Abstract
This chapter explores the notion of memory modality as a means of conceptualising the relationship between modes and systems of memory work on the one hand, and arrangements of how memory and remembering are organised on the other. After reviewing the earlier literature, the chapter explores memory modality from the perspective of the four authors ongoing empirical research interests. Four ancillary positions for memory-making are discussed: personal memory, memory institutions, internet ecologies, and online communities. These positions are illustrated in four vignettes. These illustrate heterogeneous economies of information and materials in which memory work is made and concretised into practices, and they also show how practices — whether social, professional, ecological, or revolving around online communities — can affect memory modalities. On the basis of our conceptual exploration, we describe memory modalities as socio-material-technological arrangements that mediate and constitute both the past and knowledge about the past at the present. We suggest, further, that memory modality unfolds as a potentially powerful concept for characterising representational and conceptual dimensions of memory functions across various actors in the evolving media and information landscape.
