This work deals with the notion of hybridity; an ideal moment
of cultural negotiation which results, in the words of Homi
Bhabha, in the creation of a 'third space.' This theoretical
plateau is formed by two parties whose agendas, while
ostensibly conflicting, overlap enough so that each informs
the space but neither dominates it . In this case I examine a
specific site of hybridity, the "Arrivals Passengers Only"
area of the Vancouver International Airport. Here, the space
is informed by the presence of works, created by the Coast
Salish Musqueam people, in the Airport Terminal, created by
the Vancouver International Airport Authority.
While this sort of negotiation can be described using
positive and progressive terms, and the creation of a third
space represents a compelling ideal, I argue that the moment
of hybridity within the airport is ultimately undermined by
other areas of the building in which no negotiation has taken
place. The airport's role as a business necessitates
marketing strategies aimed mainly at tourists and other
business interests. Since virtually the entire building is
devoted to that market, the negotiated hybrid space becomes
hidden so that its potential impact is lost. Although
participating in the creation of a working model of culture
with the Musqueam people, the Airport ends up destabilising
that model and the space, the ‘third space,’ which contains it.
This particular example points to a site specific aspect
of contemporary North American culture by drawing on the local
community as a source for investigating that discourse. The
thesis, then, has two points of entry; the ephemeral discourse
of cultural negotiation and the locally grounded freeze-frame
view of one site in contemporary Vancouver.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/5964 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Leddy, Shannon C. |
| 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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