PhD defence E.G. (Emily) Mannheimer

Dissertation in short:

For decades Northern Ireland was best known for the violent conflict referred to as the Troubles. However, the region is now amidst a massive transformation that hinges largely on the development of a tourism industry. The recent upsurge in foreign visitors means that tour guides become representatives of their society who must decide how (and how not) to portray Northern Ireland. At times, their representations clash with one another, and at others they coincide, but these frictions are key to identifying how tour guides take on the difficult responsibility of reimagining what the new Northern Ireland is or aspires to be. Based on an in-depth, ethnographic analysis of guided tours, I examine the role that local tour guides play in constructing and communicating new narratives about the heritage, identity, and potential future of Northern Ireland. This dissertation uncovers the complex nexus of considerations that tour guides make as they mediate between competing concerns and expectations of themselves, the tourists, and the society. In doing so, I show how tour guides and the narratives they construct for an outside audience contribute to more general processes of societal transition after conflict.