The new grey of memory: Andrew Hoskins in conversation with Huw Halstead

Hoskins, A. and Halstead, H. (2021) The new grey of memory: Andrew Hoskins in conversation with Huw Halstead. Memory Studies, 14(3), pp. 675-685. (doi: 10.1177/17506980211010936)

Abstract

Andrew Hoskins – interviewed by Huw Halstead – discusses the tensions and paradoxes of memory and place in the connective era. Digital media liberate memory from the spatial archive, but they also create a connective compulsion and dependency, a disconnect from the present moment and a loss of control over memory. The overwhelming abundance and immediacy of digital data breed a placelessness of the digital traces of ourselves, an algorithmic narrowing of information, knowledge and life. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified this compulsion to record to such an extent that it may be considered a new memory boom, an obsessive desire to remember. Locative and mobile technology may seem to locate us in space more than ever before, but they do so in ways that are beyond our comprehension: our smartphones know more about our locatedness than we do, ushering in a ‘new grey’ in digital memory. Yet, it is critical to be aware of the variegated geography of connective memory – and of Memory Studies itself.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Connective turn, COVID-19, digital memory, grey memory, hyperconnectivity, place.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Hoskins, Professor Andrew
• Authors: Hoskins, A., and Halstead, H.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences
• Journal Name: Memory Studies
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• ISSN: 1750-6980
• ISSN (Online): 1750-6999
• Published Online: 08 June 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Memory Studies 14(3): 675-685
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License