Materializing Memories

A multitude of devices and technological tools now exist to make, share, and store memories and moments with family, friends, and even strangers. Memory practices such as home movies, which originated as the privilege of a few, well-to-do families, have now emerged as ubiquitous and immediate cultures of sharing. Departing from the history of home movies, this volume offers a sophisticated understanding of technologically mediated, mostly ritualized memory practices, from early beginnings in the fin-de-siècle to today.Departing from a longue durée perspective on home movie practices, Materializing Memories moves beyond a strict historical study to grapple with highly theorized fields, such as media studies, memory studies, and science and technology studies (STS). The contributors to this volume reflect on these different intellectual backgrounds and perspectives, but all chapters share a common framework by addressing practices of use, user configurations, and relevant media landscapes. Grasping the cultural dynamics of such multi-faceted practices requires a multidimensional conceptual approach, here achieved by centering around three concepts as central analytical lenses: dispositifs, generations, and amateurs.

Table of Contents1. Introduction (eds.)Susan Aasman, Andreas Fickers, Joseph WachelderPart I Dispositifs2. Amateur technologies of memory, devices and media, communication spaces, Roger Odin (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, France)3. Hybrid Histories: Historicizing the Home Movie Dispositif, Tim van der Heijden (Maastricht University, the Netherlands)4. The Emergence of Early Artists' Video in Europe & the USA and its' Relationship to Broadcast TV, Chris Meigh-Andrews (University of the West of England / University of Central Lancashire, UK)5. Materiality, Practices, Problematizations: What Kind of Dispositif Are Media? Markus Stauff (University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands)6. How to grasp historical media dispositifs in practice? Andreas Fickers (Université de Luxembourg, Luxembourg)Part II Generations7. Belated Screenings of Home Movies: Biographical Storytelling and Generational Referencing, Joseph Wachelder (Maastricht University, the Netherlands)8. The Social Construction of Generations in a Media Society: The Case of Postwar West Germany, Benjamin Möckel (Universität Köln, Germany)9. "Generation Channel 36": Pirated VHS Tapes and Remembering the Polish People's Republic in the Age of P2P Networks, Miroslaw Filiciak (University of Social Sciences and Humanities SWPS, Poland)10. Becoming YouTube's Grandad: Media, Age, and Generation in a Virtual Community, Susan Aasman (University of Groningen, the Netherlands)Part III Amateurs11. Amateurs: Naïve Artists or Everyday Experts, Patrice Flichy (Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, France)12. Charting Changing Production Practices: Testimonials of Moviemaking Enthusiasts, Ryan Shand (University of West Scotland, Glasgow, UK)13. Home Mode, Community Mode, Counter Mode: Three Functional Modalities for Coming to Terms with Amateur Media Practices, Tom Slootweg (University of Groningen, the Netherlands)14. 'Something More': the Analysis of Visual Gestalting in Amateur Films, Daniele Wecker (University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg)BibliographyIndex