Abstract
Through walking and talking, tour guides weave together an array of stories and facts in order to re-produce varied urban cultures and local histories. The practices of these ‘cultural intermediaries’ must at once be entertaining as well as educational, and are set within a rich urban context that is itself increasing in commercialization and homogenization. As a segment of a larger ethnographic study, this essay focuses on the storytelling tools these social actors use to reproduce New York City's history, culture, and meaning—eight tricks of the trade. As illustration of this social world and the practices within it, description of a Grand Central Terminal tour is woven throughout the analysis in a series of vignettes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Auyero, J. (2003). Contentious lives: Two Argentine women, two protests, and the quest for recognition. Durham: Duke University Press.
Becker, H. (1998). Tricks of the trade. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Boniface, P., & Fowler, P. J. (1993). Heritage and tourism in ‘the global village.’ London: Routledge.
Bourdieu, P. (2000). Pascalian meditations. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction. London: Routledge.
Boyer, M. C. (1992). City for sale. In M. Sorkin (Ed.), Variations on a theme park (pp. 181–204). New York: Hill and Wang.
Certeau, M. de (1984). The practice of everyday life. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Certeau, M. de, Giard, L., & Mayol, P. (1998). The practice of everyday life, Volume 2. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Cohen, E. (1988). Authenticity and commodification in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 15, 371–386.
Clifford, J., & Marcus, G. (Eds.). (1986). Writing culture. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Clough, P. (2001). On the relationship of the criticism of ethnographic writing and the cultural studies of science. Cultural Studies/Critical Methodologies, 1, 240–270.
Clough, P. (1992). The end(s) of ethnography: From realism to social criticism. Newbury Park: Sage.
DiMaggio, P. (1992). Cultural boundaries and structural change: The extension of the high-culture model to theatre, opera, and the dance. In M. Lamont & M. Fournier (Eds.), Cultivating differences: Symbolic boundaries and the making of inequality (pp. 1900–1940). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Fainstein, S. S., & Gladstone, D. (1999). Evaluating urban tourism. In J. R. Judd & S. S. Fainstein (Eds.), The tourist city (pp. 21–34). New Haven: Yale University Press.
Fainstein, S. S., & Judd, J. R. (1999). Global forces, local strategies and urban tourism. In J. R. Judd & S. S., Fainstein (Eds.), The tourist city (pp. 1–20). New Haven: Yale University Press.
Fine, E. C., & Speer, J. H. (1985). Tour guide performances as sight sacralization. Annals of Tourism Research, 12, 73–95.
Florida, R. (2002). The rise of the creative class: And how it's transforming leisure, community, and everyday life. New York: Basic Books.
Gans, H. J. 1999. Popular culture and high culture: An analysis and evaluation of taste. New York: Basic Books.
Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Doubleday.
Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis.Boston: Northeastern University Press.
Grazian, D. (2003). Blue Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Gubrium, J. F., & Holstein, J. A. (1999). At the border of narrative and ethnography. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 28, 561–73.
Halttunen, K. (1999). Cultural history and the challenge of narrativity. In V. E. Bonnell & L. Hunt (Eds.), Beyond the cultural turn (pp. 165–181). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Hannigan, J. (1998). Fantasy city. London: Routledge.
Häussermann, H., & Colomb, C. (2003). The new Berlin: Marketing the city of dreams. In L. M. Hoffman, S. S. Fainstein, & D. R. Judd (Eds.), Cities and visitors: Regulating people, markets and city space (pp. 200–218). London: Blackwell.
Hardt, M., & Negri, A. (2001). Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Lazzarato, M. (1996). Immaterial labor. In P. Virno & M. Hardt (Eds.), Radical thought in Italy: A potential politics. Theory out of bounds (Vol. 7) (pp. 133–147). Minneapolis: University of Minneapolis Press.
Lash, S., & Urry, J. (1994). Economies of signs and space. London: Sage.
MacCannell, D. (1973). The tourist: A new theory of the leisure class. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Mitchell, W. J. T. (Ed.). (1980). On narrative.Chicago: University of Chicago.
Molotch, H., Freudenburg, W., & Paulsen, K. E. (2000). History repeats itself, but how? City character, urban tradition, and the accomplishment of place. American Sociological Review, 65, 791–823.
Muschamp, H. (May 21, 1995). A flare for fantasy: “Miami Vice” meets 42nd Street. New York Times, Sec. 2, pp. 1, 27.
Negus, K. (2002). The work of cultural intermediaries and the enduring distance between production and consumption. Cultural Studies, 16, 501–515.
Perrottet, T. (2002). Pagan holiday. New York: Random House.
Portes, A., Castells, M., & Benton, L. (Eds.). (1989). The informal economy. Baltimore: John Hopkins Press.
Sante, L. (1992). Low life. New York: Vintage Books.
Sassen, S. (2000). Cities in a world economy.Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.
Shils, E. (1972). The intellectuals and the powers and other essays. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Simpson, T. A. (2000). Streets, sidewalks, stores and stories: Narrative and uses of urban spaces. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 29, 682–716.
Somers, M. R. (1999). The privatization of citizenship: How to unthink a knowledge culture. In V. E. Bonnell & L. Hunt (Eds.), Beyond the cultural turn (pp. 121–164). Berkeley: University of California Press.
Sorkin, M. (Ed.). (1992). Variations on a theme park: The new American city and the end of public space. New York: Hill and Wang.
Suttles, G. (1990). The man-made city. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Suttles, G. (1984). The cumulative texture of local culture. American Journal of Sociology, 90, 283–304.
Swidler, A. (1986). Culture in action: Symbols and strategies. American Sociological Review, 51, 273–286.
Venkatesh, S. (2002). Doin' the hustle: Constructing the ethnographer in the American ghetto. Ethnography, 3, 91–111.
Wacquant, L. (1995). The pugilistic point of view: How boxers think and feel about their trade. Theory and Society, 24, 489–535.
White, H. (1980). The value of narrativity in the representation of reality. In W. J. T. Mitchell (Ed.), On narrative (pp. 1–24). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Zukin, S. (1995). The cultures of cities. Cambridge: Blackwell.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wynn, J.R. Guiding Practices: Storytelling Tricks for Reproducing the Urban Landscape. Qual Sociol 28, 399–417 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-005-8365-2
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-005-8365-2