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COH02 FromTransnational to TransnationalizingMemoryWork: TheMechanics of MnemonicMovements
R. Smit
1
1
University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
The field of memory studies is changing. In a world increasingly characterised by global connectivity (Van Dijck 2013) - whether in terms of cultures, human
relationships, technologies or socioeconomic infrastructures - theories of circulation, remediation and multidirectionality are all becoming more important
for scholars interested in the contemporary production and consumption of cultural memories (Garde-Hansen et al 2009; Erll & Rigney 2012; Rothberg
2009). These theories have helped lay the groundwork for the emergence of a third-wave of memory scholars. Unencumbered by either disciplinary or
contextual borders and interested in traversing traditional analytical boundaries, these researchers have complemented the perspectives of their first- and
second-wave predecessors that stressed more monolithic frames for collective remembrance including that of the nation state. As such these scholars
have often relied on the ‘trans’prefix in order to emphasise the mnemonic processes that unfold across and between various conceptual and spatial fields,
whether cultural, national or local (Erll 2011: De Cesari et al 2014). And yet there is still a tendency to discuss these processes in a paradoxically static
manner. In other words the focus often still remains on the product rather than its production. Thus the boundary crossing movement of memories is often
only retrospectively traced and regarded as evidence for the existence of transnational (or transcultural or translocal for that matter) forms of remembrance
rather than being observed in action and problematized as an ongoing process. The desire to tackle this transnationalizing memory work more directly lies
at the heart of this panel. In turn the panel calls for the greater interrogation of the mechanics behind the actual movement, flow and transfer of memories
and the memory work that occurs between cultures, nations and locales. To address this provocation across a range of case studies and with respect to
different theoretical and methodological perspectives this panel will bring together leading scholars who are working on role of media and communication
technologies in respect to three different vectors of transnational memory: diaspora communities; social movements; and heritage tourism. Collectively,
their papers will stress a variety of multi-scalar and cross-contextual mnemonic transfers, transitions and transmissions. Given the new centrality of media
and communication studies within the academic endeavour that has reached across the social sciences and humanities since the onset of the so-called
‘memory boom’ in the 1980s, the theme of this panel could not be more pertinent. Such a claim is further supported by the overlapping themes of both
the IAMCR and ECREA annual conferences, which both speak directly to questions of memory. In this respect care has been taken to ensure a continuity
of discussion and debate across these and other forums both in terms of the subjects to be considered and the personnel involved.
PN 059
Mediated Memory Work in Transnational Mediascapes: Conceptualizing Media-Related Remembering Practices
C. Lohmeier
1
, C. Pentzold
2
1
University of Bremen, ZeMKI- IPKM, Bremen, Germany
2
Technical University Chemnitz, Media and Communication, Chemnitz, Germany
The mediated environments we live by are both, oblivious and observant. On the one hand, too many messages, images, tweets and comments compete for
attention and nothing attracts concentration for long. On the other hand, all activities done in, with, and through digitally networked media are recorded,
archived, and retrievable and in that sense cannot be forgotten. Under these circumstances, how can we possibly think about remembrance and memory in
current transnational mediascapes? In other words, how can we understand the ways, personal and public memories are enacted in environments that have
become increasingly digitally networked? Following this fundamental question, we first develop a concept of mediated memory work. Building on theories
of social practices, accomplishing remembrance and commemoration is thus understood as happening in sets of sequenced activities done in relation to
media and geared into personal as well as collective memories.With the concept of the globital memory field, Anna Reading draws attention to the fact that
mediated memories are not bound to a certain locale. While they are initiated in a certain place and at a certain time, many mediated forms of memories
later on form part of transnational mediascapes which are influenced and shaped by their own rules and governing principles.When we think of Hollywood
movies of the Nazi era, for example, - such as Inglorious Basterds or Schindler’s List, their likelihood of entering into a transnational sphere is guaranteed
through successful box office sales in the United States. Similarly, mediated memories uploaded on YouTube, Instagram and other social networking sites,
are governed by algorithms. Thus, transnational memory work takes place between sets of sequenced activities that are characterized by individual and
shared practices on the one hand and are on the other hand are shaped substantially by governing economic decisions and algorithmns. With this paper we
aim to disentangle the dynamics of transcultural memory work and provide a conceptual grounding for (future) empirical research.
PN 060
In Media(s) Res: Digital Methods and Mnemonic Images in Action
R. Smit
1
, S. Merrill
2
1
University of Groningen, Media and Journalism, Groningen, Netherlands
2
Umeå University, Sociology, Umeå, Sweden
How can we, as memory researchers, methodologically grasp an object of study that is constantly shifting in its spatiality, temporality and materiality?
This question guides our exploration of the role digital methods can play within the study of transnationalizing memory. This paper will address three
methodological shortcomings of digital memory studies more broadly. Firstly, the tendency to shun more innovative digital methods and approach digital
technologies and media only as an extension of the archive. Secondly, the propensity of digital methods to emphasize the collection and analysis of written
texts rather than images. And thirdly, the inclination to conceive the journeys of transnational memories mostly in terms of their points of departure and
transmission or arrival and reception, rather than highlight those places, times and things in-between. A by-product of these shortcomings has been to
overlook more novel possibilities for studying the contemporary dynamics of memory.Thus, we argue, memory research might benefit from a shift in meth‑
odological focus to the construction of memories in media(s) res, as they are being produced in the midst of things, places and times, across and between
media. In other words, we must develop new methods suited to the unpredictability and messiness of memory’s new digital trajectories. To demonstrate