Pi-Sunyer, O., Smith, V. L., Stoffle, R. W., Thurot, J. M., Watson-Gegeo, K. A., & Wilson, D. (1981). Tourism as an anthropological subject. Current Anthropology, 22(5), 461–481. https://doi.org/10.1086/202722 Nash, D. (1996). Anthropology of tourism. Pergamon. Nash, D., & Smith, V. L. (1991). Anthropology and tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 18(1), 12–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(91)90036-B Towner, J., & Wall, G. (1991). History and tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 18(1), 71–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(91)90040-I Bruner, E. M. (1991). Transformation of self in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 18(2), 238–250. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-7383(91)90007-X Bruner, E. M. (2005). Culture on tour: Ethnographies of travel. University of Chicago Press. Burns, P. M. (1999). An introduction to tourism and anthropology. Routledge. Chambers, E. (1999). Native tours: The anthropology of travel and tourism. Salazar, N., and N. Graburn (Eds.) (2014). Tourism imaginaries: Anthropological approaches. Berghahn. Nash, D., Akeroyd, A. V., Bodine, J. J., Cohen, E., Dann, G., Hermans, D., Jafari, J., Kemper, R. V., LaFlamme, A. G., Manning, F., Noronha, R., Pi-Sunyer, O., Smith, V. L., Stoffle, R. W., Thurot, J. M., Watson-Gegeo, K. A., & Wilson, D. (1981). Tourism as an anthropological subject. Current Anthropology, 22(5), 461–481. https://doi.org/10.1086/202722 Stronza. (2001). Anthropology of tourism: Forging new ground for ecotourism and other alternative. Annual Review of Anthropology, 30, 261–283. Smith, V. L. (Ed.) (1989). Hosts and guests: The anthropology of tourism (2nd Ed.). University of Pennsylvania Press.
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