Museum of Approaches
Concepts & Approaches to Tourism, Society & Environment
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Explore the Museum
Explore the Museum
The Museum of Approaches is a temporary physical and permanent virtual public space created with the purpose of translating diverse approaches to tourism knowledge production into accessible, meaningful exhibition 'pieces' that help us all not only to better understand their nuances but also to grasp their presence and applicability in our daily lives. It is a museum made by students for students.
Gain insight into five key approaches that have been fundamental not only to shaping how we study tourism phenomena but also to shaping the contexts in which tourism phenomena have developed: positivism, interpretivism, Marxian Political Economy, transnational feminism, and poststructuralism. Each approach offers unique tools and perspectives, helping us to question assumptions, explore alternative viewpoints, and develop a holistic understanding of the issues we care about. These approaches shape our understanding of the world, often in ways we may not realise.
This approach values and seeks empirical evidence and observable facts.
Through this lens, we can focus on how scientific methods and objective knowledge, statistics and measurable outcomes are valued and used.
This approach values attention to how people construct meaning in their lives and how their backgrounds shape their experiences.
Through this lens, we can focus on the individual and cultural narratives people tell and reproduce, cultural rituals, and how culture shapes everyday interactions.
This approach seeks to reveal power dynamics and oppression in economic structures and to improve them.
Through this lens, we can notice instances of economic inequality, labour conditions, and class struggles, identifying who holds power and resources in various settings.
This approach focuses on gendered inequalities and how they intersect with other social categories like race, class, and nationality throughout the world.
Through this lens, we can notice the experiences of women and marginalised groups across different contexts.
This approach focuses on deconstructing dominant narratives and questioning fixed identities.
Through this lens, we can notice how language gets used to shape perceptions and power relations, and how identities are fluid and constructed.
What other approaches do you think have been really important for the production of knowledge about tourism?
What other approaches do you think have been really important for the production of knowledge about tourism?
Get in touch and let us know!
About this initiative
About this initiative
The Museum of Approaches is an initiative of GEO 30306 Concepts & Approaches for Tourism, Society & Environment, part of the MSc Tourism, Society & Environment at Wageningen University & Research. Course participants have developed the resources available here.
Questions? Comments? Contact course coordinator Dr Meghann Ormond via meghann.ormond @ wur.nl
GEO 30306 Concepts & Approaches for Tourism, Society & Environment
GEO 30306 Concepts & Approaches for Tourism, Society & Environment
How do different worldviews shape the way we understand tourism and ourselves? In this course, you will learn to understand and apply five major social science approaches that inform research across many fields, including tourism: positivism, interpretivism, Marxian political economy, transnational feminism, and poststructuralism. Each approach offers different assumptions about what counts as knowledge, how it is produced, and the role of the researcher in that process. You will analyse academic texts, social issues, and your own experiences using these approaches as lenses, while also reflecting on your own positionality—your values, biases, and background—and how these influence the kinds of questions you ask and the knowledge you seek to create. You will individually and collective perform weekly article analyses, investigating academic journal articles through the lenses of the approaches we learn in the course. In the first of your two final assignments, you will co-design a public exhibition piece that helps others grasp the core ideas of one of the approaches using a visual, auditory, or performative format. In the second, you will choose your own case topic—such as a tourism-related issue, social trend, or policy debate—and analyse it through multiple approaches. With a mix of conceptual grounding, practical exercises, and space for personal reflection, this course will strengthen your ability to think across disciplines and develop your own voice as a scholar and citizen.
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