Social Memory Technology: Theory, Practice, Action

Summary

Memory is a fundamental aspect of being and becoming, intimately entwined with space, time, place, landscape, emotion, imagination and identity. Memory studies is a burgeoning field of enquiry drawing from a range of social science, arts and humanities disciplines including human geography, sociology, cultural studies, media studies, heritage and museum studies, psychology and history.

This book is a critically theorised practical exposition of how media and technology are used to make memories for museums, archives, social movements and community projects, looking at specific cases in the UK and Brazil where the authors have put these theories into practice. The authors define the protocol they present as social memory technology. Critically, this book is about learning to deal with our pasts and learning new methods of connecting our pasts across cultures toward a shared understanding and application of memory technologies.

Table of Contents

Introduction  Part 1: What is Social Memory Technology?  1. An Overview of Memory Studies as a Field of Theory and Practice  2. Digital Memory, Media and Heritage Management  3. Social Memory Technology: Concept and Application  Part 2: Case Studies from the UK and Brazil  4. Hidden Lives: Memories of Migration, Settlement and Minorities  5. Corporate Memory: Family Business, Corporate Archives and Workers’ Stories  6. Sustainable Memory: Community, Climate and Environment Projects  7. Stories of Youth: Digital Literacy, Inclusion and Young People  Part 3: Social Memory Technology in Action  8. Policies and Principles 9. Putting Theory into Practice  10. Story Circles, Timelines, Interviews and Roadmaps  11. Using Video, Audio, Images and the Web  12. Evaluation and Impact Conclusion: Future Social Memory Technology

Author(s) Bio

Karen Worcman is Director of the Museum of the Person (Museu da Pessoa), Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Joanne Garde-Hansen is Associate Professor of Culture, Media and Communication (Centre for Cultural Policy Studies) at the University of Warwick, UK.