Capturing commemoration

Using mobile recordings within memory research

Bibliographic Data

ID8108323
AuthorsCarolyn Birdsall (0000-0001-9870-3035, University of Amsterdam, corresponding author), Danielle Drozdzewski (0000-0001-6802-0540, UNSW Sydney)
Year2017
Volume6
Issue2
Pages266-284
Publication date2017-10-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMobile Media & Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2050-1579 • E-ISSN: 2050-1587
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/2050157917730587
PMID29780585
OpenAlexW2761991660
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited42

This paper details the contribution of mobile devices to capturing commemoration in action. It investigates the incorporation of audio and sound recording devices, observation, and note-taking into a mobile (auto)ethnographic research methodology, to research a large-scale commemorative event in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. On May 4, 2016, the sounds of a Silent March-through the streets of Amsterdam to Dam Square-were recorded and complemented by video grabs of the march's participants and onlookers. We discuss how the mixed method enabled a multilevel analysis across visual, textual, and aural layers of the commemorative atmosphere. Our visual data aided in our evaluation of the construction of collective spectacle, while the audio data necessitated that we venture into new analytic territory. Using Sonic Visualiser, we uncovered alternative methods of "reading" landscape by identifying different sound signatures in the acoustic environment. Together, this aural and visual representation of the May 4 events enabled the identification of spatial markers and the temporal unfolding of the Silent March and the national 2 minutes' silence in Amsterdam's Dam Square

Aesthetics · Art · Event (particle physics · Human–computer interaction · Linguistics · Mobile device · Reading (process · Representation (politics · Silence · Spectacle · Visual arts · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Participatory Visual Research Methods

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access