Culture for Sale: An Ethnographic Study of Commodification at the Westwego Shrimp Lot of Louisiana

<p>This study examines the marketing strategies employed by vendors at the Westwego shrimp lot in Westwego, Louisiana. Given the fluctuating market conditions and rising costs of seafood production, seafood vendors in the Gulf Coast region must look continuously for new ways to market their product as a cultural commodity. This thesis argues that shrimp becomes a cultural commodity at the Westwego shrimp lot, and that through marketing strategies, vendors at the Westwego shrimp lot both resist and accept certain aspects of globalization. The presence of imports, a presence that emerges in the context of globalization, poses a large threat to the industry‟s survival. Vendors both consciously and unconsciously market shrimp as food and symbol. An analysis of their efforts may contribute to understanding the process of cultural commodification.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Planning and Urban Studies

Year

2010

Author dc:creator

• Wissing, Rachael

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ehrenreich, Jeffrey
• Beriss, David
• Gladstone, David

• Cultural commodity
• Westwego shrimp lot
• globalization
• Self-commodification
• Westwego
• Louisiana

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1213

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-2196