I am a cultural sociologist interested in how the past is communicated across time and space. Over the years I have explored these themes in multiple research projects, which generally fall into the overlapping categories of public memory, digital media culture, performance and qualitative research methods.

My work on public memory centers on remembrance in everyday life, particularly when done in public spaces and media. In my doctoral research I focused on the performance of public remembrance of 9/11, and since then I have looked at memory work in prison museums in Iraqi Kurdistan, women-led theatre activism in Argentina, and most recently on social media platforms in the context of the Assyrian diaspora in a study with my college Erin Hughes at California State University Stanislaus.

I dedicate much time to a collaborative project I have been involved with since 2015. Clayoquot Lives is a digital archive created by my colleagues Dr. Niamh Moore, Dr. Nikki Dunne, Dr. Mary Hanlon and myself. It holds oral history interviews recorded by Dr. Moore, images and other materials related to the 1993 Peace Camp in Clayoquot Sound, Canada. Together, we have published multiple articles, and we are currently writing a book on DIY Academic Archiving (under contract with Palgrave Macmillan) and its companion website.

At SFC, I teach courses concerned with the relationship between media, society, and culture. We think critically about how media -- digital media, pop culture, creative media industries, news media, etc. -- impacts us, and we investigate the challenges and opportunities of a media-saturated and digitized world.
 

See Martina Karels Recent Publications