Event Studies: Discourses and Future Directions

Abstract

The field of event Studies is described and its evolution considered, with specific reference to three general subdivisions or discourses. Event tourism, event management, and disciplinary perspectives are all quite different in terms of their approach to studying planned events, the concepts of interest, and related public and policy discourse. Major concepts being discussed in event management and event tourism are identified (both being highly instrumentalist in nature), while sociological and anthropological themes are examined to illustrate the disciplinary approach. In particular, major differences between the three discourses are observable in the context of how event impacts are addressed, and this is reflected in public and political discourse. The article concludes with a discussion of future directions and the need for interdisciplinary theory building.