Blog Post #4: Revised Statement of Topic, Research Question, and Sources

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

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Paragraph Statement of Topic: 

(Biographical/Historical Note) 

On March 1, 2006, Trooper Andrew J. Sperr was killed during a routine traffic stop in the town of Big Flats, NY. Unbeknownst to Trooper Sperr, the vehicle he had stopped contained suspects from a bank robbery that had just occurred nearby. He was able to wound both suspects, which aided in their later arrest, before succumbing to his wounds on-site.

Out of tragedy, something beautiful was created: the site where Trooper Sperr lost his life was quickly transformed into Sperr Memorial Park. The park, notable for its two stocked bodies of water and scenic walking trail, has become a popular site for both public reflection and recreation. Many believe that Trooper Sperr, who was an avid outdoorsman, would be delighted to know that his legacy lives on in this manner.
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Sperr Memorial Park operates as a locus of public memory surrounding the life and legacy of Trooper Andrew J. Sperr, as well as the other fallen members of law enforcement memorialized on-site. This project was born of the earnest desire to tap that memory font before it is lost to the desensitizing pressures of time.

Through the use of an app-enabled audio tour, visitors to Sperr Memorial Park will be able to access the public memories surrounding Trooper Sperr in an unprecedented way. App users will be invited to listen to stories from Trooper Sperr's friends and loved ones, and will also be afforded the opportunity to share memories of their own. It is hoped that through the app's creation of increased emotional accessibility, that the users' understanding of public memorials will be both informed and transformed by their experiences at Sperr Memorial Park.
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Sources
Dickinson, Greg, Carole Blair, Brian L. Ott, and John Louis Lucaites. Places of Public Memory: The Rhetoric of Museums and Memorials. Tuscaloosa, UNITED STATES: University of Alabama Press, 2010. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rit/detail.action?docID=565716.

Doss, Erika. Emotional Life of Contemporary Public Memorials: Towards a Theory of Temporary Memorials. Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS, THE: Amsterdam University Press, 2008. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rit/detail.action?docID=419805.

Hamilton, Paula, and Linda Shopes. Oral History and Public Memories. Philadelphia, UNITED STATES: Temple University Press, 2008. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rit/detail.action?docID=368716.

Papailias, Penelope. “Witnessing in the Age of the Database: Viral Memorials, Affective Publics, and the Assemblage of Mourning.” Memory Studies 9, no. 4 (October 1, 2016): 437–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750698015622058.

Tumblety, Joan. Memory and History: Understanding Memory As Source and Subject. London, UNITED KINGDOM: Routledge, 2013. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rit/detail.action?docID=1170329.