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The spatial narratives and representation of slavery and colonial heritage on guided tours in Amsterdam
What do 'good vibes' and 'positive atmosphere' have to do with how Amsterdam tour guides go about their work? To what extent do guided city/canal tours in Amsterdam provide visitors with the many layers of narratives about the city? Which locations in the city are frequently chosen by tour guides when they (don't) want to talk about the slavery and colonial traces (past) of Amsterdam/Netherlands?
As part of his NWO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) funded project Emmnauel Adu-Ampong explored these questions with Simone Berg. Simone recently graduated from the Cultural Geography MTO programme and the article is based on the research she conducted for her MSc thesis, where she explored how the history of slavery and colonialism is represented during guided tours in Amsterdam. The findings provide critical insights into the ways these important aspects of history are conveyed in urban spaces.
Emmanuel: "We are delighted to have the thesis reshaped into a journal article that has recently been published. How much of the societal discussions get pulled into tour guides’ spatial narratives and what are the key factors that shape the extent to which tour guides are willing to talk about slavery and colonial heritage narratives? We found that the need for positive atmosphere and good vibes are central to the extent to which tour guides are willing to engage tourists with slavery and colonial narratives in the city. We also offer a spatial mapping of which slavery and colonial heritage narratives are told at which specific geographic sites in Amsterdam.
Certainly, our map could have been a bit more hi-tech. We are happy to get contacts of map-savvy readers who would like to help us make it better; please reach out to us."
The paper is published as open access – free to read, free to download, free to cite, free to share and free to use in your teaching or as a coffee table read. You can download a copy through these links:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/1743873X.2024.2382483
https://emmanueladuampong.com/2024/08/20/new-paper-open-access-the-spatial-narratives-and-representation-of-slavery-and-colonial-heritage-on-guided-tours-in-amsterdam/