The experience of the present depend a great deal on the knowledge of the past. Historical events and memories are the cornerstones of the society and they render social cohesion possible. In the dominant narrative of memory, however, a number of events get distorted, are reused in different social contexts or/and are erased from it. One way of expressing this process is the inauguration of state monuments. On one hand, national institutions are in charge of shaping the collective memory of the society towards national interests. On the other hand, with their creation, monuments take a life of their own and ways of interpretation that are usually contrary to those primarily assigned to them.
Civilians always demand better living conditions in the future, that’s the human nature. In order to do so, they resist the acts of manipulation of the historic narrative of the social group they are parts of.
In the first part of this research project, this social function becomes clear and cognizable through four examples: in Budapest, Richmond, Warsaw and New York, which are then comparatively analyzed to each other. The history of the space, the symbols and the social groups that are presented in the contested space are examined as well. Each and every example uses different tools to contest the space and these are specific for each sociopolitical standing.
The vast diffusion of new digital media and technologies makes clear the innovative relationship between memory and digital media. After all, everyday life is interconnected with digital technologies. Having said that, in the second part, the term digital memory is analyzed and there is an attempt to explore the notion of a digital monument. What is digital memory and how is it contested? What a digital memorial looks like? How will social groups try to claim space in the hegemonic narrative of memory in the digital age?
