Digitalisation of Memory Practices in China
Contesting the Curating State

Edited by Maximilian Mayer,Frederik Schmitz

ISBN13: 9781529253597

Imprint: Bristol University Press

Publisher: Bristol University Press

Format: Hardback

Published: 29/09/2025

Availability: Not yet available

Description
How is memory in China curated in the digital era? This pioneering volume investigates the transformation of collective memory in China amid rapid technological change. Introducing the concept of the “curating state,” it reveals how digitalisation both supports and challenges official memories, giving rise to more hybrid and, at times, democratised memory practices. Bringing together leading Chinese and international scholars, the book examines the use of digital tools by state, private and commercial actors to curate their own versions of the past. Combining theoretical innovation with rich empirical research, this is a vital resource for understanding the dynamic interplay between memory, media and power in contemporary China—and beyond.
Introduction: The Digitalisation of Curating Collective Memories and Heritage in China - Maximilian Mayer and Frederik Schmitz 1. From the Archive to the Public Sphere: The Digital Rebirth of an Underground Journal - Ian Johnson 2. How Do Netizens Remember? Digital Memory Work in the History of the Chinese Internet - Guobin Yang 3. Digital Memory and Islam in China: Archiving ‘Arab style’ Mosques on Social Media - Vivien Markert 4. Mediating Queer Memory in Chinese Digital Video Documentaries - Hongwei Bao 5. Resistance of the Stone and Fragmented Digital Collective Memory in Gulou - Florence Graezer Bideau 6. Minitrue in Action: Contesting ‘Correct Collective Memory’ on Chinese Social Media - Hongtao Li 7. Curating the ‘Real Xinjiang’: Hyperreal Spectacles and the Making of Collective Memory - David O’Brien and Melissa Shani Brown 8. Assembling Digital Memories: The Curation of Baiku Yao Costumes - Linjie Wang 9. Curating the Rural: Douyin’s Rural Guardians and Platformised Memory-making - Antonie Angerer and Elena Meyer-Clement 10. Potato Patriotism: Consuming War Memory in China - Frederik Schmitz 11. Smart Museums, Heritage and Curation: An Empirical Study in Hangzhou, China - Xihuan Hu 12. Digital Documentaries, Making Memory, Solitary Spectatorship - Margaret Hillenbrand 13. Concluding Remarks: China’s Evolving Curatorial Practices - Maximilian Mayer and Frederik Schmitz
  • Sociology & anthropology
  • Ethical & social aspects of IT
  • Social networking
  • General (US: Trade)
  • Professional & Vocational
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List Price: £90.00