11 Sites of (dark) consciences: Investigating dark tourism cosmologies in a postcolonial landscape
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Maximiliano E. Korstanje
Abstract
Although dark tourism has captivated the attention of scholars over recent years, part of the specialized literature overlooks the interplay between dark tourism and politics. Dark tourism and politics are inextricably intertwined. As Joy Sather- Wagstaff noted, dark heritage can be politically and ideologically manipulated to protect some interests; on occasions, affirming long dormant neocolonial discourses negating the ethical liabilities of European nations in their abuses during the colonial period (Korstanje & Baker 2018). This book chapter holds that dark tourism is aimed at commoditizing history that tells visitors only a partial truth of the real story. It engages with critical theory as the touchstone of its analysis while laying the foundations towards a new understanding of dark tourism. Centered on the assumptions that dark tourism looks to consume the “Other`s pain” for narcissistic reasons, the material asymmetries between the Global North and South persist. Nonetheless, dark tourism offers a fertile ground to provide a lesson to society enhancing resiliency and adaptation to traumatic events. Having said this, dark tourism helps to understand bloody events which should not be repeated in the future. This book chapter discusses critically the contributions and limitations of dark tourism theory in a postcolonial context.
Abstract
Although dark tourism has captivated the attention of scholars over recent years, part of the specialized literature overlooks the interplay between dark tourism and politics. Dark tourism and politics are inextricably intertwined. As Joy Sather- Wagstaff noted, dark heritage can be politically and ideologically manipulated to protect some interests; on occasions, affirming long dormant neocolonial discourses negating the ethical liabilities of European nations in their abuses during the colonial period (Korstanje & Baker 2018). This book chapter holds that dark tourism is aimed at commoditizing history that tells visitors only a partial truth of the real story. It engages with critical theory as the touchstone of its analysis while laying the foundations towards a new understanding of dark tourism. Centered on the assumptions that dark tourism looks to consume the “Other`s pain” for narcissistic reasons, the material asymmetries between the Global North and South persist. Nonetheless, dark tourism offers a fertile ground to provide a lesson to society enhancing resiliency and adaptation to traumatic events. Having said this, dark tourism helps to understand bloody events which should not be repeated in the future. This book chapter discusses critically the contributions and limitations of dark tourism theory in a postcolonial context.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- Foreword 1
- 1 Dark tourism: The need for a critical approach 5
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Part I: Dark tourism, affect and emotions
- 2 Atmospheric instability in dark tourism: Spatial construction of conflicting affective atmospheres at the Titanic Museum & Attraction, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (USA) 33
- 3 Understanding the emotions of visitors to Chernobyl 53
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Part II: Dark tourism and critical animal studies
- 4 Animals as dark tourism attractions: A prototype 77
- 5 Meet, greet and eat: Farmed animals as dark tourism attractions 89
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Part III: Dark tourism and critical memory studies
- 6 Trading paradise for Palestine: Dark tourism to refugee camps in the West Bank 109
- 7 The scope of dark tourism-scapes: Exclusion zones and their creative boundedness from Chornobyl to Montserrat 129
- 8 Exploring the intersections between dark tourism and Arctic traumascapes in the Anthropocene: The case of Finnish Lapland 147
- 9 “Despicable and disgusting”: Emotional labor, and the fear of dark tourism 163
- 10 Welcome to Revachol: Disco Elysium as virtual dark tourism 181
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Part IV: Dark tourism, power and identity
- 11 Sites of (dark) consciences: Investigating dark tourism cosmologies in a postcolonial landscape 203
- 12 Towards a postcolonial museum? Experiencing legacies of colonialism in dark tourism museum exhibits 219
- 13 Exhibiting power: Dark tourism and crime in the police museum 245
- 14 Representations in UK witches tours: Walking over the roots of misogyny 261
- 15 Critical theories in dark tourism: Over the years and beyond 277
- List of contributors 285
- List of figures 291
- Index 293
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- Foreword 1
- 1 Dark tourism: The need for a critical approach 5
-
Part I: Dark tourism, affect and emotions
- 2 Atmospheric instability in dark tourism: Spatial construction of conflicting affective atmospheres at the Titanic Museum & Attraction, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (USA) 33
- 3 Understanding the emotions of visitors to Chernobyl 53
-
Part II: Dark tourism and critical animal studies
- 4 Animals as dark tourism attractions: A prototype 77
- 5 Meet, greet and eat: Farmed animals as dark tourism attractions 89
-
Part III: Dark tourism and critical memory studies
- 6 Trading paradise for Palestine: Dark tourism to refugee camps in the West Bank 109
- 7 The scope of dark tourism-scapes: Exclusion zones and their creative boundedness from Chornobyl to Montserrat 129
- 8 Exploring the intersections between dark tourism and Arctic traumascapes in the Anthropocene: The case of Finnish Lapland 147
- 9 “Despicable and disgusting”: Emotional labor, and the fear of dark tourism 163
- 10 Welcome to Revachol: Disco Elysium as virtual dark tourism 181
-
Part IV: Dark tourism, power and identity
- 11 Sites of (dark) consciences: Investigating dark tourism cosmologies in a postcolonial landscape 203
- 12 Towards a postcolonial museum? Experiencing legacies of colonialism in dark tourism museum exhibits 219
- 13 Exhibiting power: Dark tourism and crime in the police museum 245
- 14 Representations in UK witches tours: Walking over the roots of misogyny 261
- 15 Critical theories in dark tourism: Over the years and beyond 277
- List of contributors 285
- List of figures 291
- Index 293
