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Upcoming Carnival Culture Article [Open Call]



Been a while since I penned one of these things, but I wanted to take part of this week to focus on revisiting some of the themes I was exploring in my carnival culture series. The series focuses on nomadism, travel and its historical, economic and cultural significance.

The next item in that series I want to focus on is essentially the history of hospitality. So this is going to cover things like bars, restaurants, pubs (”the publick house”), saloons, hostels, inns, motels, hotels, hostels, bed & breakfasts, hostels, flophouses, boarding houses, homeless shelters, sanctuaries, and any other cultural references which can be shoehorned in to fit.

If you’ve had some interesting experiences in or around any of the above, I’d love to include it as part of my mountain of research, and maybe use some good reader-generated quotes, alongside reader-discovered links and essays. I’d say that I want to focus on “old-school” notions of hospitality as my jumping-off point: things like how in the Bible, Lot offers the angry crowd his daughters to fornicate with, so he can protect the mysterious travelers - who turn out to be angels sent from God. Judeo-Christian-Islamic references of all kinds would be awesome, especially verses/quotes from sacred texts with supporting analysis. Would also like to see some traditionalist European practices, along with “tribal” references and items from the Far East. Special focus will be given on cultures with strong nomadic roots.

Parallel to that, I want to draw together themes of Exodus, refugees, the First American Depression and use all that as a lens to look at what’s happening right now. My sense is that creative living arrangements and domestic situations are going to become more and more widespread over the coming years. The subject of hospitality, I think, forms a solid nucleus upon which notions of community can be explored and restored. Any thoughts or links on that subject would be welcome as well. Cool relevant pictures and video references are also welcome. Thanking you in advance for your participation!

Farmer Maggots hospitality.jpg







10 Reader Responses

  1. Big Elk Says:
    October 27th, 2008 at 6:33 pm

    Some relevant items to hang onto for later:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenia_(Greek)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospitality_ethics

    And this one is a little obtuse but worthwhile:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Ame...ent_to_the_United_States_Constitution

    No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

  2. Big Elk Says:
    October 27th, 2008 at 6:45 pm

    And this strikes me as ultimately being the real root of this subject applied to modern times:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism

    (Which buts up against both regionalism and terrorism, as well as international finance and business… other subjects entirely)

    Touching at a right angle:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_tourism (ecotourism)

    Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is a form of tourism that appeals to ecologically and socially conscious individuals. Generally speaking, ecotourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth, and learning new ways to live on the planet. It typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exile
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrimage

    Effects on trade

    Pilgrims contributed an important element to long-distance trade before the modern era, and brought prosperity to successful pilgrimage sites, an economic phenomenon unequalled until the tourist trade of the 20th century. Encouraging pilgrims was a motivation for assembling (and sometimes fabricating) relics and for writing hagiographies of local saints, filled with inspiring accounts of miracle cures. Lourdes and other modern pilgrimage sites keep this spirit alive.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj

    The Hajj (Arabic: حج‎) is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah). It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world.[1] It is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. It is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to Allah.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_pilgrimage
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_hospitality

  3. Big Elk Says:
    October 27th, 2008 at 7:10 pm

    Dante

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exile

    “. . . You will leave everything you love most:
    this is the arrow that the bow of exile
    shoots first. You will know how salty
    another’s bread tastes and how hard it
    is to ascend and descend
    another’s stairs . . .”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_in_exile

  4. Big Elk Says:
    October 27th, 2008 at 7:17 pm

    Some of this is getting rather political. I might push these into a future installment about territoriality and sovereignty maybe, a people’s connection to the land and human value invested in it. But the subjects intersect on some level, so I’m tacking them on here for future reference:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora

    The term Diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά – “a scattering or sowing of seeds”) refers any population sharing common ethnic identity who were either forced to leave or voluntarily left their settled territory, and became residents in areas often far removed from the former.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugee

    Apart from physical wounds or starvation, a large percentage of refugees develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression. These long-term mental problems can severely impede the functionality of the person in everyday situations; it makes matters even worse for displaced persons who are confronted with a new environment and challenging situations. They are also at high risk for suicide.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples

    Hospitality, in some sense, is a very political act: an exchange of value with someone either inside or outside your community. The fact that many ancient cultures have very strict hospitality codes is extremely interesting because it takes such a firm hand to such a universal political problem between people.

  5. Big Elk Says:
    October 27th, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_hospitaller
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospitality_Club
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servas_Open_Doors
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couchsurfing
    http://www.couchsurfing.com/
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacation

  6. Big Elk Says:
    October 27th, 2008 at 8:45 pm

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_nightingale
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_cross
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity_(virtue)

  7. Julia Says:
    October 27th, 2008 at 11:51 pm

    I’m fascinated by this Bible story and its relationship to Lot’s story. I still don’t get it! I know they’re bookends to each other but I can’t crack the code.

    http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?b...=19&version=9&context=chapter

  8. Big Elk Says:
    October 28th, 2008 at 12:01 am

    Not sure exactly, but thats a good one and definitely a bookend to Lot’s tale. I take the ending of it to be something like, the concubine being cut into 12 pieces and sent out is a reference to/warning to the 12 tribes of Israel. Since the tale starts with “In those days, Israel had no king”, I take the connection to be potentially something about the maidenhood of Israel, the sovereign/virginity of land (like Guinevere to the Celts) being lost and “raped” by men in those days - though I don’t know enough about the context of the rest of what Judges is all about. That’s my quick armchair analysis though.

    If anyone can find good info about Bedouin hospitality traditions and how those fed into Islam, I’m into that.

  9. Julia Says:
    October 28th, 2008 at 12:09 am

    There are a lot of Bible horror stories that end “in those days, Israel had no king”. The people got fed up and seeing the relative stability of their neighbors begged God to give them a king. God kept telling them that it was a bad idea but they insisted. God basically said that in one generation the king would own the best land, best women, best men and best animals and it came true.

    One of the worst things King David did was to take a census. He slaughtered and maimed in the worst ways but when he subjected his people to bureaucracy God got mad.

  10. Big Elk Says:
    October 28th, 2008 at 12:16 am

    begged God to give them a king.

    This connects to this - and this, for that matter - at least thematically.

    Maybe we’ll end up with Schwarzenegger as president next week after all.



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