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Jan. 23, 2005 Dark Tourism, a phrase coined by the authors Foley and Lennon in 1996, is one of the many newly found terms applied to the visitation of sites associated with death, disaster and mass killing. Such sites include, the battlefields of WW1 and WW2, Auschwitz, Alcatraz, as well as the Sixth Floor Development, WDC (the site from where Lee Harvey Oswald, supposedly shot JFK). It is evident that there are a range of what can be termed 'dark tourism' sites; activities include the ancient witnessing gladiatorial combats to the death or the first pilgrimages of the fourth Century AD. However, the term also applies to visits to Madame Tussaud's 'Chamber of Horrors'. It is evident that interest in 'dark tourism' sites is in no way a new phenomenon and interest within such sites is ever growing, for example, Ground Zero now attracts 3.6 million visitors per annum, as opposed to the 1.8 million that visited the World Trade Centre. This growth in interest in such sites has lead many commentators to try and make sense of the phenomenon, all of which seem to have their own views regarding its definitions, its development and nature (Seaton: 1998, Uzzell: 1989, Rojek and Urry, 1996, Dann: 2001). I have chosen to study this phenomenon in detail, at PhD level. My area of research is the analysis of the 'dark tourist', an area that is currently neglected within extant literature. This it is assumed is due to the fact that it is very difficult to research participants of dark tourism, when information required includes details about their motivations, perceptions and emotions, as there is of course, a risk of causing offence. It is, however with my opinion, imperative to this area of research to find answers to the many questions, including who in fact the 'dark tourist' is, whether there can be a type of tourist that can be classified as a 'dark tourist' (a term that does not particularly work very well for all its implications regarding morbid curiosity) and why they choose to visit such sites. Within my research I hope to bridge the gap within the current literature, with regards to the dark tourist and the current assumption that is that dark tourist are morbidly curious, which has been insinuated largely by the media. I however, can not accept that this is the case. For example, how can visitors to the Second World War battlefields, who had relatives who died there, be regarded as morbidly curious? Or how is it that a person visiting New York, who feels that they should visit Ground Zero as a matter of respect, is seen as having an ulterior motive? It is this assumption that within my research I feel I must challenge. This topic causes a great deal of debate, both within academic literature and within the media and I would be very grateful to hear from anyone, who has an opinion on this matter. ------------ Email Ria Dunkley: riadunkley@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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