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Kingsepp, E. (2023). Ghosts, Extraterrestrials, and (Re-)enchantment: Possibilities and Challenges in Post-secular Tourism. In: Jack Hunter; Rachael Ironside (Ed.), Folklore, People, and Places: International Perspectives on Tourism and Tradition in Storied Places (pp. 186-198). Routledge
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Ghosts, Extraterrestrials, and (Re-)enchantment: Possibilities and Challenges in Post-secular Tourism
2023 (English)In: Folklore, People, and Places: International Perspectives on Tourism and Tradition in Storied Places / [ed] Jack Hunter; Rachael Ironside, Routledge, 2023, p. 186-198Chapter in book (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Paranormal phenomena and the occult are today common in mainstream Western popular culture, which is in several countries also reflected in national tourism. This is not really the case in Sweden, whose official self-image is built on modernity, secularism, and rationalism. Still, on a folk level there are signs of what is often called the post-secular, a spiritually informed worldview characterised by openness towards the otherworldly, indicating a cultural reaction akin to a re-enchantment of the world. This chapter discusses the use of the paranormal in Swedish regional tourism, with the province Värmland as a case study. A working hypothesis is that the tourism industry may sanction certain aspects of the paranormal, such as ghosts, through their objectification of them, while others, for example UFOs, are not considered suitable, despite their presence in mainstream popular culture. Still, it seems that Swedish paranormal tourism has a long way to go before reaching the levels of, for example, the United Kingdom or the United States. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2023
National Category
Human Geography
Research subject
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-94664 (URN)10.4324/9781003374138-17 (DOI)2-s2.0-85153639891 (Scopus ID)9781003374138 (ISBN)
Available from: 2023-05-15 Created: 2023-05-15 Last updated: 2023-05-16Bibliographically approved
Ryan Bengtsson, L., Braunerhielm, L., Gibson, L., Hoppstadius, F. & Kingsepp, E. (2022). Digital media innovations through participatory action research: Interventions for digital place-based experiences. Nordicom Review, 43(2), 134-151
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Digital media innovations through participatory action research: Interventions for digital place-based experiences
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2022 (English)In: Nordicom Review, ISSN 1403-1108, E-ISSN 2001-5119, Vol. 43, no 2, p. 134-151Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article presents an action-research study investigating a spatially sensitive innovation process of place-based experiences in a rural area of Sweden. Lately, there have been a growing number of initiatives focused on developing location-aware mobile media – geomedia technologies – to offer place-based digital experiences within tourism. Drawing on contemporary critical studies on geomedia technologies, we stress the importance of reflecting upon the implications of place-based technologies to minimise both the negative impacts on a place and the neglect of local perspectives. We conducted action-research interventions to unpack the complexity of developing place-based mediated experiences. The study makes an illustrative case of how interventions lead to more nuanced development processes of geomedia technologies while simultaneously fostering creativity. We argue that as action research allows researchers to intervene in media innovations, it identifies models for more nuanced place-based development processes, including local spatial and sociocultural perspectives.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sciendo, 2022
Keywords
action research media innovation geomedia technologies destination development digital experiences
National Category
Media and Communication Studies
Research subject
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-91181 (URN)10.2478/nor-2022-0009 (DOI)000818610300001 ()2-s2.0-85133597303 (Scopus ID)
Funder
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), 20201439
Available from: 2022-07-04 Created: 2022-07-04 Last updated: 2025-02-11Bibliographically approved
Kingsepp, E. (2021). ”I am a god!” Overlord (2018) som fascistisk fantasi. In: Björn Horgby ; Cecilia Trenter (Ed.), I folkets namn: Högerpopulism på film (pp. 46-66). Stockholm: Carlsson Bokförlag
Open this publication in new window or tab >>”I am a god!” Overlord (2018) som fascistisk fantasi
2021 (Swedish)In: I folkets namn: Högerpopulism på film / [ed] Björn Horgby ; Cecilia Trenter, Stockholm: Carlsson Bokförlag, 2021, p. 46-66Chapter in book (Other academic)
Abstract [sv]

Efter Donald Trumps valseger 2016 började allt fler bekymrade och/eller varnande röster höras i offentligheten: har USA slagit in på en väg mot fascism? Inom forskarvärlden råder en ganska oomtvistad uppfattning om att populärkulturen både utgör en spegling av det samhälle i vilket den produceras (och konsumeras) och en respons på detsamma, i synnerhet vad gäller kulturindustrins mainstreamproduktioner. Min inte särskilt unika tes är att fascistiska tendenser finns, och har funnits, i amerikansk mainstreamkultur under decennier under en ”oskyldig” mask av populärkultur (se t.ex. Mattias Gardell, Gods of the Blood, 2003). Fredric Jameson (i Det politiska omedvetna,1994) använder begreppet ideologem i fråga om texters minsta ideologibärande enheter. I föreliggande fall skulle det innebära att populärkulturella texter producerade i nutidens USA potentiellt innehåller ideologem konnoterande fascism och/eller nationalsocialism. Exempel på sådana kan vara hyllande av styrka, förakt för svaghet, rasism och antisemitism. En viktig fråga blir då huruvida blotta förekomsten av dylika ideologem i en text innebär att den också som helhet kan tolkas som företrädare för en fascistisk/nationalsocialistisk världsåskådning, oavsett den nationella kontext i vilken den har producerats och/eller konsumerats.

I kapitlet analyseras skräckfilmen Overlord (Julius Avery, 2018) mot en bakgrund av tidigare studier av nazitysk film och populärkultur, t.ex. Baird 1992, Friedländer 1982, Giesen 2008, Schulte-Sasse 1996, Welch 2001. Hur förhåller sig olika element och/eller ideologem i narrativet respektive i den visuella gestaltningen till nazityska produktioner? Vilka likheter respektive skillnader står att finna? Finns något eller några element/ideologem som ovedersägligen diskvalificerar Overlord från en liknelse med nazitysk filmproduktion, och vad innebär i så fall detta för de övergripande tolkningsmöjligheterna av filmen? Huvudfrågan blir med andra ord: går det att göra en profascistisk tolkning av Overlord, och vad säger det i så fall om den samhällskontext i vilken filmen är producerad?

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Carlsson Bokförlag, 2021
Keywords
Nazizombier, skräckfilm, andra världskriget, ideologem, propaganda, filmsemiotik
National Category
Other Humanities
Research subject
Cultural studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-87727 (URN)978-91-8906-387-7 (ISBN)
Available from: 2021-12-09 Created: 2021-12-09 Last updated: 2025-02-07Bibliographically approved
Örnebring, H., Kingsepp, E. & Möller, C. (2020). Journalism in small towns: A special issue of Journalism: Theory, Practice, Criticism. Journalism - Theory, Practice & Criticism, 21(4), 447-452
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Journalism in small towns: A special issue of Journalism: Theory, Practice, Criticism
2020 (English)In: Journalism - Theory, Practice & Criticism, ISSN 1464-8849, E-ISSN 1741-3001, Vol. 21, no 4, p. 447-452Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2020
National Category
Media and Communications
Research subject
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-77085 (URN)10.1177/1464884919886442 (DOI)000511106200001 ()
Available from: 2020-02-27 Created: 2020-02-27 Last updated: 2025-02-07Bibliographically approved
Kingsepp, E. (2020). Nazizombier! Finns det hopp för mänskligheten?. In: Linda Flores Ohlson ; Herman Geijer; Eva Kingsepp (Ed.), Zombier, zombier, zombier, eller Omgiven av odöda: (pp. 127-145). Malmö: Vertigo förlag
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Nazizombier! Finns det hopp för mänskligheten?
2020 (Swedish)In: Zombier, zombier, zombier, eller Omgiven av odöda / [ed] Linda Flores Ohlson ; Herman Geijer; Eva Kingsepp, Malmö: Vertigo förlag , 2020, p. 127-145Chapter in book (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Malmö: Vertigo förlag, 2020
Keywords
Nazizombier, odöda, populärkultur, nazisploitation
National Category
Cultural Studies
Research subject
Cultural studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-87725 (URN)978-91-86567-97-2 (ISBN)
Available from: 2021-12-09 Created: 2021-12-09 Last updated: 2021-12-09Bibliographically approved
Kingsepp, E., Flores Ohlson, L. & Geijer, H. (Eds.). (2020). Zombier, zombier, zombier, eller Omgiven av odöda. Malmö: Vertigo förlag
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Zombier, zombier, zombier, eller Omgiven av odöda
2020 (Swedish)Collection (editor) (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
Abstract [sv]

Det går knappast att missa hur zombiens popularitet har ökat de senaste decennierna. Vi ser zombier i reklamfilmer, i sexleksaker som zombiedildos, sketcher om sossezombier, träningsredskap och så vidare. Zombien har lämnat det subkulturella, invaderat kulturen och även akademin.

Zombier, zombier, zombier : eller Omgiven av odöda är den första svenska antologin som på allvar tar sig an att beskriva zombier ur olika perspektiv. Hur kan vi förstå det växande intresset för zombier? Vad säger det om vår samtid? Vad finns det för nordiska förlagor till zombien? Vilka verkliga smittor skulle kunna orsaka zombieliknande sjukdomar? Hur kan zombien tolkas politiskt?

Boken består av nio populärvetenskapliga artiklar som behandlar zombier och zombiescenarion ur olika perspektiv. Dessutom finns ett förord med zombiens historia och ett försök att definiera vad som egentligen är en zombie.

Författare: Herman Geijer, Linda Flores Ohlson, Eva Kingsepp, Bo Eriksson, Mathias Wåg, Tommy Kuusela, Gabriela Mercado Narváez, Renita Sörensdotter, Tomas Bergström, Fredrik Hoppstadius

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Malmö: Vertigo förlag, 2020. p. 238
Keywords
zombier, apokalyps, populärkultur, folklore
National Category
Cultural Studies
Research subject
Cultural studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-87726 (URN)978-91-86567-97-2 (ISBN)
Available from: 2021-12-09 Created: 2021-12-09 Last updated: 2021-12-09Bibliographically approved
Kingsepp, E. & Ryan Bengtsson, L. (2019). Involving museum audiences in make-believe: Props, prompts and enchanted imaginings. In: : . Paper presented at Communication, Creativity and Imagination: Challenging the Field, 21-23 August, Malmö, Sweden..
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Involving museum audiences in make-believe: Props, prompts and enchanted imaginings
2019 (English)Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

In the last decade, museums have explored and developed digital productions to evoke audience engagement, often with the intention of enhancing visitors’ experiences. However, theoretical understandings of audiences in relation to space (museums), artifacts and digitally produced experiences are less developed.In this paper we applyKendall J. Walton’s (1990)theory about mimesis as make-believeona concept that was previously developed by parts of our researchteam for anopen-air museum, Långban’s mining village in Värmland, Sweden. Heredigital media wereused to create enhancedexperiences mixingthe past with the present, a project for which Walton’s theory in hindsight seems highly relevant. According to him, ”Joint fantasizing allows people to pool their imaginative resources. Together they may be able to think of more exciting things to imagine than they could come up with separately, or more interesting or satisfying ones”(ibid. 18).We believe that adding the potentials of collective imagining to the combination ofdigital media and the narrative frames provided by the physical placewill result in not only a higherlevel of immersion but alsoa more memorable experience. Interestingly, further supportis found in currenttheories about the so-called re-enchantment of the world(or the modern world actually having remained enchanted, despite Weber’s classical idea about disenchantment as a part of modernity). These theories are all basedon the view that secular modernity contains attractive dimensions of the magical, often understood as playfulness and a temporary escape from the rational (e g Bennett 2001; 2Saler 2012).Similar ideas are also found in parts of postmodern theory, in particular regarding aspects of consumption as pleasurable experiences related to fairs, amusement parks, and tourism in general (Featherstone 2007; Rojek 2000; Urry and Larsen 2011). As Waltonand others argue, play and playfulness is not only something for children: on thecontrary, it is also fundamental for every human as beings, regardless of age. In Walton’s words, “Most imaginings are in one way or another dependent on or aimed at or anchored in the real world” (1990:21).He suggests thatreal thingshavethree major rolesin our imaginative experiences, as they promptimaginings; they are objectsof imaginings; and as “props” they generate what he calls “fictional truths”, namely truths that are valid in a particular narrative. Importantly:when applied to a non-fictional setting such as a museum, a “fictional truth” can be regarded as a statement about the real world that includes a dimension of imagination and fantasy. Thisquality of as ifdoes not distort or transform facts to fiction,but rather adds a layer of playfulness and enchantment torational thinking (Saler 2012). When regarded through this theoretical lens, the work done in cooperationwith the Långban museumcombinedphysical objectsanddigital technology asprompters andprops, and historical representationsas objects of imaginings,in order to involvevisitors and their imaginative capacitiesas co-creatorsofboth emotionally and intellectually captivating narrative experiences.Published in the early 1990’s,Walton’s book does not take digital media into account. Nevertheless, as his theoretical framework has been fruitful to apply on this case study, this suggests that it deserves to be further developed in order to provide guidelines for creative work on digital experiences in the museum/heritage sector.

National Category
Media and Communications
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-77705 (URN)
Conference
Communication, Creativity and Imagination: Challenging the Field, 21-23 August, Malmö, Sweden.
Available from: 2020-05-01 Created: 2020-05-01 Last updated: 2025-02-07Bibliographically approved
Kingsepp, E. (2019). Mythical Space: Egypt in World War II TV Documentary Films. In: Chris Lukinbeal, Laura Sharp, Elisabeth Sommerlad & Anton Escher (Ed.), Media’s Mapping Impulse: . Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Mythical Space: Egypt in World War II TV Documentary Films
2019 (English)In: Media’s Mapping Impulse / [ed] Chris Lukinbeal, Laura Sharp, Elisabeth Sommerlad & Anton Escher, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2019Chapter in book (Other academic)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2019
Series
Media Geography at Mainz ; Vol. 6
Keywords
WWII, Egypt, North Africa Campaign, Myth, Orientalism, Non-Place
National Category
Media and Communications
Research subject
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-80543 (URN)978-3-515-12424-9 (ISBN)
Funder
Anna Ahlströms och Ellen Terserus stiftelse
Available from: 2020-09-29 Created: 2020-09-29 Last updated: 2025-02-07Bibliographically approved
Kingsepp, E. (2019). Scholarship as Simulacrum The Case of Hitler's Monsters. Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism, 19(2), 265-281
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Scholarship as Simulacrum The Case of Hitler's Monsters
2019 (English)In: Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism, ISSN 1567-9896, E-ISSN 1570-0593, Vol. 19, no 2, p. 265-281Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Brill Academic Publishers, 2019
National Category
Other Humanities
Research subject
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-75589 (URN)10.1163/15700593-01902009 (DOI)000488256700005 ()
Available from: 2019-11-12 Created: 2019-11-12 Last updated: 2025-02-07Bibliographically approved
Kingsepp, E. (2018). Ghosts, extraterrestrials and re-enchantment: Possibilities and challenges in regional tourism. In: : . Paper presented at Supernatural in Contemporary Society Conference, 23-24 August 2018, Aberdeen, Scotland.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Ghosts, extraterrestrials and re-enchantment: Possibilities and challenges in regional tourism
2018 (English)Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Although the paranormal and the occult are today integral parts of mainstream popular culture (Hill 2011; McIlwain 2005; Partridge 2004), there are indications of the old division between 'high' and 'low' culture still being influential in official tourism policies, and possibly also regarding tourists themselves. In addition to popular TV shows such as Most Haunted and Ghost Hunters, the tourism industry offers countless examples of ghost tours and visits, suggesting that belief in ghosts is today socially accepted. However, visiting a (presumed) UFO landing area or taking part in a dowsing excursion is probably considered at least potentially socially stigmatizing, which might be one reason why such experiences are rarely found in mainstream tourism. Thus, it can be argued that the tourism industry officially sanctions certain aspects of the paranormal through their deliberate use of them.

 

As part of the Place-Based Digital Experiences research project at Karlstad University, this paper explores possibilities and issues regarding the use of the paranormal in tourism. Based on a case study of Visit Värmland, a regional economic association using “ghost tourism” as part of their marketing, the study uses qualitative interviews to explore what kind of paranormal phenomena are considered to provide options in marketing and in place-branding, what are not, and on what grounds (cf Francesconi 2014; Oswald 2011). Is there a hierarchy regarding the supernatural in tourism? If so, in what ways does it relate to contemporary society and culture, including the dominant view on supernatural phenomena?

 

Popular media promote a kind of off-the-grid tourism to particular locations through for example TV series about haunted houses, ancient cult places, UFO sightings etc. The possibility of maybe oneself actually having an experience of a ghost – or, for that matter, seeing weird lights hovering in the sky – is part of the longing for authenticity considered to be characteristic for our times. Still, there is possibly a tension between on the one hand romantic folklore expressions such as enchanted forests, dancing fairies and hauntings, and on the other hand 'suspect' areas of interest such as earth energies and ufology. Although the latter are phenomena either present in traditional folk belief or considered to be a modern transformation of it, one might suspect that 'meeting' an alien from outer space is a considerably less attractive experience than evoking elves on a light Nordic summer's night (cf Kripal 2010; Kripal & Strieber 2016). Importantly, the proposed re-enchantment of the modern world is not dependent on actual belief in the supernatural – it is rather a kind of postmodern playfulness that during the right circumstances invites experiences, actual or imagined, of phenomena that are otherwise banished from a materialist worldview (Landy & Saler 2009). However, it is probable that although paranormal phenomena are popular parts of contemporary media culture and attract large audiences, there are some that are considered more respectable than others, and that the tourism industry is an important instance in  providing them with that respectability.

 

References

 

Francesconi, S. (2014) Reading Tourism Texts: A Multimodal Analysis. Bristol: Channel View Publications

 

Hill, A. (2011) Paranormal Media: Audiences, Spirits and Magic in Popular Culture. London and New York: Routledge

 

Kripal, J. (2010) Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press

 

Kripal, J. & Strieber, W. (2016) The Supernatural: A New Vision of the Unexplained. New York: Jeremy P: Tarcher/Penguin

 

McIlwain, C. (2005) When Death Goes Pop: Media and the American Culture of Death. New York: Peter Lang

 

Oswald, L. (2011) Marketing Semiotics: Signs, Strategies, and Brand Value. Oxford: Oxford University Press

 

Partridge, C. (2004) The Re-Enchantment of the West: Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture, and Occulture. Volume I. London and New York: T&T Clark International

 

Landy J., & Saler, M., eds. (2009) The Re-Enchantment of the World: Secular Magic in a Rational Age. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press

 

Visit Värmland, “Hemsökta platser i Värmland” (“Haunted places in Värmland”) https://www.visitvarmland.se/sv/hemsokta-platser-i-varmland Accessed 2018-03-29

National Category
Media and Communications
Research subject
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-70646 (URN)
Conference
Supernatural in Contemporary Society Conference, 23-24 August 2018, Aberdeen, Scotland
Projects
Platsbaserade digitala upplevelser (PDU)
Funder
Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional GrowthEuropean Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Available from: 2019-01-03 Created: 2019-01-03 Last updated: 2025-02-07Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0003-1800-6083

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