Between Archive and Participation: Public Memory in a Digital Age

Abstract

In sizing up the notion of public memory, rhetoricians would be remiss not to consider the increasing influence of new media on today's remembrance culture. This article addresses memorial functions of the internet in light of recent scholarly debates about virtues and drawbacks of modern ''archival memory'' as well as the paradoxical link between the contemporary public obsession with memory and the acceleration of amnesia. To explore the strengths and limitations of the internet as a vehicle of collecting, preserving, and displaying traces of the past, the article examines The September 11 Digital Archive, a comprehensive online effort to document public involvement in recording and commemorating the tragedy of

Still Burning: Self-Immolation as Photographic Protest

“…51 In so doing, Haskins contends that the Archive display represents a ''symbolic refusal to come to terms with the events of 11 September.'' 52 Similarly, Kevin Jones, Kenneth Zagacki, and Todd Lewis examine how the ''Missing Person Posters'' which plastered the city in the first days after the attacks represent both a connection to and a departure from Zelizer's idea of the about to die moment. Unlike the images of the Twin Towers before their imminent collapse, which according to Zelizer ease viewers ''into acknowledging death in liminality'' through the subjunctive voice's questioning of the ''what if,'' the posters utilized the subjunctive by portraying the missing persons as if they ''were in fact still living.''…”

Between Lived and Archived Memory: How Digital Archives Can Tell History

“…The line gets blurred, if not dissolved altogether (cf. Haskins 2007 into lived experiences are not uncommon in contemporary offline approaches and a reflexive museology, the online possibilities and their range surely outshine these. It is the active involvement in both contribution and perception, in producing and consuming that characterises these online archives.…”

Remembering World War I: Memory Influences and Impact on Intentions to Visit War Heritage Sites

“…New technologies have become important and are key in shaping cultural memory in the future. Ekaterina Haskins [62] alerts us to the rising popularity of the Internet as a vehicle of memory transfer and supplement to older forms of commemoration. She states, "Although even 'permanent' memorials and museums are now being built with an eye to stimulating public engagement, their capacity to share memory work with ordinary people pales in comparison with 'digital memorials and archives' " (62:405).…”

“…In fact, since the onset of the Centenary in 2014, we are observing an increase in the content related to WWI now available through the Internet. The Internet and other new technologies, as alluded to by Haskins [62], have enormous capacity to keep the memories of WWI alive for future generations.…”