Killin' it on Corporate Ground: The Cultural Politics of Street Performance in a Gentrified Space

On a weekend evening in San Diego’s historic Eclipse district, several buskers capture the attention of passersby as they make their way through the bustling crowds to the nearest restaurant or nightclub. These buskers represent various subcultures within a gentrified entertainment district of urban renewal that caters to the middle class. This ethnographic study aims to examine the cultural politics of busker performances in a highly corporate, gentrified space. Are buskers able to maintain their independence from the market economy or are they unintentionally or willingly reinforcing this system? Through completion of an ethnographic study in the Eclipse district, this research analyzes the reactions, interactions, and dynamics that formulate the gentrified busker experience.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Matson, Hillary C.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Mark Auslander
• Lene Pedersen
• Jessica Hope Amason

• performance
• urban
• buskers
• gentrified
• corporate
• cultural
• Other Anthropology
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• Urban Studies and Planning

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/317

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.cwu.edu:etd-1313