Draft Statement of Topic & Research Question

DRAFT Research question: How can digital memory capture add context to and increase emotional accessibility at an existing public memorial site? 

(Additional questions: How can memory be preserved digitally? How does public memory and/or the use of public memorials evolve over time? Are public memorials considered sites of active grieving? Does digital memory capture have the potential for retraumatization? If so, what are the best practices for empathetically addressing the more difficult aspects of public memory and memorialization?)
_____________________________________________________________________________
(working definitions)
digital memory capture: photographs, videos, audio recordings, digitized keepsakes, etc.

emotional accessibility: how often and to what degree can the visitor forge emotional connections to individuals memorialized on-site and/or to the experiences/memories of the individuals' families
_____________________________________________________________________________

Statement of Topic:

Thematic Locus: Sperr Memorial Park, Big Flats, NY

If you saw last week's post, then you've already met my friend Andy Sperr. In case you didn't, let's quickly recap: Andrew J. Sperr was a New York State Trooper killed in the line of duty on March 1, 2006. His legacy, realized through the creation of Sperr Memorial Park, lives on through those that loved him and those affected by their experiences in the park. For both myself and members of the immediate community, Sperr Park is not only appreciated as a sacred space, but is also considered a site of public memory.

For my Senior Thesis, I would like to create an app-enabled walking tour of the different memorials at Sperr Park. (What I've been informally calling the "love child of walking tours and StoryCorps.") Through interviews that I will conduct, app users will be invited to listen to audio recordings from the families of individuals memorialized on site. It is my earnest desire that the app experience would not only enhance visitor appreciation, but also increase the understanding that the names inscribed on stone and bronze tablets belonged to individuals that should never be forgotten.

This project will exist at the intersections of public memory, commemoration and digitization, and will always be conducted with reverence and empathic understanding.
_____________________________________________________________________________

A view of the water from the walking trail at Sperr Memorial Park. (Photo taken by the author in June 2019.)