• English
    • Welsh
  • English 
    • English
    • Welsh
  • Login
Search DSpace:
  • Home
  • Research at Cardiff Met
  • Library Services
  • Contact Us
View item 
  • DSpace home
  • Theses
  • PhD theses \ Traethodau PhD
  • View item
  • DSpace home
  • Theses
  • PhD theses \ Traethodau PhD
  • View item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

The Thanatourist: collected tales of the thanatourism experience

Thumbnail
View/open
Thesis (114.9Mb)
Transcript (147.5Kb)
Transcript (192.5Kb)
Transcript (213Kb)
Transcript (194Kb)
Transcript (237.5Kb)
Transcript (245Kb)
Transcript (7.411Mb)
Transcript (7.471Mb)
Transcript (7.520Mb)
Transcript (7.524Mb)
Transcript (7.526Mb)
Transcript (12.01Mb)
Transcript (198Kb)
Transcript (52Kb)
Transcript (143.5Kb)
Transcript (76Kb)
Transcript (212Kb)
Transcript (125Kb)
Transcript (73.5Kb)
Transcript (67Kb)
Transcript (79.5Kb)
Transcript (81.5Kb)
Transcript (53Kb)
Transcript (70.5Kb)
Transcript (97.5Kb)
Transcript (113.5Kb)
Transcript (144Kb)
Transcript (160.5Kb)
Transcript (242.5Kb)
Transcript (147Kb)
All transcripts (48.94Mb)
Author
Dunkley, Ria Ann
Date
2007
Type
Thesis
Publisher
University of Wales
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
Whilst tourists' fascination with visiting sites associated with death and human tragedy has received considerable academic and media attention, the scholarly literature on socalled 'dark' or thanatourism remains fragmented. Subsequently, this thesis draws on a wide range of interdisciplinary literature and in depth, qualitative fieldwork to provide insights into thanatourism experience. The research was conducted in three phases. During the first phase I developed a thanatourism framework which recognises thanatourism as a complex and variegated concept. The framework was used as a conceptual starting point through which I identified a range of thanatourism sites at which to conduct my fieldwork. Thanatourist experiences are exceptionally personal and emotional and thus required a 'hot approach' to research in order to reach the deep wells of tourist emotion. In the second and third phases I involved nine thanatourists in an iterative series of creative conversations before, during and after visits to various sites. Adopting a reflexive approach and using the participants' own photographs I focus on understanding the motivations and the emotional perceptions of those who visit thanatourist sites. Also, using autoethnography enabled me to vividly reconstruct my experiences, enriching the study and providing valuable insights into my own motivations and emotions. The research is underpinned by an interpretivist paradigm, and I use a bricolage of fieldwork and writing methods. Co-constructing the participants' narratives strengthens the reflexivity and ensures that the researcher's voice is not privileged, and thus the voices of the participants are heard alongside mine. Finally, the accounts of the thanatourists are presented creatively through narrative, poem and play. Adopting this interesting and compelling way to present material allowed me to be playful in my fieldwork and to present emotionally evocative stories of thanatourism experience through a chorus of voices. The study illustrates that thanatourism experiences are complex and deeply meaningful for the individuals who choose to embark on them.
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10369/838
Collections
  • PhD theses \ Traethodau PhD [469]

Related items

Showing items related by title, author, subject and abstract.

  • Thumbnail

    An investigation into the possible reasons why people choose thanatourism experiences and to highlight distinguishing characteristics of visitors to the Imperial War Museum. 

    Churcher, Paul (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2008)
    The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the possible reasons why people choose thanatourism and to highlight distinguishing characteristics of thanatourist visitors to the Imperíal War Museum. A Thanatourist, a ...
  • Thumbnail

    Dark tourism: An investigation into people's motivations for visiting World War II concentration camps: A case study of Sachsenhausen and Auschwitz 

    Carter, Heloise Giulietta (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2012)
    The fascination with death and disaster is everywhere. There is always something in the papers, in the news, about death. This fascination has gone beyond simply reading about it. It has now become a form of tourism, called ...
  • Thumbnail

    A framework of music literacy based on the experiences of KS2 children, and their teachers, when music making in various outdoor, rural locations 

    Adams, Dylan (2019)
    This thesis investigates the experiences of Key Stage 2 children, aged 7-11 years old, when making music in outdoor rural locations. A framework of music literacy is constructed using analysis of the data obtained from ...

Browse

DSpace at Cardiff MetCommunities & CollectionsBy issue dateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis collectionBy issue dateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

DSpace software copyright © 2002-2015  DuraSpace
Contact us | Send feedback | Administrator