In Dishonor of: The Assemblage of Counter-Memory as Networked Resistance on Twitter

Authors

  • Fatima Gaw Northwestern University
  • Jon Benedik A. Bunquin University of the Philippines

Keywords:

counter-memory, history, assemblage, mediatization, social movements, disinformation

Abstract

This study investigates the performance of counter-memory in the intersection of networked publics, counter-discourses, and technologies of memories. We map the social network and analyze the discursive practices of the Twitter hashtag network #ArawNgMagnanakaw (“Day of Thieves”) as a counter-commemoration of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. We theorize the “assemblage of counter-memory” as the connective, discursive, and material assemblage that has the capacity to privilege subjugated knowledge, reconstruct history, and shape the trajectories of reality. It acts as a counter-structure to the order of knowledge of history, built on the substructure rendered by the affordances of digital media. We argue that the assemblage enacts a kind of “relational” agency that emerges and reemerges to resist both established historical orders and systematic political manipulation. More importantly, it can reconfigure itself to respond to new issues and contexts and weave counter-memory practices with contemporary forms of political participation.

Author Biographies

Fatima Gaw, Northwestern University

Fatima Gaw is a PhD student in Media, Technology and Society at Northwestern University. Her research centers on the mediation of platforms, algorithms and digital technologies in cultural production, politics, and public discourse. She obtained her master’s degree in Digital Communication and Culture from the University of Sydney and her bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Communication, Magna cum laude, from the University of the Philippines.

Jon Benedik A. Bunquin, University of the Philippines

Jon Benedik A. Bunquin is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication Research of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication. He uses quantitative and digital research methods to study how networked environments shape the communication of political and scientific information. He earned his MA Communication and BA Journalism (cum laude) degrees from the University of the Philippines and is currently completing his PhD in Communication and Media Studies at University of Oregon.

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Published

2024-02-27

Issue

Vol. 18 (2024)

Section

Articles

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