Mnemonic Practices on Social Media: The Brazilian Dictatorship on Facebook (Kulturelle Figurationen: Artefakte, Praktiken, Fiktionen)

This book reflects on discourses about the Brazilian dictatorship (1964-1985) on social media. It examines entanglements between technological and mnemonic practices regarding this historical period. Following Olick and Robbins’ (1998) Historical Sociology of Mnemonic Practices, the book analyses more than what social actors say about the past. It explores the externalisation of knowledge about the past based on interactions identified on Facebook. Through this platform, it was possible to map and collect posts, comments, and reactions related to the historical period. This sample reveals perceptions and attitudes of social media users toward the past. The book also discusses socio-technical matters grounding mnemonic practices observed on Facebook. The concept of mnemonic affordance served as a conceptual tool for understanding situational elements involved in what users perceive that they can do on Facebook while articulating meanings about the past. The close analysis of two affordances indicates specificities in the performance of mnemonic practices on Facebook. These issues shed light on struggles for legitimacy regarding memories of the dictatorship and their impact on traditional regimes of knowledge and current public affairs in Brazil. Acknowledgements Abstract Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Case Study 1.1.1 The 1964 Coup and its Democratic Façade 1.1.2 Brazilian Dictatorship (1964–1985) 1.1.3 Transitional Process and Mnemonic Struggles 1.1.4 Digital and Social Media in Brazil 1.2 Research Question, Objectives and Conceptual Approaches 1.3 Methodological Approach and Ethical Considerations 1.4 Structure of this Book 2 Memories and Media: Concepts and Practical Dimensions 2.1 Memory as a concept 2.1.1 History and Memory 2.1.2 Encoding and Decoding the Past: On Representations and Receptions 2.1.3 Memory in Culture 2.1.4 (Re)membering and Belonging: On Memory, Knowledge and Identification 2.2 Defining Mnemonic Practices: On Relational Character of the Past 2.2.1 Mnemonic Practices and the Articulation of Agency and Structures 2.2.2 Discursive and Narrative Aspects of Mnemonic Practices 2.2.3 On Regimes of Truth and Contested Pasts 2.2.4 Memory and Politics 2.3 Memory and Media 2.3.1 The Mediation of Memory and Media Practices 2.3.2 A socio-technical Approach to the Study of Mnemonic Practices 2.3.3 Digital Media and Mnemonic Practices 2.3.4 On the Potentialities and Limits of Discourses About Connective Memories 2.4 Overview of Conceptual Approaches 3 Memories of the Brazilian Dictatorship 3.1 Prevailing Memories Regarding the Brazilian Dictatorship 3.2 Socio-historical Traces and the Brazilian Dictatorship 3.3 Regimes of Mediation and Mnemonic Traces 3.3.1 The “Conservative/repressive Modernisation” of Media during the Dictatorship 3.3.2 Re-democratisation and undeclared Memory Wars 3.3.3 The Unarticulated Support for the Brazilian Military Regime 3.3.4 Contemporary Mediascape and the Evidence of Mnemonic Contradictions 3.4 Modes of Memory and Processes of Mediation 4 Methodological Considerations and Analytical Steps 4.1 Exploring Socio-technical Systems Addressing the Brazilian Dictatorship 4.1.1 National Truth Commission: Official/institutional Memories 4.1.2 The Selection of Facebook Pages as the Main Analytical Resource 4.1.3 Sampling Facebook Pages 4.1.4 Categorising Facebook Pages Related to the Brazilian Dictatorship 4.2 Dissecting Mnemonic Practices on Facebook Pages 4.2.1 Posts, Comments, Shares and Reactions 4.2.2 Managing Identity 4.2.3 Interviews and Consultations With Facebook Pages Administrators 4.3 Collecting and Systematising Datasets 4.3.1 Quanti-qualitative Approach 4.3.2 Combining Grounded and Discourse Theory 4.3.3 The Coding Process: the Emergence of Elements and Moments 5 Discourses and Socio-technical Articulations 5.1 Facebook as a Field of Discursivity 5.2 Subjects Positions 5.2.1 Being Present on Facebook 5.2.2 Managing Identity: Naming and Imagery 5.2.3 Managing Discursive Positions 5.2.4 Positionality and Engagement 5.3 Main Discursive Formations 5.3.1 Pages Critical of the Dictatorship 5.3.2 Pages Supportive of the Military Regime 5.3.3 Government Initiatives 5.3.4 Projects Conceived by Professional Historians 5.4 Main Nodal Points and Articulations 6 Mnemonic Affordances and Socio-technical Practices on Facebook 6.1 Affordances 6.1.1 Mnemonic Affordances on Facebook 6.1.2 Mnemonic Affordances and Discourses About the Brazilian Dictatorship 6.2 Visibility 6.2.1 Mnemonic Practices Within of Appearance 6.2.2 Bursting Mnemonic Bubbles 6.3 Confrontation 6.3.1 Disputing and Negotiating the Right to Speak 6.3.2 Challenging Regimes of Truth 6.3.3 Escalating and Moderating Confrontation 7 Concluding Remarks 7.1 Doing Memory with(in) Media(tions) 7.2 Recognising Mnemonic Actors and Figurations of Memory 7.3 Articulating Mnemonic Practices Through Discourse: Similar Approaches, Different Meanings 7.4 Contributions and Future Research Appendix References