- About postgraduate study
- Part-time study
- Courses
- Order a Prospectus
- Faculties & Departments
- UK students
- EU students
- International Students
- How to apply for your course
- Handy Hints
- Open Events
- Student Recruitment
- Money Matters
- About Us
By telephone
During office hours
(Monday-Friday 08:30-17:00)
+44 (0)1234 400 400
Outside office hours
(Campus Watch)
+44 (0)1582 74 39 89
By email
admission@beds.ac.uk (admissions)
international@beds.ac.uk (international)
sid@beds.ac.uk (student support)
help@beds.ac.uk (registration)
By post
University of Bedfordshire
Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire
UK, LU1 3JU
To apply for a research degree, please make sure you fulfill the entry requirements and then complete the online research degree application form and upload your supporting documents.
You should have a good honours degree (2:1 or above) or masters degree or equivalent in the relevant subject area.
International applicants should be aware of our research degree English language requirements
For most of the second half of the 20th century the world’s political map was divided by the Cold War, the name given to the 40-year long stand-off between the Superpowers and their allies.
Due to its geographical location and alliance with the United States, Britain was at the 'frontline' of the Cold War. As a response, the British Government made arrangements by building hundreds of military sites and structures, which were often dismantled or abandoned as the technology on which they relied became rapidly ineffective.
Nowadays, there is a growing (academic) recognition of Cold War sites and their possible new or contemporary role as tourism attractions. However, there is little insight in the representational and management practices and conflicts at these particular sites.
This research aims to explore the representations at Cold War heritage sites and the authorities by which heritage tourism is constructed as a cultural practice, as well as the influence on the tourist’s interpretation and construction of (symbolic) meaning of Cold War tourist attractions.
This study’s selected strategy will challenge the present-day criticism within tourism research that it has been too qualitative in its approach, ‘top-down’ in its orientation and with limited awareness of the researcher’s positionality by taking up a reflective and interpretive approach.
The collection of data for both phases involves a ‘bricolage’ of various data sources and methods and, therefore, acknowledges the complexity of conducting research.
The data analysis is based on a social constructivist approach were the ‘problem’ is tackled from different angles, with the goal of revealing the underlying key thoughts and beliefs from those participating in the study.
In brief, this research will be undertaken in two stages. The first stage, the MPhil phase, will consist of an intensive and explorative study concerning the heritage-tourism debate and, more specifically, the phenomenon of Cold War heritage tourism. Furthermore, during this stage the stakeholders’ representational and cultural practices will be investigated.
The second phase, the PhD phase, will consist of identifying and describing, from a tourist perspective, the interpretation and construction of (symbolic) meanings of Cold War tourist attractions.
The results of both phases will be analysed and jointly interpreted in order to provide a constructive and useful insight in Cold War heritage tourism and offer a starting point for future developments and research of Cold War tourist attractions.
