Anywhere but here: Experiences of islandness in Pearl River Delta island tourism
This study considers the phenomenology of ‘islandness’ by analysing the experiences of tourists, islanders, and migrant tourism workers on two Chinese islands in the South China Sea. Although we begin by presuming place to be a phenomenological concept centring on ‘being-in-the-world’, we find that...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.115 https://doaj.org/article/922a561ba41e404ea013a7e33ecc44fd |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:922a561ba41e404ea013a7e33ecc44fd 2023-05-15T16:00:31+02:00 Anywhere but here: Experiences of islandness in Pearl River Delta island tourism Zhikang Wang Mia M. Bennett 2020-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.115 https://doaj.org/article/922a561ba41e404ea013a7e33ecc44fd EN eng Island Studies Journal https://doaj.org/toc/1715-2593 doi:10.24043/isj.115 1715-2593 https://doaj.org/article/922a561ba41e404ea013a7e33ecc44fd Island Studies Journal, Vol 15, Iss 1, Pp 205-222 (2020) china experience islands island tourism islandness pearl river delta phenomenology Physical geography GB3-5030 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.115 2022-12-31T10:21:38Z This study considers the phenomenology of ‘islandness’ by analysing the experiences of tourists, islanders, and migrant tourism workers on two Chinese islands in the South China Sea. Although we begin by presuming place to be a phenomenological concept centring on ‘being-in-the-world’, we find that people’s experiences both on and off the islands of Dong’ao and Wailingding engender a desire to ‘be-in-many-worlds’ at once. Findings drawn from three months of ethnographic fieldwork suggest that while tourists privilege ‘being-at-the-seaside’, long-term residents prioritize being both ‘on’ and ‘off’ the island. Meanwhile, migrant tourism workers’ sense of islandness emerges from ‘being-at-the- seaside’ and ‘being-on-the-island’. In all cases, we find that islands challenge people’s desires to dwell in just one specific place to which they have an attachment. We argue that this liminal place attachment arises partly because the physical geography ofislands, being surrounded by the sea, facilitates movement and may prompt a longing for elsewhere. Our findings have consequences for the phenomenology of place, which assumes that people have an innate desire to be somewhere. Yet thinking through and from islands shows that people equally wish to be somewhere else, too. The manifold human experiences of islandness underscore the need for a more relational phenomenology of place based not just on ‘being-in-the-world’, but rather ‘in-many-worlds’ at once. Article in Journal/Newspaper Delta Island Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Island Studies Journal 15 1 205 222 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
china experience islands island tourism islandness pearl river delta phenomenology Physical geography GB3-5030 |
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china experience islands island tourism islandness pearl river delta phenomenology Physical geography GB3-5030 Zhikang Wang Mia M. Bennett Anywhere but here: Experiences of islandness in Pearl River Delta island tourism |
topic_facet |
china experience islands island tourism islandness pearl river delta phenomenology Physical geography GB3-5030 |
description |
This study considers the phenomenology of ‘islandness’ by analysing the experiences of tourists, islanders, and migrant tourism workers on two Chinese islands in the South China Sea. Although we begin by presuming place to be a phenomenological concept centring on ‘being-in-the-world’, we find that people’s experiences both on and off the islands of Dong’ao and Wailingding engender a desire to ‘be-in-many-worlds’ at once. Findings drawn from three months of ethnographic fieldwork suggest that while tourists privilege ‘being-at-the-seaside’, long-term residents prioritize being both ‘on’ and ‘off’ the island. Meanwhile, migrant tourism workers’ sense of islandness emerges from ‘being-at-the- seaside’ and ‘being-on-the-island’. In all cases, we find that islands challenge people’s desires to dwell in just one specific place to which they have an attachment. We argue that this liminal place attachment arises partly because the physical geography ofislands, being surrounded by the sea, facilitates movement and may prompt a longing for elsewhere. Our findings have consequences for the phenomenology of place, which assumes that people have an innate desire to be somewhere. Yet thinking through and from islands shows that people equally wish to be somewhere else, too. The manifold human experiences of islandness underscore the need for a more relational phenomenology of place based not just on ‘being-in-the-world’, but rather ‘in-many-worlds’ at once. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Zhikang Wang Mia M. Bennett |
author_facet |
Zhikang Wang Mia M. Bennett |
author_sort |
Zhikang Wang |
title |
Anywhere but here: Experiences of islandness in Pearl River Delta island tourism |
title_short |
Anywhere but here: Experiences of islandness in Pearl River Delta island tourism |
title_full |
Anywhere but here: Experiences of islandness in Pearl River Delta island tourism |
title_fullStr |
Anywhere but here: Experiences of islandness in Pearl River Delta island tourism |
title_full_unstemmed |
Anywhere but here: Experiences of islandness in Pearl River Delta island tourism |
title_sort |
anywhere but here: experiences of islandness in pearl river delta island tourism |
publisher |
Island Studies Journal |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.115 https://doaj.org/article/922a561ba41e404ea013a7e33ecc44fd |
genre |
Delta Island |
genre_facet |
Delta Island |
op_source |
Island Studies Journal, Vol 15, Iss 1, Pp 205-222 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doaj.org/toc/1715-2593 doi:10.24043/isj.115 1715-2593 https://doaj.org/article/922a561ba41e404ea013a7e33ecc44fd |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.115 |
container_title |
Island Studies Journal |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
205 |
op_container_end_page |
222 |
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1766396502275522560 |