Colonial Geographies, Tourist Imaginaries, and Mystical Landscapes

“This is an innovative and insightful work by a seasoned scholar who delivers a study of what she rightly calls ‘imaginative geographies and mystical tourism.’ Through an examination of media, theme parks, travel, and leisure activities focused on the wellness industry, she examines geography as a foundational part of mystical tourism. The central argument is how the white, colonial gaze plays a central role in the tourism industry. From there, the author proceeds to argue this gaze is crucial in the dominant ideas of Euro-American supremacy and it is from here the erasure of indigenous and Native American histories emerges. It is an exceptionally powerful and important book” Hamid Dabashi, Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature, Columbia University “Arjana explores the seemingly ordinary practice of tourism, revealing it as a stage for deeper and darker forces—colonialism, erasure, and a gaze that claims to see but refuses to understand. Her argument is not merely academic; it is moral. Drawing on case studies from Africa, Bali, and the United States, she demonstrates how geography becomes complicit in enchantment—and how enchantment, shaped by colonial power, operates as a tool of erasure. This work offers a searing critique of Euro-American supremacy while urging the necessity of counter-mapping as a method for subverting its dominant gaze.” Roshan Iqbal, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Agnes Scott College