- Duration: 2025 – 2026
- Project lead: Dr. Berber Hagedoorn (University of Groningen), Dr. Rieke Böhling
Due to their dual identity as places of local cultural narratives and places of personal and collective memories, islands offer a unique context for the formation of memories. The project investigates the interplay between locally curated memory practices and translocal memory objects, focusing on the North Sea islands of Schiermonnikoog (Netherlands) and Spiekeroog (Germany). By combining analyses of physical exhibitions and digital media, the study examines how island memories are constructed, shared, and maintained across multiple platforms.
Research steps:
- Exhibition analysis: Visiting local exhibitions to understand their role in mediating memories and (island) histories.
- Digital analysis: Examining Instagram posts, hashtags, and user interactions related to the islands to understand how digital memory objects are created and shared. Inclusion of an analysis of archival materials, where available, to link past and present representations of island narratives.
- Analysis of media practices: Focusing on the ways in which individuals and communities use media to construct, share, and reinterpret memories, thereby shaping local and digital communities.