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Cited by 40Memory, Trauma, and CommemorationMemory, History, Trauma, IdentityDigital and Traditional Archives Management

The digital turn in memory studies

Open access
Mandolessi, Silvana·2023·Memory Studies
DOI 10.1177/17506980231204201
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Abstract

This article examines the changes experienced by collective memory in the digital era. Contrary to the thesis that digital memory entails a new type of memory, which is radically different from the traditional conceptualization, I argue that the practice of digital memory materializes and implements the theoretical claims made by Memory Studies since the field’s inception – collective memory conceived as a process, mediated and remediated by multiple media, with the participation of dynamic communities that perform rather than represent the past. In the article, I address what I propose are the following four major transformations that collective memory has undergone in the digital era: (1) the new ontology of the digital archive; (2) the shift from narrative as a privileged form of collective memory to the cultural form of the database; (3) the reconfiguration of agency, in which a distributed memory is performed by human and non-human agents in a dynamic entanglement; and (4) the shift from mnemonic objects to mnemonic assemblages, comprising persons, things, artefacts, spaces, discourses, behaviours and expressions in dynamic relatedness.

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  • Most empirical studies in digital memory studies employ qualitative methods, while quantitative and computer-assisted digital methods gain traction as they promise systematic ways to analyze vast amounts of data.

    “While most empirical studies employ qualitative methods [50], quantitative and computer-assisted digital methods gain traction as they promise systematic ways to analyze vast amounts of data [8,14,32,51].”

    From Collective memory and social media. (2025) · cites this paper as [8]

    The citation to this paper, [50], is attached only to the claim that most empirical studies employ qualitative methods. The retrieved passages from “Whither memory studies?” discuss computational tools and new methodologies, but neither they nor the passages found by searching for qualitative methods and empirical studies establish how commonly empirical studies use qualitative methods. The sentence cites other sources for its separate claim about quantitative and computer-assisted methods. (LLM, conf=0.73)

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Research works printed but not linked: 8

  1. [4]4. Blom I, Lundemo T and Røssaak E (eds) (2017) Memory in Motion: Archives, Technology, and the Social. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
  2. [7]7. Bouchardon S (2019) Mind the gap! 10 gaps for digital literature? Electronic Literature Review, 5 May. Available at: https://electronicbookreview.com/essay/mind-the-gap-10-gaps-for-digital-literature/
  3. [21]21. Freeman M (2010) Telling stories: memory and narrative. In: Radstone S and Schwarz B (eds) Memory: History, Theories, Debates. New York: Fordham University Press, pp. 263-277.
  4. [24]24. Hammond K (2015) Practical Artificial Intelligence for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
  5. [32]32. Manovich L (2001) The Language of New Media. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
  6. [44]44. Schwartz B (2016) Rethinking the concept of collective memory. In: Tota AL and Hagen T (eds) Routledge International Handbook of Memory Studies. London; New York: Routledge, pp. 9-21. September 11 Digital Archive (2023) Available at: https://911digitalarchive.org/ (accessed 15 May 2023).
  7. [45]45. Shevchenko O (2016) 'The mirror with a memory': placing photography in memory studies. In: Tota AL and Hagen T (eds) Routledge International Handbook of Memory Studies. London; New York: Routledge, pp. 272-287.
  8. [46]46. Stiegler B (2010) Memory. In: Mitchell WJT and Hansen MBN (eds) Critical Terms for Media Studies. Chicago, IL; London: The University of Chicago Press, pp. 64-88.

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Authors
Mandolessi, S.
Affiliations
KU Leuven (BE)
Corresponding author
Mandolessi, Silvana
ORCID
Mandolessi, Silvana
Venue
Memory Studies
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2023-12
Volume
16
Issue
6
Pages
1513-1528
ISSN
  • 1750-6980 (ISSN-L)
  • 1750-6999
DOI
10.1177/17506980231204201
OpenAlex
W4389273571
Semantic Scholar
70ae70e913e5b2d39d258b3dbb1842ac03dfc487
Cited by
40
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 1
FWCI
11.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Memory Studies (publishedVersion)
  • Lirias (KU Leuven) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (677955)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Memory, History, Trauma, Identity
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Conservation › Digital and Traditional Archives Management
Keywords
collective memory, digital memory, digital archives, databases, narrative, agency, distributed memory, non-human actors, assemblage, mediation (cultural/media theory), remediation, performance of the past

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