Hi readers!

I have read all the blog posts written by my fellow classmates in ASTU G04, and I fully appreciate the efforts of you all and have managed to organize some common discussed topics. Throughout these four weeks, eight classes of ASTU course, our topic has been surrounding genre and memory. From the introduction to genre and its definition to Kate Douglas’ article about selfie as a new type of witnessing, we think about what kind of form of writing or communication fit certain situation the best. As Lilly puts it, “If these components are inappropriate demonstrations of the content, the genre will be delegitimized”, we understand the importance of correspondence of forms and situations how it further affects the credibility of the content.

After class discussion, we are to believe that memory itself is a genre, and it is often transmitted as history. However, in academia, most scholars or historians prefer data or historical facts over memories when doing researches. “Memory typically evokes strong emotional reactions, which could ultimately cause a distortion of information”, argues Codi. The alterability and emotional elements within memory may result in its incredibility and lack of neutrality.

While the public seems to accept the conception of memory as entirely subjective and unreliable, there is no guarantee that the information provided by the platforms we are used to is fully trustworthy. After our first ASTU class, when we were introduced the first nation people lived in area which is the current campus of UBC, Jordan was shocked by her little knowledge of the indigenous people lived in her hometown, Portland, Oregon. She then realized the fact that how the textbooks prevented her from learning local history.

In addition, the news reported by the media platform is as well suspicious in its widely accepted, unchallengeable accuracy. In Wamaitha’s blog post, she provides a personal experience encountering American’s false conception on the fatality of malaria. “She grew up with media that taught her that she, as an American, was in a place to help the less fortunate children of Africa.” She concludes that the media plays a significant role in shaping public minds.

Although the emotional elements contained in memory are possible to result in bias and inaccuracy, they, however, provide an alternative lens for us to see the broader picture. Ayse uses the example of Sociologist Veli Saçılık’s story in a proletariat protest. The news was hidden by the media; in order to gain public attention, Veli Saçılık shared his stories on social media. His stories show the public the unspoken part of history, and that is his memory. “I believe that a huge part of being a global citizen is empathizing with others, and memories teach us how to do that.” Historical incidents very often omit the minorities’ voices, and these voices can sometimes be the first-hand information. Unfortunately, they are easily viewed as threats to the political authorities and are completely erased from public memory.

Summary by Irene Lin