Welcome to the third blog post in the series: NWO Vidi grant application journey (#NWOVidi2025diaries). You can check out the first blog post here and the second blog post here. In the second blog post I mentioned that I had to do a "revise and resubmit" after the first administrative checks of my submission. In … Continue reading “I came, but can I see?” III: Under review (#NWOVidi2025diaries)
Tourism, memory and heritage emotional geographies of cultural production, memory-making and commemoration 1-3 June 2026 Amsterdam & Wageningen The Netherlands Call For Participation: What happens on a guided tour of Auschwitz? Which narratives emerge on an organized visit of a former slave plantation? Which stories get told by guides in a museum that curates colonial … Continue reading Tourism, Memory and Heritage conference, 1-3 June 2026: 2nd call for participation
Welcome to the second blog post in the series: NWO Vidi grant application journey (#NWOVidi2025diaries). You can check out the first blog post here where I wrote about how I wrestled with whether to apply or not to apply. In this second blog, I offer a quick update on the process which can be summed … Continue reading “I came, but can I see?” II: Revise and resubmit (#NWOVidi2025diaries)
This took a while but I guess all is well that ends well. We submitted the first version of the manuscript in September 2022 and over the next three years we went through the ringer of revise and resubmit. At some point I did want to give up on the manuscript and put it on … Continue reading [New paper published] Heritage Conservation Management and Inter-Institutional Relations at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Zanzibar Stone Town, Tanzania
In the end, I buckled under the allure of the saying that "many hands make light work" and the potential possibility of maybe, I might, likely, perhaps, be in a position to fund another PhD student and a postdoc. Do you realise the tentativeness of the previous sentences? The caveats and the hedges made? Well, … Continue reading “I came, but can I see?”: The NWO Vidi grant application journey (#NWOVidi2025diaries)
Tourism, memory and heritage emotional geographies of cultural production, memory-making and commemoration 1-3 June 2026 Amsterdam & Wageningen The Netherlands Call For Participation: What happens on a guided tour of Auschwitz? Which narratives emerge on an organized visit of a former slave plantation? Which stories get told by guides in a museum that curates colonial … Continue reading Tourism, Memory and Heritage conference, 1-3 June 2026: first call for participation
Collaborate and contribute to a monumental tapestry about the Dutch Slavery past. The Cultural Geography Chair Group at Wageningen University and Research is the host and coordinator for the making of a piece of the tapestry of the project ‘Threads of our Dutch Slavery Past’. In an earlier iteration of the project last Spring we moved around … Continue reading Tapestry project! Join in at Wageningen University!: Threads of our Dutch Slavery Past (Draden van ons Nederlands Slavernijverleden)
In the first instalment of "the slow hard work of societal impact", I focused on my coordinating role with the tapestry work piece. In this second instalment, I want to reflect briefly (although being brief is one of my learning goals) on screens and screenings as an avenue for societal impact. I refer in this … Continue reading The slow hard work of societal impact II: on screens and screenings
What does it take to translate academic research into valuable resources and elements for societal engagement (and hopefully some societal impact)? In the past couple of months - actually since December 2024 up to now - I have been doing a sort of autoethnography in search of answers to this question. During this time, I … Continue reading The slow hard work of societal impact I: on needles and threads.
Save the date! 350 days left before this exciting international conference takes place in Amsterdam and Wageningen, The Netherlands. This 'Tourism, memory and heritage' conference will be the second edition after the very successful first edition that took place back in 2023. I am convening the 2026 edition as a kick-off conference of my ERC … Continue reading Save the date: ‘Tourism, memory and heritage’ international conference (1-3 June 2026)
In Ghana (Akan Twi) we say that "Ti koro nko agyina" which literally means that "One head (person) does not hold council.". We also know that two is often better than one. In this context, I am delighted to announce that I am now recruiting for a postdoctoral researcher as many hands makes light work. … Continue reading Vacancy Notice: Postdoctoral researcher for ‘Tourism’s intersection with slavery and colonial heritage in the context of cultural memory politics’
For those who missed out on 'The Calabash Onder de Bigi Bon' event from last December, I am excited to announce the we have scheduled a number of screening dates of the documentary film. We are calling this The (Mini) Calabash 2025: Keti Koti edition as June is the month of commemoration of the abolition … Continue reading The (mini) Calabash 2025: Documentary Screenings for Keti Koti Month
Collaborate and contribute to a monumental tapestry about the Dutch Slavery past. From Tuesday 27 May to the first week of July is the Cultural Geography Chair Group at Wageningen University and Research the host and coordinator for the making of a piece of the tapestry of the project ‘Threads of our Dutch Slavery Past’. … Continue reading Join in at Wageningen! Threads of our Dutch Slavery Past (Draden van ons Nederlands Slavernijverleden) – Gelderland edition
It's wonderful to see this book is finally out and I am pleased to have contributed a chapter to this important collection. The book comes out of a 2-day conference from 2021. This was the first academic conference that I attended in the Netherlands after the move from Sheffield and the first in-person conference after … Continue reading [New book chapter published!] Making an Embodied Absence Present: Tourism and the Cultural Imaginary of Slavery and Colonial Heritage in the Netherlands
Where does one draw the line between the personal and the professional in the fieldwork context? Is the researcher self the same as the ‘normal’ self? And I write ‘normal’ in quotation marks because what is ‘normal’ and what is ‘not normal’ about the self? How much entanglements do we engage in as researchers between … Continue reading Namib Notes IV: When the field becomes personal and the personal becomes the field
This fact took me entirely by surprise: the land size of Namibia is about 3.5x the land size of Ghana. It was a wow moment for me, especially given that there are some 33 million people in Ghana while Namibia has just under 3.5 million according to their most recent census. I was having a … Continue reading Namib Notes III: From Katutura to Matutura: place names and (post)colonial spatial planning
On my first Monday of fieldwork, I managed to be up bright and early in order to catch the Free Guided Walking Tour of Windhoek. It was an interesting tour led by a young lady (Yvette) who had just started in this role back in February. She took us along the main highlights of downtown … Continue reading Namib Notes II: Aweh!, mind those Robots! Yoh! before you turn into Pap!
Well, it's technically not too windy but Windy Windhoek does make for a nice alliterative title for the post - if you get what I mean :). While it might not be too windy, Windhoek is quite the hilly city which can only be good for my love of walking. I arrived in the storied … Continue reading Namib Notes: Welcome to Windy Windhoek
1st April is beginning to feel like one of my favourite dates. Some pretty significant milestones of my professional life has been marked by this 1st April date - and it's no joke 😉 This is especially in relation to my academic career trajectory in the Netherlands. Prior to my transition from being a professional … Continue reading FRICTIONS starts today!: lift-off time for my ERC Starting Grant project (Frictions of space: the generative tensions of slavery and colonial heritage tourism)
For this year, I happily accepted the invitation to deliver the keynote for the UU Heritage Lecture and the Dr. Albert van der Zeijden Thesis Award event organised yearly by Utrecht University and the Dutch Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage (KIEN). https://www.immaterieelerfgoed.nl/nl/activiteiten/uitreiking-dr-albert-van-der-zeijdenscriptieprijs-heritage-lecture There is still time to register for this upcoming event taking place in exactly three week's time … Continue reading “Selling the past to remember it”: Upcoming keynote at Utrecht University Heritage Lecture & Thesis Award event (11 April 2025)
https://www.theblackarchives.nl/echoes-07-03-25.html What does Ghana's independence in 1957 mean to the Ghanaian and African diaspora in this day and age? Are the reverberations of the struggle for independence still felt in the dreams of the diaspora? How do contemporary dreams emerge and to what ends? Can we still find inspiration in the (post)indepedence movement for individual … Continue reading Echoes of In*dependence: Ghana’s 6 March 1957 event @ The Black Archives
How do recruitment managers do this? How do they sort through CVs upon CVs of highly qualified candidates in order to shortlist the few that might proceed into the interview stage? How do they make the final decision after witnessing the brilliance of all the shortlisted candidates during the interviews? Flip a coin and hope … Continue reading This piece or that piece? The art of recruiting and puzzling an ERC FRICTIONS PhD research team together.
Today 1st January 2025 marks my official promotion to the position of Associate Professor in the Cultural Geography Chairgroup at Wageningen University and Research. This makes it is exactly 4.5 years since I entered the Tenure Track system at the Assistant Professor 2 level -and some 5.7 years since relocating from Sheffield Hallam University as … Continue reading Associate Professor: storytelling and the tourism geographies of slavery and colonial heritage
Then King David went in and sat [in prayer] before the LORD, and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house (family), that You have brought me this far? (2 Samuel 7:18 Amplified Version of The Holy Bible) What an incredible year it has been for me and my family! The … Continue reading December to Remember: Afehyia Pa ooo
It is with such great excitement that I announce the premiere screening of my documentary film - 'The Embodied Absence of the Past: Tourism's intersection with slavery and colonial heritage memories in the Ghana-Suriname-Netherlands triangle'. The premiere will be one of the main highlights during 'The Calabash Onder de Bigi Bon' event. This event is … Continue reading Documentary Film Premiere (06.12.24): The Embodied Absence of the Past
I am excited to annouce that I am recruiting for 3 PhD positions on my ERC Starting Grant Project which are to start from September 2025. The vacancy details are below and have been published on the Wageningen University website and Academictransfer.nl https://www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/three-phd-positions-for-the-erc-project-the-generative-tensions-of-slavery-and-colonial-heritage-tourism.htm https://www.academictransfer.com/en/346580/three-phd-positions-for-the-erc-project-the-generative-tensions-of-slavery-and-colonial-heritage-tourism/ Check out the details if this is something for you or … Continue reading Vacancy Notice: Three PhD positions for the ERC project, ‘The generative tensions of slavery and colonial heritage tourism’
There is always a season of weeding, planting, watering and caring before the season of harvest arrives. It's nice to have finally received the harvest of the collaborative work that went into developing this book chapter for the edited volume of the Routledge Handbook of Critical African Heritage Studies. Our chapter examines "The sustainability question … Continue reading [New book chapter published!] The Sustainability Question in Heritage Tourism Development in Africa
The completion of my NWO Veni project calls for a celebration, marking the end of my research journey through Ghana, Suriname, and the Netherlands. In 11 weeks, I will host a commemorative event titled "The Calabash Onder de Bigi Bon," inspired by Dr. Afua Twum-Danso Imoh, who previously organized an event called "The Calabash." This gathering will feature a screening of the film (edumentary) I created based on my project. The event is scheduled for December 6, 2024, in Wageningen, and registration details will be provided soon.
The author is ecstatic about being awarded a European Research Council Starting Grant for a 5-year research project, expressing gratitude to God and colleagues. The project, FRICTIONS, focuses on how tourism impacts slavery and colonial heritage, aiming to shift societal narratives. The author plans to recruit 3 PhD candidates and a Postdoc to join the research team. Despite the challenges during the application process, the author encourages unsuccessful applicants and acknowledges their efforts. The post also hints at upcoming vacancies and promises more details about the project. The author concludes by congratulating other grant awardees and wishing good luck to those who were not successful.
This paper discusses the representation of slavery and colonial heritage on guided tours in Amsterdam, focusing on the spatial narratives used by tour guides and the factors shaping these narratives. The research highlights the influence of creating a positive atmosphere in engaging tourists with these sensitive topics. Additionally, the study provides a spatial mapping of the specific geographic sites in Amsterdam where slavery and colonial heritage narratives are told. The paper aims to showcase the transformative potential of tourism and tour guides in addressing slavery and heritage in a European urban setting.
The final part of the Peruvian adventure details a four-day mountain hike culminating in Machu Picchu, a site of Inca ruins. The experience is described as both a climax and an anti-climax due to the overwhelming crowds upon arrival. The author recommends the Classic 4 Days/3 Nights Inca Trail Hike with a local tour operator and reflects on the formation of strong friendships within the hiking group. The journey itself is highlighted, with challenges faced at high altitudes, and the beauty of the natural surroundings is deeply appreciated.
Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire, offered a glimpse of both its grandeur and the impact of Spanish colonization. The high altitude and chilly weather required acclimatization and I observed the combination of tourism products and experiences, Cusco's place in a network of destinations, and the intermingling of lived and imagined aspects of the city. Amidst staged tourist experiences, I encountered a large number of domestic tourists and noticed the influence of Moorish architectural style. My next adventure was the epic Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu.
After attending the Memory Studies Association conference in Lima, a series of stressful and dramatic events unfolded. Missing the flight to Cusco was only the beginning, followed by a struggle to retrieve luggage and a scare about a lost backpack. However, all's well that ends well, as the backpack was found on the plane. Despite the challenges, the experience in Cusco proved to be worth it, albeit with some struggles adjusting to the high altitude and cold weather. Stay tuned for more Peruvian adventures.
Increasingly, I have come to describe 'niche out' my research work as being focused on the geographies of slavery and colonial heritage tourism in relation to the politics of cultural memory. This niching out process required my search for more (trans-inter) disciplinary grounding for my research. It is in this light that I arrived at … Continue reading Peruvian Posts I: Lima and the Memory Studies Association 2024 Conference
Pottery holds enduring significance in human history. Reshaping Eleanor White's thesis into an academic article was a gratifying process. Exploring the pottery village of Margarites, Crete, the paper delves into authenticity in the context of tourism and intangible cultural heritage. It illuminates the impact of tourism on the community's perception of authenticity in ceramic crafting.
It is one thing to dream about it, one thing to get funding to research about it, one thing to teach about it and surely one thing to actually be the one to do it. This was a fully embodied experience for me. How could I have seen it when I first set out my … Continue reading Wageningen: my guided walking tour of the traces of the slavery and colonial past
For the third year running, there was a Keti Koti commemorative ceremony in Wageningen. I had missed the first two occasions because of my research fieldwork in Suriname in 2022 and research fieldwork in Amsterdam in 2023. Fortunately, I was able to stay local this year. Thus on Sunday 30 June 2024, I joined a … Continue reading Commemorating Keti Koti in Wageningen
Are you aware of what is ahead on 30 June / 1 July in the Netherlands? Are you resident in Wageningen or surrounding areas? Over the coming few days we will be celebrating Keti Koti in Wageningen. On the afternoon of Sunday 30 June, I will be leading an interactive guided walking tour through the … Continue reading Keti Koti 2024 in Wageningen
*Rejection Notice*You win some, you lose some. You get some, you are denied some. Back in January 2024, I applied for an NWO (Dutch Research Council) Impact Explorer grant to do some pretty cool stuff - or so I thought 😀 The decision came back today and (un)fortunately my proposal has been rejected! It is … Continue reading Rejection notice
Beyond and behind our smiles of seeing this paper published sits many years of hardwork in drafting, redrafting, writing and rewriting to get this research paper ready. It has been a great team effort and it has been a pleasure working together with Amira Benali at Aalborg University, Denmark and Ana Maria Munar at Copenhagen … Continue reading [New paper, Open Access] Beyond the Smile: The Infrapolitics of the Host in Volunteer Tourism
Last week (12 - 19 May), I got to attend the invite-only Academy conference 2024 of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism in Orlando, Florida. The conference was hosted at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management of the University of Central Florida. My attendance at this invite-only conference was on the basis that … Continue reading Award: Emerging Scholar of Distinction
Are you looking for a new podcast episode to listen? Perhaps something 'slow and low...is the way to go' kind of episode that is soothing to the ear interspersed with nuggets of knowledge and opportunity to learn something new? Well, I have sometime to offer to you. Check out my session on the Tourism Geographies … Continue reading Live and On Air: a podcast discussion on the #Yearof Return2019 paper
We come full circle. What an intense whirlwind of fieldwork in the rainy sunny city of Lisboa. I didn’t manage to tick-off the top 10 or top 20 or even the top 5 of things to do, see and experience in Lisbon. Perhaps I might have ticked-off some of the bucket list items without even … Continue reading Lisbon Letters V: Obrigado and see you again!
I had a rather early start for Day 4 of fieldwork. I was beginning to feel the intensity from the preceeding days of participant observation, interviews and conversations. I wished I could chill in bed for a while longer but that was not an option. My plan of attending an Easter Sunday Church service in … Continue reading Lisbon Letters IV: the arrival at the beginning of the end.
Day 3 of fieldwork started with rain but thankfully it did not persist for the whole morning. I had 2 main itinerary points on the agenda for the day: 1) a visit to Belém and; 2) participant observation on a 4-hour walking tour. Belém: The bus journey into Belém was quite an experience given how … Continue reading Lisbon Letters III: I came, I saw, I discovered…Akwasikrom
The second day of fieldwork started off with a bright sunny promise but alas it did not last long before it started pouring. I did at least manage to caught some sunshine in the morning as I wandered around with no particular itinerary. One of the things I enjoyed doing in a new city is … Continue reading Lisbon Letters II: off the beaten track to find memorial absences
On Maudy Thursday, I made my way from Wageningen via Amsterdam to Lisbon where I will be spending this Easter weekend on a research fieldwork. It's a rather packed scheduled in this short window. I arrived to town late morning to a rather wet and rainy welcome but I had no time to pity myself. … Continue reading Lisbon letters: bem-vindo to a rainy day of fieldwork
This call for papers seeks contributions addressing the role of tourism policies in achieving sustainable development in Brazil, and invites interdisciplinary perspectives. The focus is on tourism policy and planning in Brazil, highlighting the country's diverse environmental and socio-cultural landscape. It discusses the challenges and prospects for sustainable development, especially in light of the impact of tourism on economic, environmental, and social aspects. The content emphasizes the need for incorporating sustainability into tourism policy, planning, and development in Brazil. It also invites research on various topics related to tourism, including indigenous tourism, heritage tourism, and community-based tourism. The submission details and key dates for the special issue publication are also provided.
It is one thing for me to study #slavery and #colonial #heritage #tourism (#tours) in other places, but it is quite another to be involved in designing and developing a similar tour in my own city. Exactly a week ago, I had the privilege of participating in the first Decolonial Walking Tour Wageningen that was … Continue reading In action: knowledge utilisation, research impact and problem-based learning
We (Nuhu Ismail, Ana Aceska and myself) are delighted to share with you our co-authored paper that has just been published in the journal Cities. This is the second publication coming out of Nuhu's PhD project/thesis that was successfully defended in March 2023. In this paper, we argue against ahistorical explanations of contemporary urban informal … Continue reading [New paper, Open Access] The making of urban informal settlements: Critical junctures and path dependency in governing Abuja, Nigeria
Emmanuel Akwasi Adu-Ampong 