The nature and scope of festival studies

Abstract

The nature and scope of festival studies is examined by compiling and analyzing a large-scale literature review of 423 research articles published in the English-language scholarly press. These have been annotated and their themes classified by reference to a pre-determined framework. Identification and discussion of three major discourses was enabled by this method, namely the roles, meanings and impacts of festivals in society and culture, festival tourism, and festival management. Conclusions focus on revealed research gaps and the need for greater interdisciplinarity to advance the field of festival studies.