Post-modernity and the exceptionalism of the present in dark tourism

Booth, Charles; Casbeard, Rebecca

Abstract

The paper is a polemical essay concerning approaches to the historical other; a critique of the exceptionalism of the present displayed in some of the contemporary dark tourism literature. We review claims in this literature that dark tourism is both a product of and signifier for post-modernity. We utilise the criteria underpinning these claims to analyse two historical cases of thanatological travel in the first half of the 19th century and conclude that, as both cases self-evidently demonstrate recognisably ‘contemporary’ aspects of dark tourism, conceiving of the latter as ‘post-modern’ is historically inaccurate and misguided. The essay closes with a plea for a historically-informed sensitivity in researching the field.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2012
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 8, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Unconventional Parks, Tourism & Recreation Research
• Print ISSN: 1942-6879
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 2-8
• Keywords: post-modernity, history, dark tourism
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/951845
• Publisher URL: http://juptrr.asp.radford.edu/
• Related Public URLs: http://juptrr.asp.radford.edu/Volume4/Post-modernity.pdf