Welcome…

My name is Aránzazu Borrachero (Arancha) and my email is aborrachero@gc.cuny.edu

Our Spring 2024 class meets every Wednesday in person from 6:30 to 8:30 in Room 5383.

 If you would like to meet individually with me, let me know and we will find a mutually convenient time. 

Quick links and useful addresses

Technical advisors

For the technological aspects of this course, we’re fortunate to count on the expert help of several advisors:

Course description

Memory Studies, an interdisciplinary field focusing on “how, what and why individuals, groups and societies remember, and forget” (Memory Studies), has experienced important paradigm shifts since its inception in the 1980s. The onset of digital media is responsible for the latest and, arguably, most radical changes.

This course explores how the past is constructed, archived and communicated through digital media from a sociocritical angle:

  • What is the potential of digital memory and storytelling projects to change or break power structures?
  • Has digital technology opened spaces for contesting traditional narratives of the past?
  • Is civic action shaped by digital memory initiatives? Are digital memory initiatives shaped by civic action?

With these questions as a framework, we will analyze key concepts in Memory Studies, such as collective memory (Maurice Halbwachs), cultural memory (Aleida and Jan Assman), transnational memory (Astrid Erll), and postmemory (Marianne Hirsch) –concepts, all of them, interrogated by the emerging field of Digital Memory Studies (Andrew Hoskins). Armed with this theoretical work, we will examine a diversity of digital memory and storytelling projects, from well-established and institutionalized ones (e.g. Imperial War Museums, Forced Labor 1939-1945, Memorial Democràtic) to community-led projects and/or projects explicitly engaged in counter-hegemonic memory-making (e.g. 858 Archive, Documenting the Now, Torn Apart/Separados).

This course utilizes a project-based pedagogical approach to the study of digital memory. You will complete two interrelated projects: first, you will collaborate in the writing and publication of Digital Memory Project Reviews, Volume IV (see Volume I, Volume II, and Volume III).This analytical work will familiarize you with project design, content collection, content management, and online publication. You will apply these concepts and skills to your second class project: developing a digital memory archive.

Learning outcomes

In this course you will have the opportunity to…

  • understand the concept of collective memory and its social and political uses, along with its main theoretical reformulations during the last one-hundred years,
  • understand the impact of digital technologies on collective memory construction, and the potential of such technologies in mobilizing memories for social and political purposes,
  • acquire analytical tools to evaluate digital memory projects and their social and political impact,
  • acquire the necessary skills and tools to design, develop and publish a digital memory project, and…
  • hopefully, enjoy the journey!

Class materials & class work

Readings

I have posted most readings as pdfs or links on the class website. You and your peers will collectively discuss and annotate them using Hypothes.is (instructions here).

I’d like you to approach the texts with a critical mind and annotate them accordingly. Here are some questions and issues you might be interested in discussing:

    • Is this text useful? In relation to other readings, is it repetitive or does it complement other texts we have read?
    • Is the writing clear or convoluted?
    • Is the argumentation convincing?
    • What ideas are provocative? Which ideas don’t make sense?
    • “I don’t understand! Help!”
    • How does the text connect to political, social, historical, and artistic phenomena?
    • What do you want your peers to discuss with you or to respond to?

As the course moves forward and you begin conducting research for your project, feel free to share with the class those texts that you find worth discussing. As an option, we can replace some of the readings I’ve suggested with some suggested by you, and we’ll post them for collaborative reading as well.

Reading discussion- Lead & moderate

Each week, one student will lead the reading discussion.

Suggested format:

  1. Very brief summary: What are these texts about? (5 minutes max.)
  2. Based on your own interpretation of the texts and your peers’ annotations on Hypothes.is, formulate 2-3 questions for the class to discuss, and moderate the discussion.

Pick a day to lead and moderate here.

Digital memory projects- Lead & moderate

Every week, the class will analyze a digital memory project proposed by one student in the class, who will lead the discussion.

The selected project may be…

  • one of the three projects that the student is reviewing for Volume IV of Digital Memory Project Reviews (see next section)
  • a project from Digital Memory Projects Review, Volume I, Volume II, or Volume III.
  • any other digital project related to memory that the student is interested in.

Pick one day to present a project here.

Digital memory projects- Reviews

  • An essential objective of this course is to practice the critical appraisal of digital memory projects. To this end, you will write three in-depth project reviews. I recommend you team up with one or two more students to prepare your reviews, but you can write them alone if you prefer.
  • You and your group will write and edit your project reviews here. At the end of the semester, we will publish all reviews in Volume III of Digital Memory Project Reviews (see Volume I, Volume II and Volume III).
  • As the course progresses, you will be searching for projects that will guide and inspire your own final class project. Feel free to share with the class any project you find worth discussing. As an option, we can replace some of the projects I’ve suggested for evaluation with some suggested by you and review them too.

Your digital memory project- Design and development

  • We will begin to plan the class projects early in the semester and you will present a project proposal in March. Group projects are possible.
  • For the technological part of you project, our Graduate Center Digital Fellows and our advisory fellows (Nicole Cote, Rafael Davis Portela) will help. Contact them early to discuss possible tools! (Omeka, WordPress, Scalar, etc.).

The Manifold review-archive

If any student or pair of students is interested in organizing, supervising and curating the collection of project reviews, and publishing it in Manifold, this would be her/his/their course project. I’ve written a “job description” here. Let me know if you’d like to be our digital archive curator and publisher!

Assessment

Your final grade will reflect both your own evaluation and my evaluation of your work.

Self-evaluations

You will conduct two self-evaluations of your work and progress in the class, one around mid-semester and one in May. I will take your honest self-evaluation very seriously in my own evaluation of your work.

Grading

  1. The following class components are worth 50% of your final grade:
  • Overall active participation
  • Reading discussion (you will lead the class reading discussion once)
  • Project discussion (you will lead the class project discussion once)
  • Three digital project reviews
  1. Your project proposal and your digital memory project are worth 50% of your final grade.

A note on participation

It is through collaboration and scaffolding that learners move forward in the learning process. In the classroom, this applies to students and instructors equally. Thus, we are all responsible for our own and our peers’ learning, and we should make every effort to be present in all aspects of the course.

Accounts

You will need…

  • a CUNY Commons account (once you have your account, you will receive an invitation to join the group and the class website),
  • a Hypothes.is account to annotate and discuss class readings with your peers (follow these instructions to open an account and begin annotating),
  • a Google Docs account to write project reviews with your group and work on other assignments.

Accessibility

Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the manager of Student Disability Services, located in Student Affairs, room 7301, or call 212-817-7400 as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Academic integrity

If you are unsure about how to properly acknowledge the work of others in your own work, here is an excellent guide prepared by the Graduate Center. For additional information, penalties for academic dishonesty and protocols, please read here.