The themed issue, Media and the past – Mediating the past, is edited by Manuel Menke and Marie Meier at the University of Copenhagen and brings together studies that examine the many ways the past is mediated in forward-moving societies.
The articles show how communities not only make sense of themselves through the past, but also use the past politically to claim visibility and recognition in society.
“For minorities whose pasts often receive limited visibility and recognition in public discussions about the future, this is especially relevant”, says Manuel Menke.
Rather than presenting the past as fixed, the issue highlights how it is being constantly negotiated. Several articles explore who gets to provide trustworthy interpretations of the past in today’s media landscape, where memory is shaped by many different actors – from traditional media institutions and online communities to generative AI.
Media’s many roles
Together, the contributions demonstrate the many different roles media play in relation to the past. Media can preserve memories, provide access to history, influence which stories are told, limit whose voices are heard, and even become objects of remembrance themselves.
“At a time when societies are often described as moving faster and faster toward an uncertain future, this issue reminds us that our engagement with the past is not decreasing, it is intensifying”, Menke says.
The issue also encourages a more nuanced understanding of today’s strong fascination with the past. Rather than seeing this development as simply positive or negative, the articles show how deeply intertwined media and memory are in contemporary society.
New rolling format
This year’s issue of Nordic Journal of Media Studies has been published on a rolling basis, with articles appearing individually online before the issue concludes with an editorial by the editors.
“This change reflects not only our adaptation to an increasingly digital-only journal publishing landscape, but also our commitment to increasing readership and visibility for our authors”, says Kristin Clay, manuscript editor at Nordicom.
The issue is particularly relevant for readers interested in media, memory, identity, politics, popular culture, AI, and social change. Researchers, students, media professionals, civil society actors, and policymakers may all find new perspectives on how media and the past continue to shape public life.
Read a longer interview with Manuel Menke on NordMedia Network