Plant Spirits, Amazonianism, and the Tourist Gaze

When it comes to the belief in plant spirits, there may be a tendency to exoticise indigenous beliefs and be biased towards them over other religious beliefs one is exposed to or familiar with. This is despite the fact that both types of belief propound supernatural entities. The former belief may seem more trustworthy since…

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The Tourist Gaze and the Search for ‘Authentic Travel’

Authentic travel experiences: these are what we all seem to be after when we go abroad. When exploring new locales and relaying our experiences to others upon our return, there’s often nothing more self-satisfying than talking about how authentic a particular experience was. I have written previously about how this concept of authenticity can feed…

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