Dark Tourism, Memory, and the Reproduction of National Identity: The National September 11th Museum

Abstract

Many dark tourism sites, in particular battlefields, memorials, and museums, are instrumental in constructing and reinforcing narratives of national identity. They serve as sites of secular pilgrimage and are central in denoting self and other. They also serve to identify key national moments and involve themes of sacrifice on behalf of the nation. This chapter examines the US National September 11 Museum in New York, which opened in 2014 from this standpoint. Scholars have argued the events of 9/11 were so profound and shocking that they created a “void of meaning” for Americans. This void has been filled in several ways, but important among them has been the creation of memorials and museums and the specific messages of US national identity included within them. The national September 11th Museum plays a particular leading role here in reinscribing dominant popular ideas of American national identity.

Citation

Clancy, M. (2024), "Dark Tourism, Memory, and the Reproduction of National Identity: The National September 11th Museum", Sharma, A., Arora, S. and Shukla, P. (Ed.) Dark Tourism (Building the Future of Tourism), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 13-25. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83797-336-120241002