Author: Shakestycoon

Featured

Peruvian Posts IV: Machu Picchu

/ Shakestycoon / Leave a comment

The final part of the Peruvian adventure details a four-day mountain hike culminating in Machu Picchu, a site of Inca ruins. The experience is described as both a climax and an anti-climax due to the overwhelming crowds upon arrival. The author recommends the Classic 4 Days/3 Nights Inca Trail Hike with a local tour operator and reflects on the formation of strong friendships within the hiking group. The journey itself is highlighted, with challenges faced at high altitudes, and the beauty of the natural surroundings is deeply appreciated.

Featured

Peruvian Posts III: Cusco as an imagined destination vs. Cusco as a lived destination

/ Shakestycoon / 1 Comment

Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire, offered a glimpse of both its grandeur and the impact of Spanish colonization. The high altitude and chilly weather required acclimatization and I observed the combination of tourism products and experiences, Cusco's place in a network of destinations, and the intermingling of lived and imagined aspects of the city. Amidst staged tourist experiences, I encountered a large number of domestic tourists and noticed the influence of Moorish architectural style. My next adventure was the epic Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu.

Featured

Peruvian Posts II: the missed flight and an unending unfolding airport drama lost in’Spanglish’ translation

/ Shakestycoon / 1 Comment

After attending the Memory Studies Association conference in Lima, a series of stressful and dramatic events unfolded. Missing the flight to Cusco was only the beginning, followed by a struggle to retrieve luggage and a scare about a lost backpack. However, all's well that ends well, as the backpack was found on the plane. Despite the challenges, the experience in Cusco proved to be worth it, albeit with some struggles adjusting to the high altitude and cold weather. Stay tuned for more Peruvian adventures.

Featured

Peruvian Posts I: Lima and the Memory Studies Association 2024 Conference

/ Shakestycoon / 3 Comments

Increasingly, I have come to describe 'niche out' my research work as being focused on the geographies of slavery and colonial heritage tourism in relation to the politics of cultural memory. This niching out process required my search for more (trans-inter) disciplinary grounding for my research. It is in this light that I arrived at … Continue reading Peruvian Posts I: Lima and the Memory Studies Association 2024 Conference

[New paper, Open Access] In the potter’s hand: tourism and the everyday practices of authentic intangible cultural heritage in a pottery village

/ Shakestycoon / Leave a comment

Pottery holds enduring significance in human history. Reshaping Eleanor White's thesis into an academic article was a gratifying process. Exploring the pottery village of Margarites, Crete, the paper delves into authenticity in the context of tourism and intangible cultural heritage. It illuminates the impact of tourism on the community's perception of authenticity in ceramic crafting.

Featured

Wageningen: my guided walking tour of the traces of the slavery and colonial past

/ Shakestycoon / 1 Comment

It is one thing to dream about it, one thing to get funding to research about it, one thing to teach about it and surely one thing to actually be the one to do it. This was a fully embodied experience for me. How could I have seen it when I first set out my … Continue reading Wageningen: my guided walking tour of the traces of the slavery and colonial past

Featured

Commemorating Keti Koti in Wageningen

/ Shakestycoon / Leave a comment

For the third year running, there was a Keti Koti commemorative ceremony in Wageningen. I had missed the first two occasions because of my research fieldwork in Suriname in 2022 and research fieldwork in Amsterdam in 2023. Fortunately, I was able to stay local this year. Thus on Sunday 30 June 2024, I joined a … Continue reading Commemorating Keti Koti in Wageningen

Featured

Keti Koti 2024 in Wageningen

/ Shakestycoon / 1 Comment

Are you aware of what is ahead on 30 June / 1 July in the Netherlands? Are you resident in Wageningen or surrounding areas? Over the coming few days we will be celebrating Keti Koti in Wageningen. On the afternoon of Sunday 30 June, I will be leading an interactive guided walking tour through the … Continue reading Keti Koti 2024 in Wageningen

Featured

Rejection notice

/ Shakestycoon / Leave a comment

*Rejection Notice*You win some, you lose some. You get some, you are denied some. Back in January 2024, I applied for an NWO (Dutch Research Council) Impact Explorer grant to do some pretty cool stuff - or so I thought 😀 The decision came back today and (un)fortunately my proposal has been rejected! It is … Continue reading Rejection notice

Featured

[New paper, Open Access] Beyond the Smile: The Infrapolitics of the Host in Volunteer Tourism

/ Shakestycoon / Leave a comment

Beyond and behind our smiles of seeing this paper published sits many years of hardwork in drafting, redrafting, writing and rewriting to get this research paper ready. It has been a great team effort and it has been a pleasure working together with Amira Benali at Aalborg University, Denmark and Ana Maria Munar at Copenhagen … Continue reading [New paper, Open Access] Beyond the Smile: The Infrapolitics of the Host in Volunteer Tourism