Dissertation Information for Kathleen L. Howard NAME: - Kathleen L. Howard
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- History
SCHOOL:
- Arizona State University (USA) (2002)
ADVISORS: - Robert A. Trennert Jr.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - Noel J. Stowe - Chris Smith
MPACT Status: Fully Complete
Title: Creating an enchanted land: Curio entrepreneurs promote and sell the Indian Southwest, 1880--1940
Abstract: Long before transcontinental railways linked the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and nationwide commerce came of age, American Indians exchanged cultural goods over long distances. This ancient network was a precursor to what would later emerge as a major economic opportunity for contemporary inhabitants of the region, the American Southwest.
The Santa Fe Railway had captive access to tourists when the public began to have leisure, means and resources for independent travel. Retail urban curio entrepreneurs and independent businessmen along the line sold souvenir objects to the traveling public. National interest in Indian objects, both prehistoric and contemporary, was piqued by World's Fairs and other expositions which brought Indian life to public attention.
Curio businesses advertised to a nationwide market through magazines, catalogs and other publications. The most effective selling tool, however, was the myriad of souvenirs and ephemera tourists acquired and took home to share in "show and tell" narratives with family and friends.
Curio dealers did more than just buy and sell Indian cultural objects. By creating markets for certain types and styles of goods, they encouraged Indian artisans to create products that attracted Anglo customers. In pursuing their businesses, they sold the Southwest region to tourists and travelers. Attractive utilitarian and religious designs found their way into the curio marketplace. Curio dealers exercised their economic power with artists to evolve Indian arts and crafts designs into an art form with an appeal all its own.
The perspective gained through these common experiences made possible the portrayal of a similar view of the Southwest in all the market sectors addressed by the curio industry, shaping a uniform public perception of the region. By 1940, the availability of independent travel by auto and airplane changed the nature of the business.
Just as the web of trade in cultural objects enriched the lives of prehistoric Americans, the nineteenth- and twentieth-century network of curio entrepreneurs expanded the horizons of latter-day Americans by exposing them to "exotic" ways of life. In doing so, the curio industry created an image of an enchanted land that now attracts millions of travelers and tourists and, ultimately, residents.
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MPACT Scores for Kathleen L. Howard A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
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TA = 0
calculated 2008-04-06 19:33:17
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