Block 3.1: Connectivities built by memory modalities. Jennifer Krueckeberg (University of Hamburg, Germany): Modalities of personal memory work.

1. Connectivities Built by Memory Modalities
Modalities of Personal Memory
Work
Jennifer Krueckeberg
Knowledge Hub 1 | Hamburg, 14/12/2018

2. Overview
1. Research topic: Research questions, project aims and relevance
2. State of research
3. Research design: Methodology, challenges and possible solutions
4. Personal Memory Making Example
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3. 1. Research Topic – Research Questions
This project will investigate:
• How young individuals from diverse backgrounds use digital media for
personal memory making?
• How do these technologies affect everyday?
• What media infrastructures, devices, rituals and shared practices are used
by individuals to collect, maintain, access and share memories?
• What meanings are individuals attributing to the practices of creating
memories?
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4. 1. Research Topic – Project Aims
→ Create a typology of memory modalities reflecting contemporary
European societies
→ Assessing how personal memory modalities can be incorporated into
cultural heritage practices
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5. 1. Research Topic – Relevance
• Understanding personal memory modalities can help to increase
engagement in cultural heritage institutions
• Good practices can be used as blue-prints in GLAM sector to build
sustainable digital engagement
• By understanding including and excluding factors in digital media more
participatory memory modalities can be created as set out by the POEM
network
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6. 2. State of Research
• Digital media growing field of enquiry in Anthropology
• How do these technologies affect everyday?
• Research focusing on online communities has frequently pointed out that
digital media is not as open or neutral as commonly claimed
“The general lack of scrutiny of how intersecting power relations
relate to spatial configurations of Internet applications is problematic
because digital spaces are not neutral and/or innocent.”
(Leurs 2015:21)
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7. 3. Research Design - Methodology
Digital ethnography as a research strategy (Pink et.al. 2016):
• Sole focus shouldn‘t lie on digital media
• Other aspects of people‘s lives and activities are also important
• Planning to interact with participants offline as well to learn more about
their memory making processes
→ combination of online and offline research
→Offers methodological fluidity and flexibility, so that an approach specific
to researching personal modalities can be developed.
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8. 3. Research Design - Challenges
Main challenge is to define the field:
• Absence of physical boundaries and working with a diverse group of
informants complicates construction of the ‘field’
• At this stage field won’t be defined by platforms or groups of young people
• Methodological approach: Multi-sited ethnography as proposed by George
Marcus 1995 ‘follow’ the memory and the people
→ Setting boundaries will greatly depend on relationship between
researcher and informants
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9. 3. Research Design – Pilot Study
4 month pilot study
• Looking at social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter) and blogs (Tumblr,
WordPress)
• First assessment of ‚what‘s out there‘
• Building rapport and find informants
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10. 4. Personal Memory Making Example
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11. Thank you!
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