The slow hard work of societal impact I: on needles and threads.

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.

[New book chapter published!] Making an Embodied Absence Present: Tourism and the Cultural Imaginary of Slavery and Colonial Heritage in the Netherlands

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

FRICTIONS starts today!: lift-off time for my ERC Starting Grant project (Frictions of space: the generative tensions of slavery and colonial heritage tourism)

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)

Associate Professor: storytelling and the tourism geographies of slavery and colonial heritage

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

Vacancy Notice: Three PhD positions for the ERC project, ‘The generative tensions of slavery and colonial heritage tourism’

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’

[New paper, Open Access] In the potter’s hand: tourism and the everyday practices of authentic intangible cultural heritage in a pottery village

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.

[New paper, Open Access] Beyond the Smile: The Infrapolitics of the Host in Volunteer Tourism

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

Das Afrikanische Viertel and colonial traces in Berlin: a fieldwork report

This past weekend, I have been on a scoping research visit to Berlin exploring the transformative memory work of tourism in relation to slavery and colonial heritage. It was exciting for me heading to Berlin after 12 years. My first visit to Berlin was in 2012 as part of a study trip during my Erasmus … Continue reading Das Afrikanische Viertel and colonial traces in Berlin: a fieldwork report

[New paper, Open Access] The embodied absence of the past: Slavery heritage and the transformative memory work of tourism

You've seen the video abstract...now you can read the full paper 😉 https://youtu.be/CxD8l6OxWc0 I'm absolutely delighted again to share with you my research article which has been published as #openaccess in the Annals of Tourism Research. You can freely read and freely download a copy of the paper through this link (or download directly below): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738323000634Continue reading [New paper, Open Access] The embodied absence of the past: Slavery heritage and the transformative memory work of tourism