Poster #56 - Specters of Apartheid: Bridging Ghost Criminology and Dark Tourism in Johannesburg and Soweto

• In Event: Poster Session I (posters 1 - 79)

Abstract

This research explores the intersection of ghost criminology and dark tourism within the urban landscapes of Johannesburg CBD, Alexandria and Soweto, South Africa, by analyzing sites like the Old Fort Prison, Vilakazi Street and the Hector Pieterson Memorial. While dark tourism often commodifies historical trauma for public consumption, ghost criminology provides a framework to view these locations as active, living spaces where past state violence remains present in collective memory. This project examines how the hauntology of South African carceral spaces from the confinement of political dissidents to the suppression of student protests functions as a reminder of unresolved structural trauma haunting the contemporary African landscape. By bridging these concepts, the study highlights ethical tensions in trauma tourism while arguing that specters of state-sponsored crime are essential to understanding the South African carceral state. Ultimately, these ghosts demand a restorative justice approach that acknowledges the past's enduring presence within current socio-political realities.

Authors

• Favian Martin, Arcadia University

• Matthew Cronje, University of the Free State