Meaning-making in the course of action: affordance theory at the pilgrim/tourist nexus

Abstract

The primary objective of this article is to review the potential of affordance theory for interpreting visitor interactions at sites with multiple and overlapping uses, including pilgrimage and tourism. Research at the nexus of tourism and pilgrimage is often limited by approaches that seek to categorize and differentiate visitors on the basis of intention, ideology, or identity. One implication of this divide is that research on sites of such visitation is also subject to binary interpretation, as sacred or secular. This author proposes an ecological approach to the pilgrim/tourist nexus, taking as its starting point the inter-relationship between site and visitor, drawing on affordance theory to explore visitor action, interaction, and meaning-making. Following a description of previous approaches to the interpretation of sacred space, affordance theory is outlined and applied to a heritage site that attracts pilgrims and tourists, as well as recreational visitors: Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, USA. The theory of affordances is suggested as an opportunity to approach research and interpretation of sacred sites with a focus on the agency of place, the locus of meaning-making and the pilgrim/tourist nexus.