http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/commodification Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sat, 06 Jun 2026 11:29:47 -0400 Sat, 06 Jun 2026 11:29:47 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/730/the-apparition-of-fading-apartheid-racialized-vision-khaya-mthethwa-and-idols-sa By David W. Synyard - This essay examines the first black winner in 2012 on Idols SA, Khaya Mthethwa (Appendix 1), the TV format of the Idol brand, and the social construction of racialized vision in the context of South Africa as a post-colonial nation from a visual culture perspective. Theoretically, this essay presents an interdisciplinary approach of Marxist political economy, Debord’s concept of the spectacle (1983, p. 13), and Foucauldian biopower (2013, p. 134). Although somewhat contradictory, these theories present a nuanced understanding of how Mthethwa’s spectacle is encased in a racialized form... Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:40 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/730/the-apparition-of-fading-apartheid-racialized-vision-khaya-mthethwa-and-idols-sa http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/669/a-couchsurfing-ethnography-traveling-and-connection-in-a-commodified-world By CiCi Siyue Liu - The past decades have seen significant expansion in the markets for commercial tourism, offering high-cost accommodation, luxury services, and resort getaways for the Western consumer. In the context of high expenditure-and-profit tourism, forms of alternative tourism distant from the commercial arena have emerged globally. Examples include Hospitality Exchange and the CouchSurfing Project. This ethnographic study analyzes the CouchSurfing Project as an emerging social and cultural phenomenon, and seeks to determine the shared meanings, values, and social interpretations of CouchSurfers that support... Mon, 30 Jul 2012 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/669/a-couchsurfing-ethnography-traveling-and-connection-in-a-commodified-world