Secure The Red Riviera: Gender, Tourism, And Postsocialism On The Black Sea Conceived By Kristen R. Ghodsee Edition

This was an very interesting ethnography concerning women employed within the tourism industry in recently postsocialist Bulgaria, Ghodsee highlights commonly misunderstood assumptions concerning gender disparities, the transition from communism to capitalism, and the concerns of Bulgarians today, Ghodsee further analyzes how western ideals or ''solutions' to problems such as unemployment and lack of education will not necessarily solve problems in postsocialist countries due to differences in prior perspectives and ways of life.
Overall, a very stimulating, quick, and educational read, Maybe it is because I have never been to the Black Sea, so I had a hard time imagining the setting of the study, Still, the book gave me a better idea of the lives of those working in that tourism industry, This compelling ethnography of women working in Bulgarias popular sea and ski resorts challenges the idea that women have consistently fared worse than men in Eastern Europes transition from socialism to a market economy.
For decades western European tourists have flocked to Bulgarias beautiful beaches and mountains tourism is today one of the few successfuland expandingsectors of the countrys economy.
Even at the highest levels of management, employment in the tourism industry has long been dominated by women, Kristen Ghodsee explains why this is and how women working in the industry have successfully negotiated their way through Bulgarias capitalist transformation while the fortunes of most of the population have plummeted.
She highlights how, prior to, the communist planners sought to create full employment for all at the same time that they steered women into the service sector.
The women given jobs in tourism obtained higher educations, foreign language skills, and experiences working with Westerners, all of which positioned them to take advantage of the institutional changes eventually brought about by privatization.
Interspersed throughout The Red Riviera are vivid examinations of the lives of Bulgarian women, including a waitress, a tour operator, a chef, a maid, a receptionist, and a travel agent.
Through these womens stories, Ghodsee describes their employment prior toand after, She considers the postsocialist forces that have shaped the tourist industry over the past fifteen years: the emergence of a new democratic state, the small but increasing interest of foreign investors and

transnational corporations, and the proliferation of ngos.
Ghodsee suggests that many of the ngos, by insisting that Bulgarian women are necessarily disenfranchised, ignore their significant professional successes, this is one of the best books i read at swarthmore, it inspired my crush on bulgaria, I clicked on wrong book, Did not read, but unable to delete, Kristen R. Ghodsee an award winning author and ethnographer, She is professor of Russian and East European Studies and a member of the Graduate Group in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, Her work has been translated into over twenty five languages and has appeared in publications such as Foreign Affairs, Dissent, Jacobin, Ms, Magazine, The New Republic, Le Monde Diplomatique, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, She is the author ofbooks, and she is the host of the podcast, A.
K., which discusses the works of the Russian Bolshevik, Alexandra Kollontai, Her latest book is Everyday Utopia: WhatYears of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life, forthcoming with Simon Schuster in May, She loves Kristen R. Ghodsee an award winning author and ethnographer, She is professor of Russian and East European Studies and a member of the Graduate Group in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, Her work has been translated into over twenty five languages and has appeared in publications such as Foreign Affairs, Dissent, Jacobin, Ms, Magazine, The New Republic, Le Monde Diplomatique, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, She is the author ofbooks, and she is the host of the podcast, A.
K., which discusses the works of the Russian Bolshevik, Alexandra Kollontai, Her latest book is Everyday Utopia: WhatYears of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life, forthcoming with Simon Schuster in May, She loves popcorn, manual typewriters, and Bassett hounds, Website: sitelink www. kristenghodsee. comPodcast: ak. buzzsprout. com sitelink.