The politics of memory: An extended case study of the memory of crisis on Wikipedia

Abstract

Numerous studies of memory on Wikipedia focus on edit wars (conflict between editors) relating to memories of war, atrocities and protests. There has been limited investigation of how other forms of social crisis are (re)constructed - including with regard to the interests, and involvement, of those groups more likely to be at risk of negative outcomes from crises. Processes of social and transitional justice (following crises) should include and empower these groups. Recent research on disaster risk reduction also suggests that memory (re)constructions contribute to preparation for future disasters, and it is important that the social choices interacting with disasters are considered as part of this. There is, however, limited evidence of how such issues are recognised and addressed in the (re)construction of diverse crises on Wikipedia - which feed into systems of automated forms of knowledge-making on the web.

To address the above, an extended case study is developed on the (re)construction of a major pollution event (the Great Smog of London). Critical discourse analysis of intertextuality (connections between texts through hyperlinking and other shared patterning) is utilised to move from a focus on micro level practices to macro and meta level findings on the ordering of Wikipedia and its interactions with other institutions. Findings evidence a layered, self-referencing formation across texts, favouring the interests of established institutions and providing limited opportunity for marginalised groups to interact with sustained (re)constructions of the Great Smog. Comparison to a previous study of the constructed memory of a crisis (the London Bombings 2005) reveals dynamics across Wikipedia that lead to an emphasis on connecting (re)constructions to institutional traditions rather than the potential usefulness of such (re)construction for those at higher risk of negative outcomes arising from repeated crises.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Nina Margaret Schuller: orcid.org/0000-0003-1637-1546

ORCID for Pauline Leonard: orcid.org/0000-0002-8112-0631

ORCID for William Jennings: orcid.org/0000-0001-9007-8896

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