Hauntology and Lost Futures: Trauma Narratives in the Contemporary Gothic

A post by Emma Dee

Introduction

We begin, not with a text, but with an image.

This is a depiction of a painting by Caspar David Friedrich, a well-known German Romantic painter and explorer of the sublime. Not only is this a representation of what many of us might think of when we hear the term ‘Gothic,’ but the story of this particular image might help elucidate a concept of hauntology that this article is exploring. This picture is not the original.

D(igital)éjà Vu: AI, Mnemohistory, and the Future of Memory

A post by Sheng-Hsiang Lance Peng

Mnemohistory, a term coined by German Egyptologist Jan Assmann, refers to the study of how societies remember and construct their historical narratives. Unlike traditional historiography, which focuses on the objective recording and analysis of past events, mnemohistory emphasises the subjective processes through which memories are formed, preserved, and transmitted across generations. It explores the ways in which collective memory shapes, and is shaped by, cultural, social, and political contexts. Mnemohistory investigates the symbols, rituals, and narratives that communities use to create a sense of shared identity and continuity with the past. Originating from the Greek word “mnemos” meaning memory, and “historia,” meaning enquiry or knowledge, mnemohistory looks into the interaction between memory and history, recognising that our understanding of the past is not static but constantly reinterpreted through the lens of present concerns and future aspirations.

Monsters in Qualitative Data

A post by Sheng-Hsiang Lance Peng

Understanding qualitative data poses a significant challenge for many researchers. Despite available resources providing insights into data management strategies, researchers often struggle in this area. Researchers, especially those operating within collaborative contexts, ought to go into how individuals’ self-perceptions and their perceptions of others influence their environments, and to position themselves accordingly in relation to the varied narratives encountered.