Proquest Dissertations
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INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI Bell & Howell Information and Leaming 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Artxir, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 ABJECTION AND ITS CORRECTION IN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDIES: COMMUNICATION ISSUES IN THE CULTURAL TOURISM OF ISLA MUJERES, MEXICO DISSERTAHON Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jill Adair McCaughan, B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1999 Dissertation Committee: Professor Joseph J. Pilotta, Adviser Approved by Professor Rohan Samarajiva Professor Patrick Mullen Professor John W. Roberts Graduate Proafam in /Communication UMI Number: 9941382 Copyright 1999 by McCaughan, Jill Adair All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9941382 Copyright 1999, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 copyright by Jill Adair McCaughan 1999 ABSTRACT This work is an interdisciplinary intervention into ethnographic research which addresses two levels. The first of these is methodological, concerning the manner in which social science is conducted. The second is practical, attempting to illustrate how the methodological issues uncovered by the application of phenomenologically-based abject communication theory can be circumnavigated by a program of reflexive involvement in a community through social action research. Based on methodological issues, the case study location was Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, México, an small island located off the Yucatan coast of Mexico, eight miles northeast of Cancun. Because of its close proximity to one of the world^s most quickly "developing" tourist resort areas, this "less developed" (yet much more historically situated) island community has provided an excellent location for ethnographic research into the relationship between the international tourism industry and changes as they are experienced in the daily lives of indigenous people and settlers from other parts of Mexico. The study focuses 11 specifically on. the on-going creation of the identity of the island as a home and as a site of tourism, as communicated through promotional texts and through personal interaction between tourists and islanders. The project takes into account the ways in which the presence of the researcher and the goals and methods of the research both mediate and participate in the modification of the tourism-based economy as well as the social müieu of the research communities. It also interrogates stylistic issues involved in the writing and presentation of ethnographic knowledge. Communication researchers, folklorists, and anthropologists have begun to vigorously challenge the validity of past forms of collecting and presenting knowledge gained through ethnographic research. While the greater portion of these critiques have focused on the textual practices associated with ethnography, a focus on abject communication contributes to these disciplines a coherent means of conceptualizing the power relationships that motivate those problems. It also affords a greater understanding of how the praxis of conducting ethnographic research can be modified in ways such as to augment the validity of ethnographic conclusions while benefiting all of the parties involved in the research. I l l This Book is for the People of Isla Mujeres IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS One extremely important conclusion which has resulted from this study is the concrete reality that social scientific research is necessarily a social process. Despite the appearance fostered by a title page which lists only one name as "the author," I am certain that this dissertation could not have been possible without the support and interest of a whole host of people. The number of people who participated in this project from its inception to its completion is too numerous to list fully, and I apologize for any omissions. However, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and admiration to a number of key participants and supporters, including family, mentors, friends, and colabor adores. I'd like to thank my my grandmother Frances Olshefski Souder Blackner; my mother Joyce McCaughan Moore; my father James S. McCaughan, Jr.; my step-mother Lorie L. McCaughan; and all of my siblings for their support throughout this long process. I'd like to thank Jonathan specifically for being an excellent travelling companion. Special thanks go to my adviser, Joe Pilotta, who provided the conditions for the possibility of following my bUss. The members of my dissertation committee, Rohan Samarajiva, Patrick Mullen, and John Roberts, have provided me with years worth of wisdom, guidance, and support as well. I couldn't be more proud to count them among my mentors. For a long time, Alex Munroe, Amy Gohdes Luhman, Maureen McDermott, Bob Kovalchick, and Jeremy M. Downes, have given me their friendship and love. Thanks guys. Scott Morris, Madeleine Marcano, Asim Karaomerlioglu, Rich Dicenzo, Farshad Lanjani, Victor Van Buchem, LiUa Perez ChavoUa, Kathryn L. Kelley, Nikki Bado, Phillip Hinz, and Mark Wynn have been invaluable— providing comradship, as well as theoretical and technical expertise. I wouldn't be writing this right now if it hadn't been for all your help. While I'd like to thank all of the tourists who have been involved in this project, especially helpful and friendly have been Harry, Jennifer Meacher, Dogan Tirtiroglu, Ron Smith, Ron Burian, Rob Lindeman, William G. Colvin, and Carlos E. Gonzales. Of great importance is the debt of gratitude that I feel towards aU those islenos who have labored with me on this project. Among them, I want to thank all mis amigos at Rolandi's, including Luis Alberto Tenorio, Gerardo Burgueno, Gabriel Cawich, Gabriel Interian, Roman, Gilberto, Enrique, Amulfo, Alvaro Tranquilino, Jose Arturo, and Carlos Cervera Foster. My friends at Chi Chi's and Charlie's Bar also deserve a big thank you, including Charlie, Jesus Silva Cel, and Omar Medina Pech. Thanks also go out to VI Tomas "Pantera" Cubells Millan, Fide, Carlos Alberto Tapia Becerra and Jenny Islaver Lopez de Tapia, Jorge and Marlene Frias and their children, Tarzan, Angel, Wilfredo and Vincente Ortiz, Victor Mis Velazquez, Sergio, Olga and Bruja, Juanito, Victor, Brigette and Mario, and Ubelina and Miguel Sanchez Azueta. You have all taught me so much. I also wish to acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Antonio Salas Torres, Gilberto Pastrana Novelo, Doha Lupita of Casa Rocateliz, Mark of Mundaca Travel, Antonio Palma Suarez, Carlos During, Soled, C. Fidel Vdlanueva Madrid, and the women at the Archiva MimfczpaZ,including Marina Avila and Leticia Rodriguez Medina. Td also like to extend my appreciation to Luis Gomez Cardenas and Oscar Campero for permission to reproduce their postcards. Finally, thanks also go to the musicians who have filled the island nights with song and laughter, Rigoberto and José Delgado Castillo of Mez Me, Elfego and Alvaro Hernandez Ramos, Rafael Roman Juarez, Victor and Saul, Cuco Fernandez, and especially Miguel Rojas Perez. Muchisimas Gracias a Todosl vu VTTA 29 M ay 1968 Bom - Colum bus, Ohio 1989 B.A. English Literature and History: The University of Wisconsin M adison 1992 M.A. English Literature: The University of Wisconsin - Madison 1992-1995 Adjunct Instructor, Columbus State Community College, Departments of English and Modem Languages 1995-1998 Graduate Teaching Associate and Administrative Assistant to the Chair of Graduate Studies, The Ohio State University, School of Journalism and Communication PUBLICAHONS Kaminski, J.P., and J.A. McCaughan. A Great and Good Man: George Washington in the Eyes of His Contemporaries. M adison: M adison H ouse, 1989. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Graduate Program in Communication Specializations: Critical Cultural Studies and the Philosophy of Communication viu TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ............................................................................................................. ii Dedication ............................................................................................................................. iv