Web and migration memories

Last Updated (Wednesday, 29 October 2008 12:28)

– digitalization of cultural memory

Randi Marselis
This project is about the role of the Web in the remediation of migration memories in multiethnic, Western European countries (especially Denmark and the Netherlands).

The Web is central in the ongoing digitalization of cultural heritage and might have a special potential for giving marginalized groups access to the cultural, public sphere. The project will approach this theme through discussions of cultural citizenship and intercultural dialogue on the internet (i.e. Hermes 2006, Stevenson 2003). The main interest of the project is to examine web-projects on migration set up by museums and other cultural institutions, which let ethnic minority groups participate in the creative (re)construction of cultural memories. In order to analyse mediated, cultural memories in multiethnic societies the project will draw on classic and new writings within memory studies (i.e. Halbwachs 1992 [1952], Huyssen 2000, Bal 1999, Kuhn 2002, Hoskins 2003, van Dijck 2007). The term ‘cultural memory’ is chosen in order to stress performative aspects of memory and examine how texts, artefacts and technologies are used in the construction of migration memories.

The Web-strategies of museums and institutions will be discussed in terms of social inclusion and accessibility. Internationally, websites on migration history is a new, but growing genre. Among the few Danish cases, the project will focus on Web-projects by the Danish Centre for Research on Women and Gender (KVINFO). In the Netherlands several projects focusing on a specific ethnic group or the history of one of the multiethnic cities exist. Furthermore, an extensive website on migration to and from the Netherlands is under preparation (Eijl 2006). In order to capture innovative tendencies in the field, the project will also include British and German cases.

The results of the project is expected to have special relevance for Danish museums’ inclusion of ethnic minorities, and more generally the project is intended to create knowledge on memory politics in web-based presentation of history. Methodologically the project combines discourse analysis and cultural studies (Barker and Galasinski 2001). Theories on multimodality inform the analysis of web-projects (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006). Also, Qualitative interviews will be made with with producers as well as users/participants of the webprojects. Netnographic methods are explored in order to strengthen the cross-national focus. The collective survey contribute to this project by mapping the use of historical and museum websites.

References:

Bal, Mieke, 1999: “Introduction”. Bal, Mieke, Jonathan Crewe og Leo Spitzer (Eds.): Acts of Memory. Cultural Recall in the Present. Hanover: University Press of New England: vii-xvii

Barker, Chris, Dariusz Galasiñski,2001: Cultural Studies and Discourse Analysis - A Dialogue on Language and Identity. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage Publications.

Eijl, Corinne van (2006): Migranten in Nederland.nl – Verslag Vooronderzork webzite Migratiegeschiedenis,http://www.iisg.nl/cgm/documents/eindverslag_website_migratiegeschiedenis.pdf (besøgt 30.4.2007)

Halbwachs, Maurice (1992): On Collective Memory, ed. and trans. by Lewis A. Coser, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 1-189