Representation as work in ‘America's most historic city’

Abstract

This paper examines how the practices of heritage tourism reproduce identities in and of Fredericksburg, Virginia. In particular, we focus on the everyday practices of tourism workers who are essential in the representation and reproduction of this heritage space. In so doing, we want to move away from research in geography that theorizes representation and embodiment as distinct realms of experience and inquiry. Instead, we argue that representation is work and within this very material process, city workers weave memory with history as they guide visitors through ‘America’s Most Historic City'. Through an examination of three of Fredericksburg's tourism work environments we show how representations succeed in reproducing heritage tourism spaces precisely because representation is work.

Keywords:

• heritage tourism
• representation
• work
• embodiment
• everyday practice

Notes

All the names of research subjects are pseudonyms.

The Fredericksburg Visitor Center's website can be found at http://www.fredericksburgvirginia.net.

The video is not ‘educational’ and is intended to be ‘promotional’.

See, for example, Laclau and Mouffe's 1985 critique of Foucault's non‐discursive practices.

Elizabeth, one of the Center staff, explained that ‘[W]e try to show that Fredericksburg is very unique and that it is a working town and these sites are interspersed among this working town, you know. We love Williamsburg [Virginia] but I try to say, “Williamsburg is rebuilt. We are authentic. These are authentic eighteenth‐, nineteenth‐century buildings that you’re going in”’.

Mr Weimer gave us permission to use both his name and the name of his company in our presentations and published papers.