Joint Memory: ICT and the Rise of Moral Mnemonic Agents

Abstract

The objective of this chapter is to address a question which has been neglected from the fast-growing literature on the media-memory nexus: What should we remember? In flagging this question I aim to bring forward the ethical dimension of collective memory. My goal, more specifically, is to consider the manner in which modern mechanisms by which society members deny and commit to oblivion memories regarding violent acts they committed against others can now be challenged with the advent of digital technologies, notably ICTs. I shall address this question through an analysis of a website established by Machsom Watch (‘Checkpoint watch’) (2001) — an all-female organization whose members call for an end to the Israeli occupation and act to monitor the human rights of Palestinians at checkpoints set up by the Israeli army. Members of the group are present at the checkpoints on a daily basis and then post their memories on their website, designed expressly for this purpose.