iNakba, mobile media and society’s memory

Abstract

The iNakba is a new mobile application that allows users to locate, and learn about, Palestinian villages that were destroyed during and after the Nakba, the consequences of the war between Jewish forces and local and external Arab forces following the withdrawal of British Mandate from the colony of Palestine in 1948. As such, the iNakba, as a new mobile application, is a mnemonic device utilized in a heated memory contestation that exemplifies how contemporary technological capabilities operate as a reminder for a society that seeks to forget. This study reveals that when marginalized groups struggle for recognition in society’s memory sphere, while capitalizing on contemporary media’s unique characteristics, they benefit from the blurring of the familiar distinction between communicative and cultural memory (Assmann & Czaplicka, 1995). The unique characteristics of new media create a new opportunity to make many more narratives and group memories known, officially organized, and mediated for mass audiences. These new memory affordances may contribute to establishing a culture of just memory that takes into consideration memory ethics and promotes the “duty to remember” the stories of the oppressed and marginalized.