Dark tourism geographies: ontological, epistemological and axiological perspectives

Abstract

In this state-of-the-art review, we provide an overview of past debates and current trends in dark tourism geographies, and conceptually examine its theoretical intersections with critical issues, emerging ideas, paradigmatic progress and future research directions from three perspectives: ontological, epistemological, and axiological. Axiological trends and concerns in dark tourism geographies involve: the absence of cultural humility; the ‘digital turn’; and intersections between entertainment and education. Onto-epistemological observations include: the gap between theory and praxis; a reluctance to engage with real and pragmatic issues of contemporary social, political and environmental importance; and the growing use of new materialist perspectives demonstrating the potential for an interdisciplinary and changing assemblage within geography that goes beyond traditional anthropocentric views of place. Finally, we suggest that dark tourism, as a field, must include pluriversal, polyvocal and transformative possibilities and embrace the fuzziness, mobility, and fluidity of its boundaries.