The Marketable Swamp People: The Effects of Commodification on Louisiana’s Cajun Culture
Date
2012-05-11
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Abstract
The Cajuns are a cultural group that lives almost exclusively in Southwest Louisiana. Today they are portrayed in mainstream media through reality television shows and cook books, but how did this 'Cajun fever' emerge? This paper travels through three generations of oral history accounts and attempts to explain how externally- driven processes of commodification of language, foodways, and Mardi Gras created a new, if fictitious, culture. It explores the ways in which Cajuns have had to choose between their own authentic culture and a commodified, yet profitable version of it.
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Cajun, Louisiana, Commodification, oral history, memory studies, language, foodways, Mardi Gras, isolation, English only, Swamp Tours