Soviet Era

I've been in the Czech Republic for just over a week now. They  have been a few things to get used to, which is as much to be expected. I was not expecting, however, the people to be so helfpul and gracious. They had made certain that I always have something to do and that I am time for myself. They are quick to help with anything I may need assistance with.

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Olomouc is a good sized town. By Czech stanards, it is a busy metropolitan city. Many of the shops close between 2pm and 5pm on most weekdays. The town center is wonderful and I can find something new to marvel at each time with my new eyes. The collum in the center of the city lights up the square with a golden sparkle in the afternoon.

I live on the sixth floor of a six story apartment building with no elavator. Its not as bad as many might think. The jog up and down the stairs is a nice begining and ending to the day. As I lower myself down the stairs, I have plenty of time to contemplate my day and the excitemet beyond the doors of my building. At the end of the climb up the stairs, my legs begin to burn on the fifth set of stairs. I am able to push on knowing I'll be able to drop my things and plop down on the make-shift couch.

Outside my Windows are these large dreary gray buildings. They are a stark reminder of soviet occupation and some of the Czech Republic's darkest days.Yet, hope springs eternal. The Czech, who are fond of bright colors have taken to dressing the facade of these bleak buildings and repainting them multiple colors. The buildings that have already undergone this transformation look like playful blocks from South Florida. Before I head off to school, I drink my cup of instant coffee in the morning and look out the window at the shift occurring. Its as if the Czech have, instead of rejecting the soviet scar tissue, have incorporated it back into the Czech body. And why not? These buildings are homes.

It thrills me to talk to the locals. I was almost too young to remember the cold war. In the states we hear of communism, the soviets and the USSR as mýthic villians from a far off land. Here I hear the stories of the people who were teenagers and twenty-somethings durring the occupation. Frankteske, a Biology teacher at the school pointed out people and places that were effected by the communist. David, one of the Brits here, told me about a store called Prior and called it „The most Communist department store." Rightly so, as it looks like a fallout shelter.  And while it has been almost 20 years since the Great bear (as they call it here) had the Czech beneath it's paw, there are reminders on almost every corner of the darkest days of many people's lives- these people are my office mates, my neighbors, my employer and my friends.

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Bummed

    With less than one week to go before the big move, I should be beaming with excitement. However, due to a series of unfortunate, but most likely deserved events, I am bummed. In recent days I have realized the effect of my reclusion and fear of the places outside my house.

    So I haven't made it to a lot of parties. I pretty much stopped getting invited because I probably wouldn't show up anyway. Its not that I don't care or don't want to go. I can't seem to convince myself its a good idea. I missed out on a wedding reception recently. I thought I'd be up to party and ready to get down. But I was unaware that the man I hate most in the world officiated the wedding. Listening to him speak for 20 minutes set me into such a rage that I couldn't bare to listen to one more word drip out of his mouth. ..
    I was devastated. I wanted, so badly to be apart of the festivities. I wanted to enjoy myself. But I couldn't fight the anger and the disgust. All I could think about were the hideous lies, unassuming looks and more of the lies he told me. Then to listen to this boy let so freely words like "couples," "love," "marriage," etc. cross his mouth with such forced sincerity and properity was comical. It was a dupe, he knowing full well that he doesn't believe a single word he uttered that day. But it did make me feel a little better, knowing that: 1. I'm not to only person he has no problem lying to on a grand scale. and 2. I have the luxury of seeing through the puppy dog ignorance and see him for what he is- a sociopath.

On Sunday, I had me grand going away graduation party. Only 7 of the 30 RSVP showed. Sure, I'm embrassed to write that. It reflects poorly on me as a human being. Barely any of the people I know would be willing to spend a few hours with me before I left the country. I did get several "Let's Do Lunch" text messages.  Thanks...but I don't have time during this one week to meet 10 different people for lunch...which is why I had a party.
    I get that people get sick. And I hope those of you who were ill or taking care of ill people are doing better and well rested. Thank you for not coming and infecting anyone else with the illness! That is mighty considerate of you. I wish you well health!
    Overall, people said they assumed that so many people would be there..that I wouldn't notice that they weren't there. That's Karma for you. I have used that rationalization to avoid going out with friends from school to avoid their "Dude Bro" friends. I've used that to avoid going to crowded SCA events. It is my number one reason why I don't go to parties....its not like anyone will notice me anyway. How true.
   


    I know this blog is all bitch and moan with a bit of emo and pity party thrown in. I am so sad and so depressed that only a few people came to my party. I am embrassed and ashamed that I could be so unpopular with my own friends. I guess I am pretty happy that I am moving now. I obviously don't have much to stay here for. My regret is that I won't have the one person who was there for everything. Having Justin makes up for the shadows of people who frequent my life. My family is amazing and truely supportive. But I almost feel like they do it..because it better to push someone off a building...than it is to kick 'em while they're down.

I'm just bummed. And I get it.  Message received.  And for those of you who did come... you rock and I had a great time with you. Thank you for ignoring the obvious lack of people and making the best of the situation. It was great to see you and I hope to get a letter from you! :). Good laughs, good stories...and good book suggestions! I know some of you had a rough weekend..and you still made it. It means so much more that you could make time. Thank you.

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Adding on new prespectives

Even though it makes me feel sheepish, I do enjoy the moments when the world laughs at me. As almost everyone knows, I am so up tight that I harbor the limbo poll. I admit that I've been frustrated. And I've been a bit of a jerk about it. I'd like to think I'm getting better. I moved from just apologizing to actually not falling into my bad and negative habits.

I wanted to share a few happy things that have helped bring perspective.

1. I started doing scrolls for SCA folks. My philosophy being, if someone is going to get an award, the marker of the award should try to match the worth and gratitude of the deeds. Although I am new at the whole thing, I find it very rewarding. Not only do I get to do something artsy, I get to do something artsy for someone who is going to appreciate it. I believe over the past event, my work brought some tears to eye and made more than a few Laurels curse. That was rewarding.
2. I called up the CSUPD about a $20 parking ticket. The meter had lapsed for about 20 minutes. That is an expensive 20 minutes of parking. I had explained to the woman that is was finishing up my thesis and would be willing to pay a fee, but at a much more reasonable rate. The woman told me she would just void the ticket. Her kindness and understanding made my day 10x better.
3. I fought a little bit at Glory over the weekend. Not as much as I would like. My silly panic got the best of me and left me on the sidelines for more than a few tourneys and melees. I thought for sure that people were thinking I was being a wuss, a showgirl in armor or just lazy. Which didn't help stave off the panic. Anyhow, I found that when I did fight, it was impressive. Saturday night, I had more than a few people tell me that they were impressed with my fighting....including one woman who I have been secretly hoping to impress. …In addition, there was a female knight there. I fought her and received high praises too. I guess, sometimes, I can be way off on things.
4. Justin and I have been through a lot. We both have emotional and mental baggage that is completely unrelated to our relationship to contend with. We are finding that if we let some of our unfounded fears go, fight ourselves and each other, we come out the other side a little better than before. It's a painful and difficult process. Through each hardship and between the laughter and longing looks, we understand a little better what love is. Love is never static and it changes all the time. Right now, love is the strength to stand by someone, when you yourself would rather crumble into a ball an disappear.

That's all I got for now. I still haven't resolved my anger issue…but I suppose only time will tell.

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Excitin’ two weeks
Current mood: accomplished

So I'm done with my coursework for graduate school. I have only to defend my thesis and then it will be official. Since the end of my coursework things have been a bit insane. I went to Florida to visit family there. I got to see my older brother and his wife, Jen and…their half formed child. J Considering it was Florida, (hot..muggy, and sunny) I had a great time with my family.

We tried to fly back to Denver on the day all the crazy tornadoes hit N. Colorado. We were stuck in Orlando for three hours or so before catching a flight to Chicago. We were stuck in Chicago for another four hours and flew out to Wichita since every flight to Denver and Colorado Springs was booked. Arriving at 11:54 pm in Wichita, we spent the night in a truly shity hotel…and when I mean spent the night, I mean spend 5 hours there. We were back at the air port at 6:30am. It took another 12 hours before we got on any flight to Denver.  We got home around 10pm, having taken almost 40 hours to fly from Orlando to Denver….only to go back to the airport at 6:40 am to fly to Seattle.

Karma treated my parents and I well and sent us first class to Seattle.

Why was I in Seattle? I was invited to present one of my earlier works on Environmental Rhetoric at the bi-Annual Rhetoric Society of America conference. It turned out to be an awesome experience. I was one of five people chosen nation wide to present my work on environmental rhetoric.

My presentation was at 8:30am on Sunday. I was expecting maybe three or four audience members, two of which would be my parents. I was also expecting the other four panelists to be scared little graduate students like myself. My expectations were WRONG! The four other panelists were all PhDs and much older than myself. One panelist currently teaches at Duke University. I was at least 10 years their junior, possibly 20 years. Also, the room was packed and every seat filled. So much so, that there were people sitting on the floor! There were 40 people packed into a room designed to fit 30 comfortably. I don't think I have ever been SO nervous in my entire life.

Well, turns out that my argument was not as elementary as I imagined. Each person who commented at the end  made reference to my argument, waxing poetic about the connections they had made. People took rapid notes during my presentation, nodding, smiling and in some cases, laughing to themselves a bit. I think that most people knew that I was still trying to find my stride and tried not to badger me. The little green ribbon attached to my name tagged reading "First Time Attendee" probably saved my ass more than a little. A few people hung around to talk to me about the direction of my work. And that was that. I had delivered what I consider one of my worst and most undeveloped works to a nation conference and received pleasant feedback.  Maybe I am fit for this PhD stuff.

I also got to see my pal Petrea who now lives in Seattle and works as a landscape architect.  We did out undergrad together at CSU and I miss her much. It is  possible that I will see more of her if I end up getting my PhD at the University of Washington.

Currently, I have two papers that are being re-worked for publication in the future. The first is a more involved piece on environmental rhetoric and the political sphere. The other piece explores issues of cultural authenticity and globalization as it relates to tourist expectations.  Who knows…..maybe this time next year, I'll be a published author!

Anyway…I have to get back to packing. I am moving to Denver until I figure out if I am moving abroad. I would like to pick up a 4-10month contract teaching in Prague…but until then, I'll stick to consumer research and polishing my papers.

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The Real Macau

The Real Macau: Postmodernity, Globalization, Cultural Authenticity and
One Tourist's Reflections
Sabrina Simmons
SP432
Dr. Aoki
Colorado State University
5/15/2008
Abstract
In the middle of March 2008, I traveled to three city-countries in Asia with my father. During this trip, we spent two days in the city-country of Macau. Macau is the only place where gambling is legal within the People's Republic of China. Macau's economy rests comfortably on the gambling industry that has overrun the small Island. Casinos such as the Venetian, the MGM Grand, the Sands, and the Wynn have all been constructed on this Island. In this paper, I explore multiple theoretical concepts to analyze my experience in this city, and more specifically, my stay at the Venetian and venture through Fisherman's Wharf. Using theories from postmodernism and globalization, I explore the consequences of simulacra in the global context and challenge the traditional notions of cultural authenticity.

Introduction
I was born towards the end of the Cold War on an Air Force Base in Arizona. Unlike many American children, I learned to talk in Alaska and I learned how to read and write on an Air Base in Japan. In the early 1990s, I was too young to understand the significance of being present when a couple of Mig fighter jets landed at Eiselson Air Force Base near Fairbanks. When I was 16, I was embarrassed by my mother who laughed at our server in Nairobi for serving us pumpkin soup, "in honor of our American guests on the fourth of July." At 21, my family and I stayed at a resort in Puerto Vallarta for a week and a half and did not have to speak Spanish to a single person, as everyone there already spoke English. However, in all my travels in the past 23 years, nothing has struck me speechless quite like the city-country of Macau.
Macau is a product of globalization. The Chinese city-country is a fusion of poor urban Asia, colonial Portugal, and American consumerism. A short walk from the ferry terminal is Fisherman's Warf and a fragmented, chaotic quilt of cultural urbanization and third level simulacra. The "old world" is juxtaposed with the new. The "old" world is represented as the historically old, the locally old and the simulated old. The new is both in reference to the towering temples of gambling and the simulation of the old world. Macau is a place of interest because it begs us to understand what cultural authenticity begins to mean in the age of globalization and postmodernity.
This task is more complex than merely defining authenticity. Authenticity and culture have been defined in many different ways, in many different disciplines, throughout many different theoretical movements. However, there has yet to be a thorough understanding of what authentic means in the 21st century. In an increasingly globalizing world, full of simulation and simulacra, to what end can a traveler/tourist experience the authentic? How does one actually have an authentic cultural experience? I argue the manifestation of rampant simulacra in a globalize aged creates an exsigence to re-evaluate not only cultural authenticity, but also the value of such a term.
Exploring this phenomenon is a journey through several theoretical concepts that help unearth possible routes to understanding Macau and the authentic cultural experience. First, a brief history is outlined to demonstrate the culturally rich history of Macau. Second, theories of Lyotard and Baudrillard are used to illustrate issues of postmodernity, specifically, the break down of grand narratives and simulacra. Third, issues of globalization are revealed along with the connection to intercultural communication. Fourth, literature on tourism and travelers illuminates the troublesome nature of seeking out the "authentic" via modernist terms. Fifth and last, an analysis of Macau's Venetian Casino and entertainment district, Fisherman's Warf, illuminates the necessity to understand issues of cultural authenticity in a globalized, fragmented world full of tourists' expectations.
History of Macau: From Portuguese to Chinese back to Macanese
In 1557 (Porter, 1993), Portuguese sailors found Macau and quickly colonized the Island. Called the "Monte Carlo of the East" (Porter, 1993, p. 8), Macau is both the oldest European ruled territory of China and the latest, having been handed over to the Republic of China in 1999. Returning to China proper is what gave Macau its economic boost, it being the only place where it is legal to gamble in all of China (Harney, 2008). Macau is one of many city-countries of the Republic of China that fall under the one nation, two-government system. While the Republic of China provides military protection, the city-country provides its own law, police force, and economy.
Similar in geographic size to Hong Kong, Macau has experienced significantly less growth and wealth as its neighboring island. For the past 20 years, Macau has been playing catch up, economically, by becoming the premiere place to gamble in Asia. Land has been relocated to make room for the growing casino population. The peninsula of Macau and the shallow, muddy waters have made land re-construction possible (Porter, 1993). The built up land supports the international airport, the ferry terminal, and the casinos (Porter, 1993). 2008 marks an extraordinary year for Macau as both Versace and Celine Dion capitalized on the growing popularity of the city's lure, focusing on the ritzy Cotai Strip and the simulated nostalgic Fisherman's Warf.
The Cotai Strip rivals that of The Strip in Las Vegas. Much like Las Vegas, Macau is home to the Wynn, the Sands, the MGM Grand, the Venetian, and 21 other casinos (Harney, 2008). Last year Macau surpassed Las Vegas' earnings by 3 billion dollars, making 10 billion U.S. dollars to Las Vegas' 7 billion (Harney, 2008).
Unfortunately, these massive Casino tycoons threaten the local housing market. It is projected, that it will take an additional 20,000 people to construct the casino sprawl. It is expected that by 2010, locals may be pushed from their homes and replaced with mainland workers accustomed to high housing prices (Cheng, 2008). The natives of Macau are being economically forced to move away, reducing the local and authentic culture of Macau. In the locals' stead, Macau's culture is being replaced with the glammed-out simulated globe that caters to the consumption of a singular multi-culture. In other words, Macau has found away to cope with the postmodern by constructing a narrative out of fragmented histories and voices. Macau's fragmentation is arguably a result of the postmodern condition, the visible effects of dissolving grand narratives and the indulgence/deception of simulacra.
Postmodernity and Simulacra: Are You For Real?
There is some dispute as to when the postmodern era began; however, the concept of postmodernism developed in French philosophy in the 1960s. Two of the most prominent philosophers on the meaning of postmodernity are Jean Baudrillard and Jean-Francois Lyotard. The term postmodernism has some semantic problems, often being translated to "after modern" or "after current times" by laymen. However, what the term postmodernism suggests is not the end of times, but the rejection of all things that fit within the era of modernism. Thus, postmodernism as a philosophy can be summed up as skepticism (Sim, 1998). The theory is suspicious and rejects cultural, political and ideological norms. In many ways, postmodernism can also be considered an anti-foundational philosophy, which casts off traditional ideas of the Western world, tracing back to Greek Humanism (Sim, 1998).
Modernism began during the Enlightenment era, when the Western world was trying to devise theories and practices that would set humans free of economic and ideological prisons (Sim, 1998). The reason postmodernists reject modern theories is because modern theories often make universal claims of an overarching and singular truth. That which is considered modern is also marked by its dependency and relationship to science as truth (Brugger, 2001). These theories focus on the "controlling social bonds" which dictated justice (Brugger, 2001 p. 78). These institutions compose the grand narratives, which are used to define unadulterated and total truth.
Jean François Lyotard questioned the ideas of the modern age. More specifically, he challenged the integrity of universal truths. These universals truths, or grand narratives, served as rules that assembled the natural and commonly understood morals and values. Grand narratives, which Lyotard also calls metanarratives, are used to define fundamental theories in explaining the way the world functions. Lyotard claims that these metanarratives are no longer universal and have lost their ability to communicate or explain ideas. There are no clear, vital ideas which help people navigate the social world. These grand narratives, according to Lyotard, have dissolved and lost their clear and defining elements, making them untrustworthy (Brugger, 2001).
Metanarratives lack the ability to communicate as they once did, due to the complex characteristics of the postmodern condition. One characteristic is "multiplicity of language games, where language games are linguistic practices defined by particular rules" (Willams, 1998, p. 27). These language games, or the rules by which society function, are not singular as modernism would imply. The breaking down of the metanarratives into such micronarratives suggests that for any game, there are multiple comprehensions. For each subject, the rules are different and thus no common meaning or linguistic foundation can be used to understand the rules or narrative. Instead, there is only "fragmentation and a loss of shared values" (Williams, 1998, p. 27). Essentially, by Lyotard's standards, postmodern society is "a fragmented society with many different and incompatible moral and social codes" (Williams, 1998, p. 35). Being postmodern is a state of discomfort and uncertainty because the common threads that are meant to connect us (metanarratives) instead tangle us in confusing language games.
In his work, Simulacra and Simulation, Jean Baudrillard claims that in the Procession of Simulacra we no longer live in a world of reality. Instead, we live in a world of simulacra, where reality and simulation are indefinable and inseparable. The Western world and, more specifically, the United States, is no longer made of original artifacts, but constructed of "our own versions of reality" (Sim, 1998, p. 11). For simulacra to replace an original artifact however, a particular process must take place.
First, an image is created as a mere "reflection of a profound reality" (Baudrillard, 2006, p. 456). Second, the image becomes "a mask over reality" (Baudrillard, 2006, p. 456). Third, the image "masks the absence" of reality (Baudrillard, 2006, p. 456). Fourth and finally, the image becomes reality itself and is accepted as reality with nothing to compare (Baudrillard, 2006). To illustrate this process, Baudrillard examines icons in the Church. The icons and imagery of the church, having originally meant to be mere symbols of divinity, have become simulacra for God itself. And if God can be simulated, and reduced to "signs that constitute faith," Baudrillard (2006) argues that religion itself then becomes nothing more than a "gigantic simulacrum" (p. 456).
Baudrillard also uses Disneyland as an example of how a simulacrum has taken place in the United States. Disneyland, Baudrillard (2006) argues, is the "miniaturized pleasure of real America, of its constraints and joys" (p. 460). Meaning that what rational thought defines as manufactured reality instead serves to be more real than the artifact it is designed to reflect. In the case of Disneyland, the purpose is to recycle ideas of fantasy, adventure, and make-believe, which are childish delights to be enjoyed by adults who can only enjoy them at Disneyland. Disneyland profits from the mask that it creates, for childish delights can be experienced outside the gates of Disneyland. However, the simulacrum of Disneyland hides this knowledge through its reflection of reality and now serves as the artifact of childish delights and the American real (Baudrillard, 2004).
In summary, with the breaking down of metanarratives, there is no longer a sense of originality, certainty, or commonality in social worlds to which people can relate. The postmodern condition has left many adrift has national borders do not contain cultural rules. Globalization and intercultural communication begin to examine how the fusion and blurring of cultural, economic, and local borders affect the globe at large. The effects of postmodernity are comparable to the influence of globalization, insofar as both lead the world into a culturally confusing place.
Globalization and Intercultural Communication: Anyone Here Speak English?
Intercultural Communication studies the clash of cultures and communication. Communication and culture are two closely related concepts that shape and filter the way one views themselves and others. This assumes that cultural nature is "based upon the view that communication both presumes and constitutes social realities" (Carbaugh, 2007, p. 168). Yet, not all people share the same rules and social guidelines and become separated through communication, instead of united. The break down of communication happens because the intended message is sent through a cultural filter that adds unintentional meanings, and therefore, miscommunication. Intercultural Communication, according to James Nueliep (2006), editor of the Journal for Intercultural Communication Research, functions just like any other type of communication at the surface. However, there is an abundance of "cultural noise" (Nueliep, 2006, p. 2) which disrupts the successful transmission of information. The goal of the Intercultural Communication field is to hush the cultural noise and facilitate grounds for understanding the obstacles that create communication break down between cultures.
The ability to communicate effectively between cultural guidelines is becoming more important as technology binds social, professional, and political spheres to others across the globe. Advancements in the Internet and transportation have created a world that is both virtually and literally at the fingertips of many. In the 21st century, "people's social networks have broadened to include individuals they have not physically met and often those they may never meet" (Olaniran, 2004, p. 142). These networks, unlike their predecessors, are not bound by region or even language. The world has become a smaller place (Olaniran, 2004).
To understand the need for Intercultural Communication studies without mentioning globalization would be difficult. Globalization has many definitions and uses in many fields of academia. The terms can be used in relation to economics, law, international policy, grand sociology, and even interpersonal relations. Globalization can be defined as a "condition whereby localizing strategies become systematically connected to global concerns" (Kumar, 2003 p. 95). Globalization is a sort of awakening or an awareness of the entire world, not as a realm but as a globe. Globalization is the "betweeness" (Kumar, 2003, p. 100), a phase or stage in which the world is shifting away from regional divisions but is not completely united throughout. Cultural globalization rests in a contradictory state of stasis and constant movement (p. 544).
Arjun Appadurai (1996) suggests that the essence of globalization is "an organized field of social practices, a form or work…and a form of negotiation between sites of agency (individual) and globally defined field of possibility" (p. 31), meaning that pop-culture, governments, and interpersonal relations no longer hinge or solely function on locality. Instead, these social conventions and institutions can be formed, converged, and enacted on a global scale. Physical boundaries are no longer a concern, thus a person is more likely to encounter a situation where culture and communication become central to the interaction without leaving their own region.
With this convergence of culture, there is chaos. According to Melda Cuddy-Kane (2003) there are four chaotic observations that are taking place as disjunctures of globalization. They are kinetic, interdependent, contextual, and impure (p. 544). Kinetic means that the "global processes are marked by movement, fluidity, and continuous process of formation, deformation, and reformation" (Cuddy-Kane, 2003, p. 544). This means that the world's culture is constantly changing, morphing, and re-creating itself in order to find a clear definition as a unit, rather than multiple units. Interdependence suggest that there is no action that is in isolation (Cuddy-Kane, 2003, p. 544), implying that every action, every movement, by nation or by individual has some sort of impact somewhere else (Cuddy-Kane, 2003, p. 544). Contextual disjuncture suggests that the same action will have "different meanings in different places" (Cuddy-Kane, 2003, p. 544). Last, Cuddy-Kane (2003) suggests the impurity is a form of globalized chaos. Impurity happens when diversity of self within cultures and throughout the globe are recognized (p. 544). This is paradoxical because the acceptance and inclusion of diversity is necessary, "while still accommodating those who define their identities as homogeneous" (Cuddy-Kane, 2003, p. 544). While the world embraces diversity, it becomes hegemonic in its diversity. Thus, identities are not defined by their geographic boundaries, but are instead fluid, kinetic, and defined by networks.
As the globe struggles to be a unit rather than fragments, people learn that they contribute to the larger global existence. The realization of a grandiose world with integration of culture forces people to consider their location within the world. The sequence of globalization is not clearly defined, nor does it have a clear process. Globalization is chaotic and formless, which allows for several theoretical problems that Intercultural Communication scholars must account for.
It seems overwhelmingly obvious that the growth of international interaction has created an exisgence and emphasis on the importance of Intercultural Studies in general. In the year 2008, people are more connected to more regions of the earth than ever before. Technology, tourism, global economy, and global politics join unlikely groups to similar interests. Yet, the progressive nature of international communication does not begin to eliminate the potential for serious and complicated miscommunications. As Kuulzer (2004), author of "Globalization, Informatization, and Intercultural Communication" writes that "a new culture is forming that transcends traditional political and geographic boundaries, that can be best defined by profession, technological expertise or social class" (p. 431).
Globalization illuminates the necessity more than ever for intercultural communication. Cultures, nations, economies, and policies fuse and the notion of a "global effort" takes hold of the minds of modern day people. Travelers seek out the far reaches of the globe as a means of recreation, leisure, and to connect with the locals, looking to find the authentic cultural experience that has now been made available to them. Yet, globalization and simulacra have created tourist traps and expectations about cultural authenticity that leaves the traveler/tourist wanting more.
Cultural Authenticity and Tourism: All I Got Was a Crummy T-shirt
Tourism depends on the mask of authenticity; one reason why the concept of tourist traps is still extremely successful. Often travelers bring back trinkets or handicrafts, the tangible markers of an authentic experience. Some travelers come home with key chains, shot glasses, and t-shirts, revealing the humor of the "so-and-so went to China and all I got was this crummy T-shirt" t-shirts. Travelers/tourists, and even those who never leave their homeland crave authenticity.
Authenticity supports the idea of a genuine, real McCoy, element. The real McCoy is used in American vernacular to express the authentic or describe something as being the original or straight from the source. It might be an authentic horseback ride through the Rockies or an authentic Japanese tea service. The assumption of authenticity creates an allure for consumption, only to mask the simulation a little longer. According to modernist writer, Vincent Sherry (2007) "the quality of the "authentic" or "genuine" or "original" represents the pressure of the "contemporary," it speaks with a feeling for this certain "moment," it registers one special "period" with some accountability to the standard of the reliable witness" (p. 481). Yet, it is contested, that finding the origin, the beginning or even being witness, has complex levels of negotiation, especially in regard to culture, travel, and the global market.
Wherry (2006) a modernist, argues that authenticity in the traditional sense is a "concept of a singular authenticity, characterized by purity, bound by tradition, marking a particular time and place" (p. 6). In the global market of consumption, tourists can be found. The term tourist refers to people who travel for leisure and fun. The drive of tourism is to seek out the authentic cultural experience, as noted in Johnson (2007), MacCannell argues that, "touristic shame is not based on being a tourist but on not being
tourist enough... on a failure to see everything the way it ought to be seen" (p. 156). It is believed that by traveling, one might be able to see, taste, and be a part of the world in a way they can not at home. By being elsewhere in the world, tourists seek to see a world they would have never known had they never left their home. Thus authenticity becomes a "social act" (Wherry, 2006. p. 6).
It is not easy to find the real culture beneath the manufactured. Many people are uncomfortable with the real experience, especially in poverty stricken countries. Thus, the tourist trap is constructed. The tourist trap lures travelers looking for a slightly removed experienced. Johnson (2007) notes:
"the tourist is aware that authenticity can be faked: the tourist and the industry are locked in an arms race of style, where the tourist reaches for ever more powerful abilities of discernment, and the tourist industry attempts to stage more and more believable displays of authenticity." (p. 157)
Displays of dances, music, food, clothing, and language are all offered up in the chaos of cultural authenticity. The "authentic" culture becomes synonymous with traditional costumes, for example, the Hawaiian Hula dancing or ordering a Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. The tourist spot becomes a place of performance and re-creation rather than the seemingly genuine experience that is promised to the traveler.
Despite the tourist's goal of digging beneath the processed and packaged culture, it is nearly impossible to discern what constitutes an authentic experience. The multiple voices of what constitutes authenticity are not unanimous, however. Johnson (2006) may be able to describe why the search continues and how some find the authentic experience. Johnson (2006) argues, that through alienation in another culture, each tourist/traveler may be able to find their authentic experience.
Perhaps postmodernity, simulacra, and globalization have collided to pursue the authentic in hopes of retaining something real. However, the same forces that push tourism and intercultural communication forward are the same forces that threaten the experience and thwart the traveler's expectations as they attempt to experience the real and capture the authentic cultural experience. In the spring of 2008, I let my impressions of a post-colonial Macau to shape my expectations of my visit. What I actually experienced was far from what I ever imagined, yet I believe I participated in the authentic culture of Macau. The Venetian and Fisherman's Warf in Macau, while seemingly western, are indeed authentic, though simulated, locations of cultural authenticity.
The Venetian in Macau: WOW! It is Just Like the one in Vegas!

During spring break of 2008, my father and I made a trip out to Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. My father is an Airline pilot and had made trips to Hong Kong and Singapore in the past and was excited to show me a part of the world I knew little about. The trip was seven days short, spending three days in Hong Kong, two days in Macau and two days in Singapore. Within hours of setting foot in Macau, I was stunned by the manifestation of globalization, the fragmentation of postmodernity, and the haunting characteristics of simulacra in a way I had never experienced before. I admit, I knew very little about the island before my arrival, only that gambling was popular, and even then it was information passed on to me by two older British women in an elevator in Hong Kong. The maps and brochures for Macau marked historic points of interest, making little to no reference of the titanic casino industry that inhabited the island. I had envisioned an island steeped in a history of pirates, looters, and cobble stone streets. While Macau is infamous for these characteristics, as well as its 15th century churches and 7th century temples, all these were overshadowed by the bustling construction of mega-casinos and entertainment plazas.
Interestingly enough, one of the casinos and hotels on the Cotai Strip is The Venetian. As my father and I walked around the renaissance replica, my first thought was, "I wonder if this is like the Venetian in Las Vegas." I was enamored that on the other side of the world, was the original hotel in Las Vegas. However, upon further thought I realized somewhere between the two hotels is the real Venice, with gondolas, canals, street performers and street vendors. The concept of a real Venice had been lost on me until I noticed a Haagen-dazs vendor and remarked to my father, "In Venice, it'd be gelato, not ice cream." In a gasp, I stood wide-eyed and mouth gaping. My father asked, "What?" I managed to whisper, "Oh, my…god…it's a third level simulacra."
The Venetian in Macau is modeled after the casino with the same name in Las Vegas. While it may at first seem more like a chain or the instinctual act of a corporation, the supreme difference is that Venice is a real place. The Venetian in Las Vegas is inspired by the actual historical city in Italy. The exterior of the casino is cosmetically designed to resemble the charm of the Renaissance, down to the very street lamps. The casino uses the gimmick of singing gondoliers to lure pedestrians and guests alike to the man-made canals and shopping district. The interior is lavishly decorated with brightly painted frescos, detailed fountains, and marble floors.

The Venetian in Macau (featured above) bears an almost exact resemblance to the Las Vegas predecessor. However, Macau takes the replication of Venice one step further. Outside the Venetian compound, just off of what will be the infamous Cotai Strip is a massive man-made lagoon fit with Italian bridges to the strip and gondola stations. Advertised throughout the hotel are posters and commercials for the "Authentic Gondola Rides at the Venetian." Featured in these posters is not Asia gondoliers or even Asia tourists enjoying the ride; rather, all participants are White, as if to mask the element of location to complete the simulation of Italy.

The Venetian in Macau is a replica of the Las Vegas Venetian (featured above), which is a "profound reflection" of Venice, "the original" (Baudrillard, 2006, p. 6). The third level of simulacra masks the absences of reality (Baudrillard, 2006). Upon my own reflection, I first wondered about the comparison of the Macau Venetian to the Las Vegas Venetian. For several hours, my father and I wander the corridors of the hotel, making comments like, "I wonder if they have that store in the Las Vegas one." The comparison of the originality, the authenticity, of the hotel was not done automatically with the Italian city, but the other hotel by the same name. Authenticity was judged, not by the original, but by the profound reflection that it takes after. The existence of the Venetian in Macau masks the reality of a Venice in Italy and replaces it with a consumable, re-constructed version that is global-consumer-friendly.
The intrigue of the Venetian does not end with simulacra. The Venetian exposes the complex and growing impact of Globalization. Take, for example, the gondoliers. The gondoliers, as mentioned earlier, guide a Venetian gondola up and down the man-made canals inside and outside the hotel. Almost half of the gondoliers were White (possibly Eurasian). Dressed in black and white striped shirts, black pants, and topped off with a yellow straw hat decorated with a red ribbon, these gondoliers would also sing Italian love songs. The passengers on these craft were largely Asian, but this is hardly an exceptional observation, since, after all, this hotel is in China.
The most stunning example of unquestioned globalization can be found in the food court. While surrounded with European Renaissances embellishments, the food court remains local, offering dishes that mostly consist of seafood, noodles and rice. Throughout the entire complex, there is only one place that serves actual Italian food. However, American, Mexican and Japanese foods are abundant.
Fisherman's Wharf: It is Nothing Like a Trip to the Docks
Abundance and cultural consumption is marked most clearly by another Macanese location. Only a five minutes walk from the ferry terminal is Fisherman's Wharf. The expectation of my father (whom I was traveling with) was a line of quaint buildings from Macau's earlier port days. Having just spent several days in Hong Kong, I was yearning for a bit of history, specifically colonial history, as I knew very little about the Portuguese and even less of the native Macanese. Fisherman's Wharf would not quench this interest, but rather provoke another.
When entering the area named Fisherman's Wharf, the first building is a giant Asian fortress. The detail and the dark coloring made it difficult to discern if it was real or fake. A sign in front of the building clarified its "originality." It was indeed a part of Macau's own entertainment and shopping plaza, Fisherman's Wharf. The sign indicated the different areas of the plaza: Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, England, Australia, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Beach, New Orleans, and Arabia. In each area there are specific events, stores and vendors placed to create an "authentic cultural" experience. The Roman Amphitheatre will be used by the Four Seasons Hotel and Resort for their Cirque de Soleil show, premiering later in 2008. Other entertainment features include War Games and the Underground Amusement center. Needless to say, it is a far cry from the "authentic" historical experience my father and I were expecting.
I remember distinctly my father comparing Fisherman's Wharf with Disneyland's thematic approach to entertainment. The buildings, although cosmetically accurate, were distorted in size and scale. In addition, the sequence in which the foot traffic experiences the attractions did not have any apparent organization. Bits and pieces of architecture were collected from around the world and randomly set up on a single street, as if the creators of Fisherman's Wharf were consciously thinking about manifesting globalization as a location on this half-mile street. The shopkeepers kept in line with their assigned theme and the music changed between thematic areas, creating a cacophony of colliding music in the areas of cultural overlap.
Taken aback by the mini-globe experience, I captured a two-part shot to illustrate the complexity of Macau and Fisherman's Wharf. In one picture, there is a building in the style of old Mississippi, brightly painted walls with beautiful ironwork. In the other picture, taken of the building just on the other side of a small water feature is an old English Tudor-inspired building with a thatch roof, beige walls, and thick brown wood trim. Behind these two juxtaposed building styles, looms a massive casino and hotel, seemingly plated in gold.
The pictures described illustrate a number of complex issues discussed in the literature review. First, these two pictures illustrate the postmodern condition. The fragmentation (Sim, 1999) of history itself is at play. Not only are these buildings simulations of original (Baudrillard, 2006) buildings from the west, they are also related to each other in such a way that fragments traditional history. The jump between 16th century England and 19th century Mississippi skips over hundreds of years of history. The jumps between themed areas seem completely unconnected, lacking any grand narrative (Lyotard, 1984) or connection. Fisherman's Wharf is the globe, chopped, disassembled, modified, and processed through simulacra in hopes to prepare the globe for eager, easy, uncomplicated consumption. It removes history, locale, and complicated cultural rules to allow the passer-by and the tourist a quick, convenient look at the rest of the world.
The looming golden casino imposes itself on the structures featured in the pictures. It almost implies that the unifying the fragmented, unconnected globe will be in the shadow of capitalism, an interesting read from a country that outwardly promotes communism (even if internally it is capitalistic). Within the context of global economy and capitalism, new ideas of authenticity emerge. Instead of the traditional notion of culturally authentic defined within the realm of tradition, the subject of authenticity begins to shift to the individualist experience in relation to the authentic items, specifically, items within a global market place, an idea, that the city-country of Macau has adopted and thrives based on.


Conclusion
In the age of globalization, postmodernity, and the rampant art of simulacra, authenticity becomes harder to define. The tools of discernment, accustomed to the tourist, are challenged in every new cultural space. The search for the original becomes a journey and obsessive task. While modernists might suggest that the authentic original is the historical and cultural tie to the location and item, this perspective is limiting in how we understand the authentic in the increasing complex and chaotic world we live in.
Through my visit to Macau, I realize that globalization threatens/promises a dynamic new culture unlike anything in human history. As a life-long traveler I have come to expect wildly different costumes, foods, art, and languages. However, I had not expected to encounter what I consider my own culture, seamlessly replicated half way around the world. The glamour, and simulation of Las Vegas, Nevada, of the United State of America, echoes against the towering casinos of Macau, Macau of the People's Republic of China. The jarring effect of Macau has convinced me that the issues of postmodernity and the hopes and fears of globalization are real evolutions and real problems, set to affect the everyday lives of every person on the planet.
The melding of cultures, languages, and economies will continue to expand with little resistance. Authenticity, as it is known through modernism, will only exist in the tangible artifacts left behind. In the postmodern era and the age of globalization, the quest for authenticity must be redefined in terms of experience and self-reflection to the point that one can become alienated from their surroundings. While loneliness and mistrust may plague the minds of those living in this time, the only way to navigate the cultural traps and simulacra is to experience the change as it comes. This means that authentic culture is not a stagnant concept or practice isolated from change. Instead, culture is flexible and polysemous and constantly evolving with local and global trends. Who is to say Macau is no longer authentic? Perhaps Macau's authenticity rests with in the realization that globalization and simulacra are embraced and consumed. Just as Las Vegas, USA is accepted for its glamour, excess, and simulacra, Macau, China is choosing to project a similar culture. However, Macau's history, location and government add a twist to the Las Vegas glow. It might just be that Macau represents particularly the multi-narrative, singular culture that globalization scholars have prophesied. If so, Macau begs the traveler/tourist to reconsider what they expect and experience the amorphous authentic culture the globe has to offer.


References

Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at Large: cultural dimension of globalization. University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis.

Brugger, N. (2001).What about the postmodern? The concept of the postmodern in the work of Lyotard. Jean-Francois Lyotard: Time and judgment. French Studies, 99. pp. 77-92.

Buarillard, J. (2006). Simulacra and Simulation. ( S.F. Glaser Trans.). Michigan: University of Michigan Press.

Carbaugh, D. (2007). Cultural discourse analysis: Communication practices and intercultural encounters. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research. 36(3), pp. 167–182.

Cheng, J. (2008). Macau: A risky bet; Popular property, for now. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition). New York, NY. April 11th. p. C5.

Cuddy-Kane, M. (2003). Modernism, geopolitics and globalization. Modernism/modernity. 10(3), pp. 539-558.

Harney, A. (2008). Asia: Macau's Next Gamble; New Casinos Aim for a Vegas-Style Revamp of Live Shows. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition). New York, NY. February 28th. p. W5.

Johnson, A. (2007) Authenticity, tourism and self-discovery: Self-creation and the discerning gaze of the trekkers and old hands. Journal of Social Issues of Southeast Asia. (22)2, pp. 153-178.

Kim, M. & Hubbard, A.E. (2007). Intercultural communication in the global village: How to understand ''the other.'' Journal of Intercultural Communication Research. 36(3), pp. 223–235

Kluzer, R. (2004). Globalization, Informatization, and Intercultural Communication. In Jandt, F (ed). Intercultural communication: A global reader. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Kumar, V. (2003). A critical methodology of globalization: Politics of the 21st century?. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. 10(3). 870111.

Lyotard, J. (1984). The postmodern condition: A report on knowledge. (G. Bennington & B. Massumi Trans.) Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. (Original work published 1979).

Neuliep, J. (2006). Welcome editorial. Intercultural Communication Research. 35(1). pp. 1–2.

Porter, J. (1993). Transformation of macau. Pacific Affairs. 66(1) pp. 7-20.

Olaniran, B. (2004). Computer-mediated communication in cross-cultural virtual teams. International & Intercultural Communication Annual. 27. pp. 142-166.

Sherry, V. (2007). On the question of modernism and the authentic. Modernism/Modernity. (14)3. pp. 481-487.

Sim, S.(Ed.). (1999). Critical dictionary of postmodern thought. New York, NY: Routledge.

Wherry (2006). The social sources of authenticity in global handicraft markets: Evidence from northern Thailand. Journal of Consumer Culture. (6)5. pp.1-28.

Williams, J. (1998) Lyotard: Towards a postmodern philosophy. Malden, MA: Polity Press.

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Chapter 1

Alright...Alright, already! I've have numerous requests to put this out there. Yes, this is the Thesis. Its not done yet, but this is the first full draft. If you're in the SCA let me know what you think. I still have time to add some information to strengthen or clarify things.

CH 1 Introducing Knighthood and Postmodernity

The postmodern condition weighs heavily on individuals. Broken-down meta-narratives leave people without clear guidelines for navigating the world around them (Lyotard, 1984). Moreover, the complex consequences of a world of simulacra, void of original meaning and full of interpretation and multiplicity have left people lacking comprehension and recognition of the world around them (Baudrillard, 1994). In addition, the steady decline of voluntary organizations and close-knit communities creates a contagious environment for anxiety and mistrust (Putnam, 2000). In response, people search for meaning, guidelines, anything that can serve as rules to live by, with and through. The concepts of knighthood and chivalry have served as such guidelines for centuries and have been resurrected, yet again, to serve as equipment for living in contemporary society (Burke, 1971).

In 1966, a group of people in Berkley California started a not-for-profit group called the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), an organization that attempts to re-create the medieval ages. The "Kingdom of the West" was the first of what is now 19 kingdoms across the globe. Those who pay the $35 yearly membership invest varying amounts of their personal time and creative energy into this group. Some come to merely camp and play, where others seek out something else entirely. Some seek to serve, some seek to do classical art, such as sewing, brewing or even painting. There are also those who come to walk the path of a knight. Why are people turning to the SCA, and more specifically, knighthood? Recreation subcultures are becoming more popular and acceptable; the membership of the SCA alone is over 30,000 worldwide (Courtney, 2008). This thesis sets out to uncover and understand the construction of SCA knights and their identities.

This thesis uses qualitative methods to examine what the role of the knight provides individuals who seek it out in the SCA. Research questions include: 1) why are people enacting the role of the knight in the 21^st century? (2) What does it mean to be a knight of the Society for Creative Anachronism? (3) How, if at all, does knighthood help people navigate a postmodern world? Using open-ended, semi structured interviews, I explore the individual and cultural motivations behind becoming a knight. In conjunction with interviews, this research study will also employs use a participant-as-observer approach during SCA activities. The winter season focuses on community rather than combat, providing an opportunity to observe the social codes of the SCA.

After briefly reviewing theories on postmodernity and the decline of social capital, I This prospectus proceeds with a tour of the theoretical frameworks of Lyotard, Baurillard, Burke and Putnam, before examining examine the concept of knighthood both as an historical concept and as a contemporary method of dealing with the postmodern disintegration of community.

Literature Review

Lyotard, Baudrillard on Postmodernism/Postmodern Society

There is some dispute as to when the postmodern era began; however, the concept of postmodernism developed in French philosophy in the 1960s. Two of the most prominent philosophers on the meaning of postmodernity are Jean Baudrillard and Jean-Francois Lyotard.  The term postmodernism has some semantic problems, often being translated to "after modern" or "after current times." However, what the term postmodernism suggests is not the end of times, but the rejection of all things that fit within the era of modernism. Thus, postmodernism, as a philosophy, can be summed up as skepticism (Simm, 1998). The theory is suspicious and rejects cultural, political and ideological norms. In many ways, postmodernism can also be considered an antifoundational philosophy, which casts off traditional ideas of the Western world, tracing back to Greek humanism (Simm, 1998).

Modernism began during the enlightenment era, when the Western world was trying to devise theories and practices that would set humans free of economic and ideological prisons (Simm, 1998).  The reason postmodernists reject modern theories is because modern theories often make universal claims of an overarching and singular truth. That which is considered modern is also marked by its dependency and relationship to science as truth (Brugger, 2001).

            Jean François Lyotard challenged the integrity of universal truths. These universals truths, or grand narratives, served as rules that assembled so-called "natural" morals and values.   Lyotard claims that these grand or "meta" narratives are no longer universal and have lost their ability to communicate or explain ideas, making them untrustworthy (Brugger, 2001).

Metanarratives lost their explanatory value, in part,  due to the complex characteristics of the postmodern condition. One characteristic is "multiplicity of language games, where language games are linguistic practices defined by particular rules" (Willams, 1998, p. 27). These language games, or the rules in which society function, are not singular. The breaking down of the metanarratives into such micronarratives suggests that for any game, there are multiple comprehensions. For each subject, the rules are different and thus no common meaning or linguistic foundation can be used to understand the rules or narrative. Instead, there is only "fragmentation and a loss of shared values" (Williams, 1998, p. 27). Essentially, by Lyotard's standards, postmodern society is "a fragmented society with many different and incompatible moral and social codes" (Williams, 1998, p. 35). Being postmodern is a state of discomfort and uncertainty, because the common threads that are meant to connect us (metanarratives) instead tangle us in confusing language games.

In his work, Simulacra and Simulation, Jean Baudrillard claims that in the precession of simulacra, we no longer live in a world of reality. Instead, we live in a world of simulacra, where reality and simulation are indefinable and inseparable. The Western world and, more specifically, the United States, is no longer made of original artifacts, but is constructed of "our own versions of reality" (Simm, 1998, p.11). For simulacra to replace an original artifact however, a particular process must take place.

            First, an image is created as a mere "reflection of a profound reality" (Baudrillard, 2006, p. 456). Second, the image becomes "a mask over reality" (Baudrillard, 2006, p. 456). Third, the image "masks the absence" of reality (Baudrillard, 2006, p. 456). Fourth and finally, the image becomes reality itself and is accepted as reality with nothing to compare (Baudrillard, 2006).  To illustrate this process, Baudrillard examines icons in the church. The icons and imagery of the church, having originally meant to be mere symbols of divinity, have become simulacra for God itself. And if God can be simulated, and reduced to "signs that constitute faith," Baudrillard argues that religion itself then becomes nothing more than a "gigantic simulacrum" (2006, p. 456).

Baudrillard also uses Disneyland as an example of how a simulacrum has taken place in the United States. Disneyland, Baudrillard argues, is the "miniaturized pleasure of real America, of its constraints and joys" (2006, p. 460). This means that what rational thought defines as manufactured reality instead serves to be more real than the artifact it is designed to reflect.  In the case of Disneyland, the purpose is to recycle ideas of fantasy, adventure, and make-believe, which are childish delights to be enjoyed by adults who can only enjoy them at Disneyland. Disneyland profits off the mask that it creates, for childish delights can be experienced outside the gates of Disneyland. However, the simulacra of Disneyland covers this knowledge through its reflection of reality and now serves as the artifact of childish delights and the American real (Baudrillard, 2004).

In summary, with the breaking down of metanarratives, there is no longer a sense of originality, certainty or commonality in social worlds to which people can relate. Still, people create strategies for dealing with this fragmented and discomforting period. One way they do this is by finding artifacts that can be used as equipment for living.

Equipment for Living

            Kenneth Burke, in his book Philosophy of Literary Form, makes the argument that there are certain texts (he argues literature) which help people make sense of their world. In the section entitled Equipment for Living, Burke (1971) writes a "sociological criticism of literature" (p. 293). He suggests that as relationships and events occur frequently, we feel compelled to give these things a name (Burke, 1971). These re-occurring events or relationships become proverbs and "strategies for dealing with situations" (Burke, 1971, p. 296). The term 'strategy' is defined here as the means for a final result (Burke, 1971). While strategies sometimes manifest as proverbs, they do so to a greater extent as literature.

            For Burke, literature provides people with consolation. It "fills a need, since there is always a need for easy consolation" (Burke, 1971, p. 299).  When we read a book, in some way we are able take part in the success of the story. Burke (1971) writes, "the reading of a book on the attaining of success is in itself the symbolic attaining of that success. It is while they read that these readers are succeeding" (p. 299). Here, Burke suggests that the reader is involved in the text and through this participation and the text offers the reader success through symbolic action. The reader can be fulfilled; the reader can engage the text and revel in the success of being complete, not by actions of their own, but through the symbolic action of literature.

Examining literature through a sociological lens enables us to name and understand re-occurring situations. The example that Burke offers is the Greek Aesop's fables. Burke (1971) suggests that these stories would have as much relevance to the Ancient Greeks as they do to humanity at any current time. These stories help individuals make sense of the world around them. Art as sociological impact results in creating strategies (the process to the final result) for selecting relations with people, for purification, for instruction, commands, and for loss (Burke, 1971). Great works of art (literature for Burke) are ways to sum up situations and "various attitudes" (Burke, 1971 p. 304) toward different historical and future conditions.  Equipment for living helps us make a "strategy of strategies" to deal with everyday life (Burke, 1971, p. 304).

            To a larger extent, when equipment for living extends beyond the realm of literature and breaks into other facets of life, texts can serve as guides. This suggests that literature and other texts are equipment for living, and prepare people symbolically before they encounter a given situation. These texts, as equipment for living, outfit people with tools they need for a current dilemma that will not be resolved easily and cannot be resolved without specified symbolic action. As Stephen Young (2000) points out, through this understanding of equipment for living, the consumer or audience makes connections between the text (art work) and the audience's everyday life. The reason works of art have such an effect on people is not just because they are entertaining, but instead these "stories…suggest ways and means to resolve problems in so far as they follow discursively a pattern that people might follow in reality" (Burke, 1984, p. 164). This suggests that people can use literature and works of art as reference tools for how to behave in certain situations or as symbolic memories to react in appropriate ways.

Social Capital

            Traditionally, the concept of capital has been associated with economics. The Marxist perspective of capital suggests that it emerges as a result of the relationship between the bourgeois and the laborers. Capital is the surplus value that allows for profit growth (Lin, 2001). This concept of capital was later applied to understand the value of the neo-capital theory of human capital in the 1960's. Human capital is any additional learned skill, acquired knowledge or "assets useful to the employer" (Lin, 2001 p. 9). Human capital is most often measured by one's education, training or previous experiences. The value of these measurements is purely cultural and supported by the dominant structure (Lin, 2001). The distilled concept of capital is any kind of investment that seeks to yield an exchange.

            Social capital is "the investment in social relations with expected returns in the marketplace" (Lin, 2001). The marketplace is not necessarily that of the one traditionally thought of.  A marketplace can be anything from an economic place of exchange to a political exchange, and more importantly to this research, social exchange. There are four ways in which social capital functions. The first is the facilitation of information within a hierarchy. The information is transmitted through a series of social ties, which acts as a transaction to yield rewards (Lin, 2000). The second focuses on the social ties and the ways that they can influence agents of discussion making. The third step to creating and exchanging social capital is acknowledging a relationship to a certain individual whom is seen as a resource. Fourth, these relationships reinforce an emotional connection to a group of similar interest and wider resource (Lin, 2000). Consequently each of the four functions of social capital involves the transfer or exchange of some type of resource.

Robert Putnam's (2000) book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, explores the decline of social capital and involvement in voluntary organizations. Putnam (2000) describes social capital as the  "connections among individuals- social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them" (p. 19). According to Putnam, social trust rose from the 1940's-1960's, peaking in 1964. During this time, people were engaged politically and involved in their communities. However, in 1964 this trend began to reverse, initiating a long-term decline in social trust (Putnam, 2001).

Putnam theorizes that the deterioration in social trust and exchange over the past thirty years can be attributed to several factors. The two most obvious features for the decline in social trust are pressures of time and money. People are simply overworked due to the pressure to "keep up economically" (Putnam, 2000 p. 183).  More and more Americans are working longer hours, thus having less time to spend with others.  This causes the privatizing of personal time. The growing popularity of television has had a crucial role in maintaining this privatization. In addition, the change in generational values has taken its toll on community. Generation X (born between 1965-1980) was socialized with an individualistic attitude, created by the post-war baby boomers following a period of unprecedented economic growth (Snyder, 2002). The celebration of personal goods and private interests has become increasingly more important than civic missions or concern for the "public good."

            The collapse of various social networks and the decreased opportunity to build social capital has left people disconnected, robbing them of "qualities needed for community, collective action and democratic participation" (Boggs, 2002 p. 183). Health problems arise as "people who are socially disconnected are between two and five times more likely to die from all causes, compared with matched individuals who have close ties with family, friends and the community" (Putnam, 2000 p. 327). Putnam argues that people live longer, happier lives when able to invest in a community and engage in the exchange of social capital. However, without community, people experience the "bowling alone" phenomena, and according to Putnam (2000), social disconnectedness might be "the nation's most serious public health problem" (p. 237).

Knighthood as Strategy

Recently, the United States has witnessed a rise in hobbies that focus on re-creation or re-enactment , in which a group of people gather to re-create or re-enact a historical period of time. The difference between re-enactment and re-creation is crucial. While re-enactors pride themselves on exact historical replication, re-creation allows more room for creative replication. While re-enactors will only use fibers and fabrics used from their period, re-creators will use something that looks like it was used in their period. The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is a re-creation group that strives to live the medieval way. The SCA's foundations are built upon the virtues of chivalry, and in literary tradition, it was the responsibility of the knight to uphold chivalrous virtues. Ironically, however, there is no official  "code of chivalry," nor does it stand as a single historical document (Gautier, 1965). Codes and oaths would vary between locations and times. The earliest set of codes was set forth sometime between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a time period corresponding to the Crusades. A complete list from French historian Leon Gautier (1965) summarizes that code as follows:

.. -->[if !supportLists]-->1.      .. -->[endif]-->Thou shalt believe all that the church teaches and shalt obey all her commandments.

.. -->[if !supportLists]-->2.      .. -->[endif]-->Thou shalt defend the church.

.. -->[if !supportLists]-->3.      .. -->[endif]-->Thou shalt respect all weakness and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.

.. -->[if !supportLists]-->4.      .. -->[endif]-->Thou shalt love the country in which thou wast born.

.. -->[if !supportLists]-->5.      .. -->[endif]-->Thou shalt not recoil thine enemy.

.. -->[if !supportLists]-->6.      .. -->[endif]-->Thou shalt make war against the infidel without cessation without mercy.

.. -->[if !supportLists]-->7.      .. -->[endif]-->Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to God's law.

.. -->[if !supportLists]-->8... -->[endif]-->   Thou shalt never lie and remain faithful to their pledged word.

.. -->[if !supportLists]-->9.      .. -->[endif]-->Thou shalt be generous, and give largesse to everyone.

.. -->[if !supportLists]-->10.  .. -->[endif]-->Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil" (p. 9).

These "ten commandments of chivalry" (Gautier, 1965 p.9) revolve around the church and piety. However, the codes of knighthood were inherently secular and designed "to refine knightly behavior and to set knights apart from others" (Kaeuper, 1999, p. 7). The list provided by Gautier illustrates the revival of chivalric romance in the Victorian era. The Gautier code demonstrates how the code of chivalry has been re-constructed and recycled throughout time. Hundreds of lists of virtues exist based on region, time, and class. Many of these lists overlap with others. Most lists have seven to twelve knightly virtues. Virtues that reoccur on multiple lists include: Honor, Prowess, Largess, Charity, Franchise, Mercy, Courage, Temperance, Faith, Hope and Chivalry.

The notion of courtly love or chivalric romance was not inherent to the duties of a knight. In fact, the surfacing of these ideas came a few hundred years later when social grace and intelligence were matched with prowess (Kaeuper, 1999). Yet, the knight was not unfamiliar with epic romances and literature on chivalry. According to historian Richard Kaeuper (1999), knights often owned copies of chivalric romances and passed them among their fellows. Stories such as the Arthurian tales and chanson de geste were popular among knights (Kaeuper, 1999). These works were not descriptive encounters of actual knights in the world around them. Rather, these works "prescribe ideal behavior for knights" (Kaeuper, 2005 p. 17). Thus, the list of chivalrous virtues is comprised of characteristics a knight should possess. However, these lists are not of the original nature of the knight or knighthood. They are, instead, reflections of it.

            The medieval knight was hardly gentile, and many exhibited decidedly unchivalrous behavior. Knights were a part of the fighting class, which meant that their lives revolved around killing in order to secure land/power for their lord. The word chivalry is taken from the French word chevalier, meaning one who rides a horse. During the eleventh century, the stir-up became and military advancement that allowed mounted warriors more control over their horse (Keen, 1984). Towards the end of the eleventh century and beginning of the twelfth century tournaments emerged as a popular event. At this time in history there were no standing armies or traditional military training. These early tournaments supported an environment to train in the new technique of mounted warfare (Keene, 1984). The cost of owning a warhorse and the equipment quickly made the cavalry positions aristocratic in nature as the wealthy could afford to fight and train horseback (Keene, 1984).

In times of war, knights were occupied with making war.  However, in times of peace, the knight would fall on very difficult economic times. Without much to do or any skills to work the land, knights reverted to what they did best: killing people. They would pillage and steal to make their livings. These knights are referred to as the knights errant.

The church (Roman Catholic) adopted the codes and virtues to help re-direct violent energy to more appropriate channels, such as recovering holy land (Saul, 1992). The pious knights, the Knights Templar, were a monastic order whom fought on behalf of their faith (Kaeuper, 2005 p. 16). Yet, most knights were not monastic knights. However, the rich literature surrounding medieval knights encourages piety. It is suspected that encouraging faith and believing that they were good Christians helped justify their violent occupation (Kaeuper, 2005 p. 31). Knights who demonstrated great martial prowess and spirituality could valorize themselves and obtain great social and political authority (Kaeuper, 2005).

Since the original knight was often no more than a mercenary with a title and religious agenda (depending on region and time period), it is important to uncover the source of the mythological image of the "knight in shining armor." This source is the construction of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. These legends overshadow the true nature of knighthood and supplant it with anecdotes of virtues. Despite the implementation of the virtues into the order of knighthood, knights still occupied a violent yet crucial role in medieval society. However, as pamphlets and stories turned into books and movies, suddenly the true historical knight is masked and only the virtuous, romantic version of the knight (the knight in shining armor) survives.

The legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table is probably the most iconic version of knighthood. These legends have been circulated throughout Western culture for centuries. However, there is no conclusive evidence that suggests that King Arthur was, in fact, a real man. There are many theories circulating about who King Arthur really was: from a Roman general, as depicted in the movie King Arthur to a Prince of the Britons who lived in South Wales (Bulfinch, 2004).  However, most historical evidence suggests that the man, to whom the legends may have been likened, lived between 500A.D. and 600 A.D. (Bulfinch, 2004). There is no historically documented man by the name of "King Arthur," nor did this man have a cult of knights and a round table. There is a Welsh Prince by the name of Arctos, meaning "the great bear." Yet, there is also a constellation that appears in the artic circle called "Arctos-the great bear" as there is a constellation called "the round table" (Bulfinch, 2004, p. 40). Moreover, whoever this king was would have lived 500 years prior to the first documented evidence of the concept of "knightly virtues".

One man considered to be the most respected knight of his time is a French knight by the name Sir Geoffroi De Charny who lived during the early fourteenth century and died at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 (Kaeuper, 2005). De Charny was both a politically and religiously active man. He wrote several influential books on knighthood and chivalry, most notable is the Book of Chivalry (Kaeuper, 2005). De Charny (2005) wrote that perfection is impossible but the pursuit to be worthy is honorable through the detailed instructions of what a man-at-arms should do. De Charny considered knighthood "the most rigorous order of all, especially for those who upheld it well and conduct themselves in a manned in keeping with the purpose for which the order was established" (De Charny, 2005 p. 95). He notes that those who are unworthy are men who would take up arms to kill without reason, war for pleasure, take from others without warning and dishonor their lord with dishonesty (De Charny 2005). De Charny (2005) also gave advice as to how women might find honor for their knight and promoted love and sex as a means to inspire passion in knights. 

Another historical man considered to embody the ideals of chivalry is Prince Edward III, also known as the Black Prince (Vale, 1992).  While Prince Edward was not a knight like Geoffroi De De Charny, Prince Edward did encourage secular displays of chivalry and showmanship. Prince Edward lived during the late 1300s in England. Froissart (Vale, 1992) called him "the flower of the world's knighthood" (p. 24). The Black Prince, having been successful in combat and pious, served as an excellent model of the Arthurian knight. In fact, Edward was aware of the power of these stories. In 1344, Edward III created a round table to seat 300 knights (Vale, 1994). The table was to be constructed at Windsor castle. Knights and nobles were expected to swear oaths as the fabled knights of King Arthur's court did when they went questing for the Holy Grail (Vale, 1994). Also in 1344, the prince entered a jousting tournament as a knight by the name "Monsieur Lionell," Lionell being the name of Sir Lancelot's cousin (Vale, 1994 p. 32). Thus even during the medieval era, the enactment of the Arthurian knight was considered to be noteworthy and abnormally festive.

One of the master Arthurian works is Le Mort D'Arthur, written by Sir Thomas Malory. While Le Mort D'Arthur is the largest singular collection of Arthurian tales, other poems and epic works do exist. Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote The History of the Kings of Briton, which supposedly historically documents the Kings of England and their stories. There was also the French vulgate-cycle in which Arthurian stories were used as anecdotes for courtly graces (Pochoda, 1971). Thus, the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the round table have been re-created and adapted several times over-even before Hollywood immortalized a romantic version of chivalry.

Contemporary audiences, however, indulge in their romantic notions of knighthood and knights via cinema. The cinematic knight is the one who best displays the romantic versions of Arthurian knighthood and can be seen in films such as Knights of the Round Table (Berman, 1953), First Knight (Lowry, 1995), and King Arthur (Bruckheimer, 2004). In Martha Driver's (2004) essay "What's Accuracy Got to Do with It?" she argues that when consciously watching medieval themed films we "notice the intentional or unintentional anachronism, and the imposing of contemporary social or political values on the past" (p. 19). Largely, medieval movies do not present the past as it was, but rather how we think of the Middle Ages as pop culture (Driver, 2004).  The medieval themed film moves away from historical accuracy and becomes a double fiction. When we watch a medieval film, we are familiar with both its context and its predecessors on the screen (Jewers, 2004). Yet it should be noted that this process is not unique to the filmmaker or the film, for this re-circulation and combination of story telling is the same formula that the original medieval authors used when constructing their stories and epic romances (Jewer, 2004).

As pop culture versions of knighthood, these films have over-simplified the complexity of medieval and contemporary life. Caroline Jewer (2004) suggests that the re-surfacing of the chivalric romance film is the revival and/or re-presentation of modern ideals. In medieval time, "men are manly and women are feisty," (Jewer, 2004, p. 193) but in the end adhere to traditional roles of masculinity and femininity. The world itself converts feudalism from a stagnant form of social order to one that leaves room for mobility through individualism. While there is a wide range of medieval movies and chivalric romances, A Knight's Tale stands out as a good example of how images of chivalry are recycled and deployed in postmodern popular culture.

The film A Knight's Tale (2002) is about Sir William Thatcher.  William was not born a noble but a squire to a knight, and though the knighthood was open to all, there were boundaries.  Set in the 14^th century, there was never a time in Europe when a name meant so much (Jewer, 2004).  The film re-invents the epic poem by Chaucer (in fact, Chaucer is a character in this movie and plays Sir William Thatcher's herald) and the story of Lancelot, the Chevalier de la Charrette. The conjunction of these two literary classics creates a contemporary re-imagining of the medieval and chivalric knight. The complete anachronism of costume, language, and music in A Knights Tale is a strong indicator that the origin or context of a historical knight is no longer of significance.  The postmodern simulated knight is one who is knightly through heart and virtue, rather than status and name. This indeed conforms to the American ideals of being able to make anything of yourself if you have the heart and the desire to do great things.

In summary, the re-simulation of knighthood has lead people in sense making for centuries. The medieval knight was very different from the idealized knight. However, it is the idealized knight that has survived in literature, film, and popular culture. Through these texts, the mythologies of Lancelot and the Knights of the Round Table became lengthy proverbs on how to behave.  Thus, the idealized knight has been used as equipment for living since the moment of its inception. It was meant to be an example, to give commands, to encourage or discourage certain relationships, and ultimately, to demonstrate how to navigate the obstacles of the world as a good, holy person.

In the postmodern era, the knight is a symbol of virtuosity. Its prevalent re-birth and re-simulation in various forms of media suggests that the traditional idealized knight plays a role in making sense of the postmodern world around us. The knight stands for more than just a mercenary, or even a radical idealist fighting for what is right. The knight now stands for universal truths such as: love and hate, good and evil, right and wrong, clearly gendered identities, loyalty, sovereignty, oaths, and optimism. The knight becomes something familiar, a hero, and an idealized version of self.  This concept of self as knight hides the ugliness of the mundane world and provides a more compelling reality for participation in and consumption of, as demonstrated in the Society for Creative Anachronism.

The Society for Creative Anachronism

The Society for Creative Anachronism, founded in 1966 (Courtney, 2008), re-creates the medieval period, which are the years between the fall of the Roman Empire, (500 A.D) and the beginning of the Renaissance (1500 A.D). The SCA focuses mostly on European history and culture, but also includes Middle Eastern, Asian and even North American histories. The society is broken up into three different peerages: The Chivalry (those who fight), The Laurels (those who do art and science) and The Pelicans (those who serve).  The Chivalry is made up of people who have been awarded the highest accolade of fighting: knighthood. The knights are the oldest peerage in the SCA and should embody knightly virtues.

The society (as it is called) is also referred to as "the knowne world." The two different names of the SCA suggest that there is simultaneously localization and globalization taking place. "The society" suggests a community, a smaller culture within a larger world, a place of belonging and exchange or resource. However, the term "the knowne world" gives acknowledgement to the grandiosity of not just the Society for Creative Anachronism, but in fact, the mundane globe. Yet the name "the knowne world" seems to suggest that there is some of the world that is not yet known, and that its impressive size might be too big for the mind to comprehend.

On first glance, it becomes clear that the SCA prides itself on community. Members take it upon themselves to properly introduce newcomers to the costumes and norms of the society. Veteran members often supply newcomers with garb and gear they no longer need (or even have acquired specifically to give to potential members). There is a motto heard often at SCA events: "I will teach you anything you want to know. And if I don't know it how to do it, I'll find you someone who does."

Each person in the SCA is encouraged to select a persona. This persona will be from a certain location and time period in history. Once the persona is selected, the individual will choose a new name that is a historically documentable name from the chosen location and period. Personae can range from 12^th century English to 14^th century Aztec.. -->[if !supportFootnotes]-->[i].. -->[endif]-->. The roles then become enacted as participants research suitable clothing for their persona. Thus, at a SCA event deep in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, there might be a Viking, a Japanese, a Mongol, a Celt and a Persian sitting at one table, enjoying each other's company. At an SCA event, enacted diversity is a norm.

To people on the outside, the SCA appears to be a hobby, an extracurricular activity. However, this activity can and often does become a way of living. Those who become true active members of the society often make very strong connections to and investments in the roles they play. They also build meaningful relationships that allow for the exchange of social capital. Once invested into the society, its norms, behaviors and virtues are expected to not only be enacted while in the presence of other "Scadians" (a name some people in the SCA call themselves) but also beyond the SCA. This lifestyle, like most societies and groups has its own norms and expected behavior. The reason why the SCA is considered a lifes