This thesis argues that landscapes are products of language, that the meaning of a
landscape depends upon how it is presented and interpreted in the course of human
communication. It is also argued that the field of rhetoric—as a body of theory, ideas,
and methods for interpreting the persuasive use of language—can assist human
geographers in their attempts to interpret landscapes. These positions are put to work in
a study of the promotion of tourist landscapes by the British Columbia government.
Two time periods are examined: first, presentations of landscape during the 1920s and
1930s, and second the 1970s and 1980s. These periods are similar in that they are
periods of transition—periods in which the tourism industry underwent significant
change. The first period is associated with the development of mass tourism, and
specifically with the emergence of the state as a major player in the tourist industry. The
second period concerns the recent development of postmodern (alternative environmental
and cultural) tourism. Postmodern tourism is characterized by the rejection of mass
tourism and by the quest for real places and experiences. The thesis uses both qualitative
and quantitative (computer-assisted content analysis) methods to examine how the state
has rhetorically responded to these changes in its presentations of landscape. Changes
are found in both periods, but they are gradual and incomplete. It is consequently argued
that the state’s character as an author limits its audience and the strategies it may use for
presenting tourist landscapes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/7026 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Nelson, Ronald Ross |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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