Abstract
How do visitors make sense of history at dark tourism sites, and how do onsite experiences help to structure memory? Asserting that the memory-making potential of tourism sites arises from discursive foundations, this paper analyses textual presentation and enactment at four Nazi concentration camp sites (Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, Buchenwald and Dachau in Germany, and Mauthausen in Austria). Data suggest that concentration camp sites are experienced by visitors within three distinct but interwoven texts: linguistically, in texts of dissonance provided by managers onsite; symbolically, in texts of absence fostered during visitors' personal encounters with sites; and imaginatively, in creative texts personally constructed during visitors' experiences onsite. Each of these texts stimulates cultural memory, communicative memory, or a combination of both. Together, they are foundational elements of a genre of dark tourism discourse that organises texts, their producers and 'readers' (tourists, others), and relevant contexts to construct meaning and provoke collective memory.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.