TY - JOUR
T1 - What we talk about when we talk about digital Holocaust memory
T2 - A systematic analysis of research published in academic journals, 2010–2022
AU - Tirosh, Noam
AU - Mikel-Arieli, Roni
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2023/1/1
Y1 - 2023/1/1
N2 - In recent years, digital technologies have presented new opportunities for innovative Holocaust commemoration and education. Accordingly, scholars across disciplines have focused on “digital Holocaust memory” as a new frontier in both research and practice. But what exactly do they mean when they use this term? This article provides a systematic analysis of the literature regarding digital Holocaust memory as published in leading academic journals between 2010 and 2022. We position the digitalization of Holocaust memory within the context of the global evolution of memory culture and differentiate between the Holocaust’s “master narrative” and alternative, more peripheral Holocaust-related themes and perspectives. Scholars perceive the digitalization of Holocaust memory as enabling a new focus on marginal Holocaust-related narratives, but we demonstrate that they nevertheless tend to remain in the comfort zone of well-established Holocaust narratives while ignoring digital commemoration and education taking place at geographic and thematic margins. By focusing on the traditional master narrative of the Holocaust, we argue that the extant literature regarding digital Holocaust memory primarily serves to preserve the centrality of this narrative.
AB - In recent years, digital technologies have presented new opportunities for innovative Holocaust commemoration and education. Accordingly, scholars across disciplines have focused on “digital Holocaust memory” as a new frontier in both research and practice. But what exactly do they mean when they use this term? This article provides a systematic analysis of the literature regarding digital Holocaust memory as published in leading academic journals between 2010 and 2022. We position the digitalization of Holocaust memory within the context of the global evolution of memory culture and differentiate between the Holocaust’s “master narrative” and alternative, more peripheral Holocaust-related themes and perspectives. Scholars perceive the digitalization of Holocaust memory as enabling a new focus on marginal Holocaust-related narratives, but we demonstrate that they nevertheless tend to remain in the comfort zone of well-established Holocaust narratives while ignoring digital commemoration and education taking place at geographic and thematic margins. By focusing on the traditional master narrative of the Holocaust, we argue that the extant literature regarding digital Holocaust memory primarily serves to preserve the centrality of this narrative.
KW - Digital Holocaust memory
KW - digitalization
KW - Holocaust commemoration
KW - new media
KW - systematic literature review
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148577218&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10714421.2023.2177489
DO - 10.1080/10714421.2023.2177489
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85148577218
SN - 1071-4421
VL - 26
SP - 151
EP - 170
JO - Communication Review
JF - Communication Review
IS - 2
ER -