The project is based on a naturalistic exploration of commemorative practices in digital environments through an inductive methodology.
- The study includes a qualitative content analysis to explore how commemorative biographies of famous women are generating forms of subjectivation through which various structures of power are either resisted or legitimated. The content analysis will rely on a theoretically representative sample of famous historical figures who will be chosen from a range of different cultures and online sources. The data analysis will not follow the conventional thematic coding procedure, but a more comprehensive form of narrative analysis that pays close attention both to the discursive features used to communicate a message and to the more nuanced strategies used to produce a reliable knowledge of history. The analysis will be sensitive to the stylistic constrains of the commemorative biographical genre, as well as to the properties of the digital medium in terms of content generation and modification.
- The study consists in a phenomenological investigation of two mnemonic communities that share conflicting views towards the role of one famous woman in history. The empirical research will consist in a netnographic analysis of digital commemorative practices through a multi-method approach: participatory observation, content analysis, visual analysis, discursive and narrative analysis, and unstructured interviews with community members. The netnographic analysis will be complemented by a close reading of historical sources and document analysis