Symbolism

A symbol is a thing representing something else. For instance, consumption can symbolize status and taste (Bourdieu 1984). By the same token, tourism can connote prestige and status. But Bourdieu has not provided an analysis of symbols as such. Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Peirce called their studies semiology and semiotics, respectively. Today, semiotics refers to the study of signs in general. Saussure’s and Peirce’s theories are quite different. Saussure abstracts from the “referent” (such as a cat) and focuses on the “signifier” (the cat sound) and the “signified” (the idea of the cat). He emphasizes that the relationship between signifier and signified is purely conventional/arbitrary. In contrast, Peirce speaks of representamen (the sign), designatum (the real object), and interpretant (the mental image created by the sign on the interpreter). Representamen and interpretant are roughly equivalent to Saussure’s signifier and signified.

MacCannell observes that some tourism...