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| These standard articles of clothing made of 100% cotton are nothing to gawk at, but once Harvard's campus bookstore stamped its name on the front and placed the merchandise behind glass, these sweatshirts entered the stages of sight sacralization. This sight reaches the framing, mechanical reproduction, and social reproduction phases by shielding the sweatshirts behind glass, branding the Harvard name across the front of each sweatshirt, and, most obviously, by being taken in Harvard Square, a plot of land specifically named after the university. The Harvard campus bookstore is a staple of the square and it is sight sacralization like this that increases the appeal to its tourists. |
Monday, February 9, 2015
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That's a really striking photo, which definitely captures the museum-style display at the Coop! Other than the glass, which you pointed out, did you see other visual or display details that make this so museum-like?
ReplyDeleteCool picture! This is pretty strange to me, but not at all surprising. Tufts does similar displays at our bookstore, although they just use the standard windows of the bookstore as frames and don't have this same dramatic lighting! Something I originally thought of using for this assignment was one of the other news stands/stores around Harvard Square that are not actually affiliated with the university but sell tons of Harvard products. There are even these types of stands inside T stations. I rarely see people at them, but they stay in business so someone must be purchasing items there! There really is a global obsession with anything Harvard.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds of one of MacCannell's souvenir examples from Paris – a keychain with a miniature version of the Rue de Rivoli street sign – because it seems to speak to the processes he identifies whereby sights and markers seem to switch place. In the keychain example, it is not only the street that becomes iconic but the marker of that street; in this instance, the Harvard logo and its reproductions are on display in a museum-like fashion – and the place becomes consumable in new ways through the markers' availability for purchase.
ReplyDeleteAnd the widespread availability of materials signifying one of the world's most exclusive universities is a really interesting facet of Harvard tourism! Who really "goes to" Harvard? If you buy a souvenir from an "authentic" Harvard bookstore that displays sweatshirts as colorful native garb, are you somehow partaking of some aspect of the university itself? Again, I keep coming back to the "staged authenticity" chapter of "The Tourist," which will help us dig into some of these questions more deeply!
ReplyDeleteWow, this is really is just like a museum display... What is a literally a book store meant for students seems to serve more a tourist clientele. It makes me think of another world famous university. In Oxford, there are very similar stores - old buildings with wooden storefronts showing off university sweaters, scarves, etc. Inside, there are history guide books in a variety of languages. One feels the need to buy something to prove they were there, but (as Prof. Stanton mentions) the fact that this university, like Harvard, has a certain reputation, a sweater from Oxford has a different connotation attached to it than say, a sweater from Disneyland.
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