| CODE | LAS2037 | ||||||
| TITLE | Dark Tourism: Sites of Death, Suffering, and the Macabre in Malta | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | H - Higher Level | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Centre for the Liberal Arts and Sciences | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Dark Tourism, defined as the act of travel to sites related to death, disaster or the seemingly macabre, as a field of study in Tourism, has been attracting a lot of interest from scholars, the media and public since the term was coined in 1996 by Professors John Lennon and Malcolm Foley. This Unit explores current Dark Tourism theory and also apply these theories to the Maltese touristic landscape and understand what Malta has to offer in this particular niche. This target of this Unit will be to have students understand the different theories underpinning Dark Tourism both from a Supply and a demand perspective. It will explore the motivational aspect of Dark Tourism and understand the ethical considerations underpinning dark tourism. The Unit will cover issues concerning Dark Tourism terminology and history; Dark Tourism supply and branding; and Dark Tourism demand and motivation. Moreover, the ethical aspect of Dark Tourism and Dissonant Heritage will be considered. Furthermore, this Unit will apply issues from the field of Dark Tourism to the Maltese context. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the unit the student will be able to: • explain the different theories related to Dark Tourism; • know what constitutes supply in Dark Tourism; • discuss the motivational factors leading to Dark Tourism; • discuss the ethical considerations related to Dark Tourism; • list current and potential Dark Tourism sites and activities in Malta. 2. Skills By the end of the unit the student will be able to: • discuss the different theories related to Dark Tourism; • analyze the ethical aspects of Dark Tourism; • discern the qualities that make an attraction a Dark one; • identify the challenges faced in branding Dark Tourism as a niche. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Hooper, G. & Lennon, J. (2016); Dark Tourism: Practice and interpretation; Routledge, Abington Oxon & New York. - Lennon, J. & Foley, M. (2000); Dark Tourism – The attraction of death and disaster; Continuum, London. - Sharpley, R. & Stone, P. (2009); The darker side of travel: the theory and practice of dark tourism; Channel view, Bristol. - Johnston, T. & Mandelartz, P. (2016); Thanatourism: Case Studies in Travel to the Dark Side; Goodfellow Publishers Ltd, Oxford UK. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Matthew Balzan Janica Buhagiar Simon Caruana James Sultana (Co-ord.) |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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