{"id":{"repo_id":"texas","oai_identifier":"oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/132198"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/texas/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/132198","repository":{"repo_id":"texas","name":"University of Texas","base_url":"https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"With their eyes turned skyward : making sense of tourist experiences in Roswell, New Mexico","abstract":"This interdisciplinary study explores the tourism industry in Roswell, New Mexico, a theme town that advertises itself as “the UFO Capital of the World.” John Gottdiener, a scholar of themed environments, asserts that consumption is the dominant force structuring individuals’ experiences of these types of spaces. However, tourism in Roswell presents a formidable challenge to Gottdiener’s model. A wide variety of elements influence Roswell tourists’ experiences, including the history of tourism in the American West; popular cultural representations of Roswell; local, small-scale tourist attractions; the souvenir industry; and the worldviews of the tourists themselves. I explore each of these components and the ways that they inform tourists’ experiences in Roswell, drawing on visual, material, and popular culture; secondary sources on the history of tourism in the American West; and ethnographic research on Roswell tourists. This study demonstrates that while consumption is a significant force in themed tourist towns such as Roswell, there are many other factors that also exert considerable influence on the shape the tourism industry takes and the ways that visitors experience it","abstract_html":"This interdisciplinary study explores the tourism industry in Roswell, New Mexico, a theme town that advertises itself as “the UFO Capital of the World.” John Gottdiener, a scholar of themed environments, asserts that consumption is the dominant force structuring individuals’ experiences of these types of spaces. However, tourism in Roswell presents a formidable challenge to Gottdiener’s model. A wide variety of elements influence Roswell tourists’ experiences, including the history of tourism in the American West; popular cultural representations of Roswell; local, small-scale tourist attractions; the souvenir industry; and the worldviews of the tourists themselves. I explore each of these components and the ways that they inform tourists’ experiences in Roswell, drawing on visual, material, and popular culture; secondary sources on the history of tourism in the American West; and ethnographic research on Roswell tourists. This study demonstrates that while consumption is a significant force in themed tourist towns such as Roswell, there are many other factors that also exert considerable influence on the shape the tourism industry takes and the ways that visitors experience it","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["McClelland, Erin Lynn"],"institution":"University of Texas at Austin","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"American Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Hoelscher, Steven D."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-05-21","date_published":"2005-05-21","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:01:22Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright © is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/59542"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/59542","href":"https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/59542","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2152/132198","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Hoelscher, Steven D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["McClelland, Erin Lynn"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-03-28T23:18:49Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-03-28T23:18:49Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2005-05-21"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["American Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Texas at Austin"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright © is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2152/132198","https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/59542"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This interdisciplinary study explores the tourism industry in Roswell, New Mexico, a theme town that advertises itself as “the UFO Capital of the World.” John Gottdiener, a scholar of themed environments, asserts that consumption is the dominant force structuring individuals’ experiences of these types of spaces. However, tourism in Roswell presents a formidable challenge to Gottdiener’s model. A wide variety of elements influence Roswell tourists’ experiences, including the history of tourism in the American West; popular cultural representations of Roswell; local, small-scale tourist attractions; the souvenir industry; and the worldviews of the tourists themselves. I explore each of these components and the ways that they inform tourists’ experiences in Roswell, drawing on visual, material, and popular culture; secondary sources on the history of tourism in the American West; and ethnographic research on Roswell tourists. This study demonstrates that while consumption is a significant force in themed tourist towns such as Roswell, there are many other factors that also exert considerable influence on the shape the tourism industry takes and the ways that visitors experience it"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["electronic"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["With their eyes turned skyward : making sense of tourist experiences in Roswell, New Mexico"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Hoelscher, Steven D."],"dc:creator":["McClelland, Erin Lynn"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-03-28T23:18:49Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-03-28T23:18:49Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2005-05-21"],"dc:description.abstract":["This interdisciplinary study explores the tourism industry in Roswell, New Mexico, a theme town that advertises itself as “the UFO Capital of the World.” John Gottdiener, a scholar of themed environments, asserts that consumption is the dominant force structuring individuals’ experiences of these types of spaces. However, tourism in Roswell presents a formidable challenge to Gottdiener’s model. A wide variety of elements influence Roswell tourists’ experiences, including the history of tourism in the American West; popular cultural representations of Roswell; local, small-scale tourist attractions; the souvenir industry; and the worldviews of the tourists themselves. I explore each of these components and the ways that they inform tourists’ experiences in Roswell, drawing on visual, material, and popular culture; secondary sources on the history of tourism in the American West; and ethnographic research on Roswell tourists. This study demonstrates that while consumption is a significant force in themed tourist towns such as Roswell, there are many other factors that also exert considerable influence on the shape the tourism industry takes and the ways that visitors experience it"],"dc:format.medium":["electronic"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/2152/132198","https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/59542"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright © is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works."],"dc:title":["With their eyes turned skyward : making sense of tourist experiences in Roswell, New Mexico"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["American Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Texas at Austin"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:01:22Z"}