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Chapter I Introduction SERIOUS LEISURE, PARTICIPATION AND EXPERIENCE IN TOURISM: AUTHENTICITY AND RITUAL IN A RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL A Dissertation by HYOUNGGON KIM Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY December 2004 Major Subject: Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences SERIOUS LEISURE, PARTICIPATION AND EXPERIENCE IN TOURISM: AUTHENTICITY AND RITUAL IN A RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL A Dissertation by HYOUNGGON KIM Submitted to Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved as to style and content by: Tazim B. Jamal Joseph T. O’Leary (Chair of Committee) (Member) Amanda Stronza Jane A. Sell (Member) (Member) Joseph T. O’Leary (Head of Department) December 2004 Major Subject: Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences iii ABSTRACT Serious Leisure, Participation and Experience in Tourism: Authenticity and Ritual in a Renaissance Festival. (December 2004) Hyounggon Kim, B.A., Hanyang University (Korea); M.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Tazim B. Jamal This study examined the Texas Renaissance Festival as perceived and experienced by (serious) visitors for whom this was a form of regular, repeated and highly meaningful participation. Specifically, the focus was to gain understanding of the notion of serious leisure as defined by Stebbins, in the context of festivals, and to understand the meanings associated with festival participation. Following a qualitative (constructivism paradigm) research frame, the data were collected through participant observation and 37 in-depth interviews for highly committed tourists to the Texas Renaissance Festival. The collected data were analyzed through Grounded Theory techniques specified by Glaser (1978). In regard to the characteristics of participation, the results indicated that their continuous participation in the Texas Renaissance Festival displays qualities of serious leisure: 1) identification; 2) long-term career; 3) unique ethos; 4) significant personal effort; 5) perseverance; and 6) durable personal benefits. As they become more seriously involved in the festival participation, they tend to be a part of a well-integrated subculture of which prominent values include personal freedom, hedonism, and anti- materialism. The experiences constructed through the serious festival participation were reminiscent of tourism existential authenticity specified by Wang (1999) as two levels: intrapersonal authenticity (gaining one’s true self) and interpersonal authenticity (gaining true human relationship). A search of such authentic experiences at the festival seems to be partly driven by the perceived alienation in everyday life. iv When these aspects were examined from an interpretive and meaning-based approach, attending the festival in a serious manner is not just a simple matter of escaping from the reality (e.g., alienation) of everyday life, but is an active quest for an “alternative” to their lives at home as many indicated. Thus, the serious participation in a tourism activity such as the Texas Renaissance Festival could be best understood as a dynamic process of attaining existential state of Being in response to diverse sociocultural conditions. Several significant theoretical propositions were made based on the results derived from this study. Additionally, marketing and management implications associated with staging tourism events and festivals were discussed. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have contributed to the completion of this dissertation. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the following people. My first and deepest appreciation goes to my chair and mentor Dr. Tazim Jamal for her continuous inspiration, encouragement, and friendship throughout my doctoral study at Texas A&M University. Her inspired leadership opened for me a different world view on tourism research and social science in general. I appreciate her continuous encouragement to challenge my research perspective and skills. Whenever I hesitated or felt dubious about my ability to follow a different research paradigm, she always helped me gain confidence in myself. Special thanks are extended to the members of my doctoral committee, for their patience, inspiration, and encouragement. I would like to thank Dr. Joseph O’Leary for his continuous caring for my professional and personal growth from the beginning of my doctoral program to the completion of this dissertation. I think I finally found the “A- HA” moment. I appreciate Dr. Amanda Stronza for her detailed and critical comments on the draft of this dissertation. Dr. Jane Sell has been very helpful throughout my master’s and doctoral program by always giving me invaluable advice. She has always provided precious assistance to this project despite her tight schedule. I feel fortunate to have had the support of all these talented individuals throughout my graduate programs. There are numerous people to whom I am indebted for the completion of dissertation research and my student years at Texas A&M University. Dr. Sarah Richardson, who served as my thesis and dissertation advisor for a good number of years, has been an essential part of my graduate studies. I cannot thank her enough for her inspiring guidance that sets my lifetime motto “Quest for big WOW”. Mr. Orvis Melvin, a marketing director of the Texas Renaissance Festival, was kind enough to offer me a great opportunity to conduct field research at the festival and campground. This dissertation research could not have been completed without the active participation vi of the Ren’ies who shared their thoughts about their experience at the Texas Renaissance Festival. I am indebted to all of the study participants for their fascinating insights. I am also grateful to many fellow graduate students for their help and friendship. Many graduate students, too numerous to mention individually, helped me with transcribing the lengthy interviews. Jamie Rae Walker, Linda Ingram, and Andrew Kerins provided valuable comments on nearly every chapter of this dissertation. Thanks are extended to Chi-Ok Oh, Chia-Kuen Cheng, Jin-Hyung Chon, Jin-Hee Jun, Marcos Borges, Min-sun Doh, Sang-Kwon Lee, Yoon-Jung Oh, for their consistent moral support and friendship. My special thanks go to my lovely officemate, Soojin Lee, for her kindness, love, and companionship of my every night journey to the graduate lab. She completes my life in graduate school. Lastly, but most definitely not least, I would like to acknowledge my family for their incessant love and support. They have been a strong buttress of my student years. Mom, schooling your son is now finished. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………. v TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………. vii LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………... x LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………….. xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION …….……………………………………………......... 1 Purpose of the Study…………………………………………………… 3 Research Questions and Outline……………………………………..… 4 Significance of the Study………………………………………………. 5 II CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATION AND REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE…………………………………........................................ 8 Previous Research on Tourism Precincts………………………………. 9 Serious Leisure ………………………………………………………… 13 Evolvement of serious leisure………………………………….. 13 Types of participation in serious leisure……………………….. 14 Qualities of serious leisure……………………………………... 17 Identity and serious leisure……………………………………... 18 Continuity of serious leisure: Costs and rewards………………. 23 Alienation………………………………………………………….…… 25 Social psychological experience of alienation…………………. 26 Authenticity………………………………………………..…………… 27 Objective authenticity………………………………………….. 27 Constructed authenticity…………………………………… …. 28 Existential authenticity………………………………………… 29 Theory of Ritual Practice………………………………………...….…. 33 Liminality………………………………………………………. 34 Liminoid ...……………………………………………............... 37 Communitas……………………………………………………. 40 Structure and anti-structure……..……………………………... 42 Pilgrimage and tourism………………………………………… 44 viii CHAPTER Page Liminality, liminoid, communitas and tourism………………… 46 Symbolic Materials in Rituals And Festivals (Costume and Mask)…… 49 III METHODOLOGY………………………………………........................ 53 Research Paradigm……………………………………………………... 53 Constructivism paradigm………………………………………. 53 Assumptions of the study………………………………………. 56 Study Methods……………………………………………………….… 57 Study site and visitor origins…………………………………… 57 Rationale for the selection of study site………………………... 61 Pilot study……………………………..……………………….. 62 My role as a researcher…………………………………………. 63 Data collection methods………………………….…….............. 65 Participants profiles…………………………………………….. 69 Data analysis procedures……………………….………............. 73 Mapping data analysis………………………….………...…...... 78 Trustworthiness………………………………………………… 84 Ethical considerations……….…………………………..……... 86 IV EMERGENT THEMES AND CONCEPTS……………………………. 88 Festival Participation as a Form of Serious Leisure……………………. 88 Basic characteristics……………………………………………. 88 Serious leisure qualities of festival participation………………. 92 Alienation………………………………………………………………. 116 Social isolation…………………………………………………. 117 Cultural disengagement………………………………………… 118 Self-estrangement………………………………………………. 120 Festival Experience as Existential Authenticity………………………... 122 Intra-personal authenticity: Bodily feelings……………………. 122 Intra-personal authenticity: Self-making……………………...... 128 Inter-personal
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