Leon McAnally
About
My research project
Remembering individuals in dark tourism: Memory, empathy and visitor engagement in British memorial spacesMy research project assesses whether there is a tension at dark tourism sites between memorialising the individual victims and representing the collective experience of the disaster. By comparing memorial sites, it examines how individuals’ memories of victims are retained, and how practitioners’ representations of the collective experience of the tragedy are presented to visitors.
This study takes a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on tourism, memory and death studies to understand how representations shape experiences, emotional engagement and behaviours at dark tourism sites. This research aims to support national bodies, memorial organisations and local authorities in developing interpretive strategies that better balance collective narratives with the representation of individuals’ lives.
Supervisors
My research project assesses whether there is a tension at dark tourism sites between memorialising the individual victims and representing the collective experience of the disaster. By comparing memorial sites, it examines how individuals’ memories of victims are retained, and how practitioners’ representations of the collective experience of the tragedy are presented to visitors.
This study takes a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on tourism, memory and death studies to understand how representations shape experiences, emotional engagement and behaviours at dark tourism sites. This research aims to support national bodies, memorial organisations and local authorities in developing interpretive strategies that better balance collective narratives with the representation of individuals’ lives.
My qualifications
ResearchResearch interests
My interest is to explore how individual memories at dark tourism sites can be retained while the collective experience of the disaster is remembered.
Research interests
My interest is to explore how individual memories at dark tourism sites can be retained while the collective experience of the disaster is remembered.
Publications
Discover how Britain has memorialised its dark heritage with the first compact guide on dark tourism to span the whole of the United Kingdom. This book has something for every type of dark tourist. Whether you are a historian, urbexer, or pilgrim, are fascinated by the history of witchcraft, intrigued by Britain’s crime and punishment system, or interested in the macabre and morbid, this book is the go-to guide for you.
As more people travel the world, many are in search of a unique and meaningful experience that is off the beaten path of popular holiday destinations offering sun, sea and sand. However, many forget that there is much gruesome and fascinating history to be found across Britain. This book will lead you to sites linked to death, suffering and tragedy, from the Mesolithic period (around 10,000 years ago), when cannibalism was a normal human practice, through the Victorian era, when public executions were considered a justifiable punishment and a family day out, to more recent calamities, such as the Manchester bombing.
Along with the locations of tragic and momentous events in British history, this book will guide you to cemeteries known for their splendid architecture and landscaping, the execution sites of infamous criminals, and the many memorials and monuments that acknowledge the heroism of those who have sacrificed their lives to save others.