Introduction to the Special Issue on the Death, Afterlife, and….docx
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Introduction to the Special Issue on the Death, Afterlife, and….docx
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IntroductiontotheSpecialIssueontheDeath,Afterlife,andImmortalityofBodiesandData
ConnorGraham
TemhusuCollegeandAsiaResearchInstitute,NationalUniversityofSingapore,Singapore
MartinGibbs
DepartmentofComputingandInformationSystems,TheUniversityofMelbourne,Melbourne,Australia
LanfrancoAceti
FacultyofArtsandSocialSciences,SabanciUniversity,Istanbul,TurkeyandDepartment
UnitedKingdom
ofComputing,Goldsmiths,UniversityofLondon,London,
Thisspecialissueposesquestionsconcerningdeath,afterlifeandimmortalityintheageoftheInternet.Itextendspreviousworkbyexaminingcurrentandemergingpracticesofgrievingandmemorializingsupportedbynewmedia.Itsuggeststhatpeople’slivestodayareextended,prolonged,andultimatelytransformedthroughthenewcirculations,repetitions,andrecontextualizationsontheInternetandotherplatforms.Italsoshowsthatpublicsarebeingformedandconnectedwithinnewways,andnewpracticesandritualsareemerging,asthetraditionalnotionsofthebodyarebeingchallenged.Wearguethatthesedevelopmentshaveimplicationsforhowpeoplewillbediscoveredandconceivedofinthefuture.Weconsiderpossibleextensionstotheresearchpresentedhereintermsofpeople,practices,anddata.First,somesectionsofthepopulation,inparticularthosewhoarethedyingandpopulationsindevelopingcountriesandtheGlobalSouth,havelargelybeenneglectedtodate.Second,practicessuchas(online)suicideandsacrilegiousorprofanebehaviorsremainlargelyuninvestigated.Third,thediscussionofthemanagementofthedigitalselfafterdeathhasonlybegun.Weconcludebyposingfurtherquestionsconcerningtheprospectofemergingcitiesofthedead.
Keywords(after-)death,theInternet,hybridization,publics,rituals,historicization
©ConnorGraham,MartinGibbs,andLanfrancoAceti
AddresscorrespondencetoConnorGraham,TembusuCollege,NationalUniversityofSingapore,28CollegeAvenueEast,#B1-O1,Singapore138598.E-mail:
onecalledconnor@nus.edu.sg
Whatisdeathinaneraofubiquitousandencroachingdigitallife?
Whatisafterlifeinanageofmassdigitalproductionandconsumption?
Whatisimmortalityinatimeofthedigitalcelebrityandthedigitalmob?
Inthisspecialissue,contributingauthorsengagewithsuchquestions,andtheiranalysissuggeststhatnewtechnologies,specificallytheInternet,changethewaydeathandafter-deathareexperienced,performed,anddiscovered.
Theexistingresearchhasfocusedheavilyononlinememorials,inparticularonthecontentofthesesites(e.g.,deVriesandRutherford2004;Jones2004;Footetal.2005)andthegrievingprocessesoftheirusers(e.g.,Sofka1997;Veale2003).Morerecently,attentionhasturnedtosocialnetworksiteswithparticularfocusonthepracticesandmeaningsofonlinememorializingbyteenagers(CarrollandLandry2010;WilliamsandMerten2009).Ingeneralthisresearchhastendedtobeconnectedwithawiderliteratureinthesocialsciencesthatexaminesdeath,grieving,andmemorialization(e.g.,HallamandHockey2001;Hockey,Woodthorpe,andKomaromy2010;MetcalfandHuntington1991).
Thearticlesinthisspecialissueadvanceworkontheconceptof(after-)death1throughaseriesofcontrastinganalysesofcurrentandemergingpracticesofgrievingandmemorializingonline.Theyshowthat,evenafterdeath,people’slivesareextended,prolonged,andultimatelychangedinthepresent,future,andinhistorythroughnewcirculations,repetitions,andrecontextualizationstothevariouslyconstitutedpublics(Warner2002,66)“thatcomeintobeingonlyinrelationtotextsandtheircirculation.”Thesefindingsarediscussedinthefollowingintermsofbodiesandhybridization,constitutingpublics,newpracticesandrituals,andexcavationandhistoriciza-tion.
BODIESANDHYBRIDIZATION
Fromthebeginning,discourseinpopularmediasteeredustowardagrowingsenseofanotherself,anotionofaselfthatisdigitallydistributedacrosstextmessages,Webpages,socialnetworkingsites,blogcomments,andsoon:
adigitalself.Aroundthetimethattheproposalwasconceived,inTimemagazineFaure(2009)suggestedthatthecapacityofinformationandcommunicationtechnologies(ICTs)raisedimportantquestionsregardinglegacyandcuration:
“Aspeoplespendmoretimeatkeyboards,there’slessbeingstoredawayindustyatticsforfamilyandfriendstohangonto”(online).ButFaurewentfurtherthansimplydescribingconcernsaboutarchivingandstoragetoaskaquestionthatsuggestedsomeanxietyandevenresentmentaboutaburgeoningandenduringself:
“ThepiecesofourlivesthatweputonlinecanfeelaseternalastheInternetitself,butwhathappenstoourvirtualidentityafterwedie?
”(online).Bollmer(2013),inthisissue,suggeststhatthistensionbetweenthisanticipateddecouplingbetweenthebodyanddataisindeedasourceofanxietyinourlives.
Thisdigitalselfcanbevariouslytermedasvirtualidentity,digitaleffigy,orInternetdoppelganger.Thetermidentitysuggestsastructurethathasaparticularpresence.Thetermeffigysuggestsaroughlyifintentionallyconstructedformthatcanbemassproduced,andthisformhasaritualassociatedwithit.Doppelgangersuggestsbothsomethingmoresinisterandwithgreaterresemblanceandpersistence:
alurking,high-fidelityghostofthedead.2Thesedifferenttermsilluminateaspectsofcompositionandsubstance,fidelityandresemblance,reachandpersistence,whethercomfortingordisquieting.Inthisspecialissue,Brubaker,Hayes,andDourish(2013),Church(2013),andLingel(2013)alltacitlyacknowledgetheimportanceoftheformofthedeadwiththeirfocusonFacebookprofiles.TheissuesoffidelityandresemblancearealsoafocusforBollmer(2013),Bainbridge(2013),andSherlock(2013).Forall,thenotionofthedigitalselfisimportant,asistheextendedtemporalavailabilityofselfthatthedigitaloffers.
However,suchdefinitions,althoughanalyticallyuseful,suggestaparticularontologythatmayinfactbefaultybecausetheyartificiallysegregatethephysicalbodyandanInternetpresence,appealingtoanunnecessarydualism.Thecallforarticlesforthisissuesuggestedthatthesourceofthisfaultinesscouldbefoundinthelingering“shardsofourselves”thatdwellonandsupportalargersetofconnectionsbeyondtheimmediate,whatwastermedas“ecologiesofinterestsandexchangeswhererulesandcustomsarestillevolving.”Therefore,thereferencetoavirtualidentity,digitaleffigy,orInternetdoppelgangerasunified,distinctbodilyentity,asakindofmetaphorforthephysicalbody,ifitreflectstheontologyofthephysicalrealm,presentsthereaderswiththefallacyofaphysicalconstructretransferredtothedigitalrealmintoto.Wewantedtoshiftfocustowardtheideaofmultiplepresences(aswellastheirconnectionstothephysicalbody)thatareincreasinglyhybridizedorspreadacrossvariousdwellings,somephysicalandmaterial,somedigitalandsemiotic.Thishasconsequencesforhowpeopleareconsumed,workedwith,andviewedafterdeath.Italsoalterspeople’s(ideasof)bodilybeing.
Thishybridizationofthebody,asBollmer(2013)suggestsinthisissue,isnotmerelyananalyticalpoint.Wesuggestitalsochangeshowweviewourselvesandthatitisaprocesssecuredthrough“delegation”acrossmaterialsand“multiplicity”(Law2003).Wearebecauseofourmultipleplacesofdwelling.Differentlyput,(after-)deathshowsushowwenowemergefromacomplexnetworkofmaterialstuff,stuffthatisboughtandcarried,ownedandplaced,cherishedandloved,denigratedanddiscarded.Inthisviewthedigitalandmaterialarebothdistinctandcomplementary.Ontheonehand,differentpresences(bothphysicalanddigital)are,ofcourse,subjecttoadifferentsetofvagariesandforcesandvaryintheirobduracy.Forexample,thematerialdeterioratesandbreaksyetcanbepreservedandmaintained;informationcanbeendlesslyreproduced,yetcanbeeasilylostorbecomeunreadable.Ontheotherhand,differentpresenceshelptomakeupandcomprisepeopletoday.Thisviewofhybridizationbindspeoplecloselytoboththeirmaterialanddigitalselves.
HowphysicalbodiesandthematerialaredifferentisilluminatedbyUrry’s(2000)theoryofmobilities,whichplacesmovementatthecenterofmodernlife.Hedistinguishesbetweenthemovementofbodies—“thecorporealtravelofpeopleforwork,leisure,familylife,pleasure,migrationandescape,organizedintermsofcontrastingtime-spacemodalities(fromdailycommutingtoonce-in-a-lifetimeexile)”(Urry2007,47)—andthemovementofobjects—“thephysicalmovementofobjectstoproducers,consumersandretailers;aswellasthesendingandreceivingofpresentsandsouvenirs”(Urry2007,47).Althoughrelations(e.g.,personal,institutional)andnetworks(e.g.,road,trade)areimportantforbothbodiesandobjects,histheorymakesplainhow,forthebody,thequalitiesandexperienceoftimeandspaceinmovementareparticularlyimportant.Thisisincontrasttothemoreeconomicandfunctionaltreatmentofobjects.Urry’stheoryalsodistinguishestwootherformsofmobility—communicativetravelandvirtualtravel,suggestingthatcertainformsoftravelinvolvethephysicalbodymorethanothers.Theoverallpointisthatthemodemselfemergesfrommovementthroughandacrossdifferentplacesofdwellingandthroughrelationshipswithvariousmaterialobjects.
AsUrry’stheoryandourownappealtohybridizationsuggest,thedistinctionmadebetweenthedigitalandthematerial(bothanimateandinanimate)islargelycreatingafalsedichotomyw
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