- University of Bath, Centre for Death and Society, Department Memberadd
- noneedit
- I completed my PhD studies at the Department of Media and Communications at The London School of Economics and Politi... moreI completed my PhD studies at the Department of Media and Communications at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where I studied the coverage of mass violent death events. I later was a post-doc fellow at the Minerva Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of the End of Life at Tel Aviv University.I now teach at the Department of Photographic Communication at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem.edit
Digital afterlife is becoming increasingly possible due to advancements in VR, deepfake, and AI technologies. The use of computational photography for mourning and commemoration has been re-integrated into practices of remembrance,... more
Digital afterlife is becoming increasingly possible due to advancements in VR, deepfake, and AI technologies. The use of computational photography for mourning and commemoration has been re-integrated into practices of remembrance, farewell, continuity, and disengagement. Two case studies, the Shoah Foundation’s Dimensions in Testimony and the TV production Meeting You, are analyzed to explore these new possibilities. We show how photography’s new affordances enable interaction while maintaining its essence as a representation of reality and argue that this socio-technological transformation habituates contemporary practices of mourning and commemoration, adjusting images to serve the individual needs and interests of the bereaved and the community.
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במותו של אדם, המשפט ממהר להתנער ממנו: דיני הקבורה מסדירים את הטיפול בגוף, דיני הירושה מסדירים את העברת הקניין, ותביעות אישיות חדלות. הזירה נשארת לתחום האישי והחברתי. האדם – איננו, אבל הפרסונה שלה או שלו נותרת כזיכרון בקרב מעגלי החיים:... more
במותו של אדם, המשפט ממהר להתנער ממנו: דיני הקבורה מסדירים את הטיפול בגוף, דיני הירושה מסדירים את העברת הקניין, ותביעות אישיות חדלות. הזירה נשארת לתחום האישי והחברתי. האדם – איננו, אבל הפרסונה שלה או שלו נותרת כזיכרון בקרב מעגלי החיים: משפחה, חברים, עמיתים, מכרים, ולעיתים גם החברה והמדינה. במקרים רבים החיים זוכרים את המתים באמצעות אתרי זיכרון או באמצעות חפצים: תמונות, מכתבים ויצירות שיצרו. אלה הם חפצי זיכרון שמקשרים בין המתים לחיים. כאשר חיינו הופכים להיות דיגיטליים חפצי הזיכרון מומרים לקובצי מחשב, ואתרי אינטרנט הופכים להיות אתרי זיכרון.
המעבר מחפצי זיכרון לזיכרונות דיגיטליים אינו רק שינוי טכני. התפוגגות החומר משנה את זירת הזיכרון בצורה דרמטית. מאמר זה מתמקד בסוגיה של הגישה אל הזיכרונות. במותו של אדם, לקרוביו יש בדרך כלל גישה ישירה, בפועל, לחפציו. הנורמות החברתיות מתירות את הגישה לחפצים. בסביבה הדיגיטלית, לעומת זאת, יש בדרך כלל גורם ביניים: ספק שירות דוא"ל וענן, רשתות חברתיות, מפעילי יישומונים ועוד, שנמצאים בין המנוח לבין משפחתו וחבריו. ספקי השירות קובעים את תנאי הגישה לפי האינטרסים שלהם. הגישה הישירה הופכת לגישה מתווכת; הנורמות החברתיות מוחלפות בתנאים חוזיים, וסוג המידע והיקפו גדל באופן ניכר לעומת המצב האנלוגי.
המאמר מציג את ההקשר החברתי של זיכרון המתים ובוחן את מאפייניהם הטכנולוגיים-חברתיים של זיכרונות דיגיטליים בהשוואה לחפצי זיכרון. נבחן את משמעות התיווך המסחרי של הפלטפורמות. נתאר שתי פרקטיקות של גישה לזיכרונות הדיגיטליים: גישה בפועל (למשל, כאשר אדם יודע את סיסמאות הגישה של המנוח), וגישה בדרך של שימוש בכלים ייעודיים שהפלטפורמות מציעות לניהול הזיכרונות הדיגיטליים. האתגר מתעורר כאשר אין גישה בפועל, והכלים של הפלטפורמות אינם מופעלים. כאן, המשפט נכנס לתמונה. עיון בתגובות משפטיות שונות שננקטו בעולם מצביע על שתי גישות עקרוניות עיקריות: גישה קניינית וגישה של פרטיות אחרי המוות. על בסיס ההקשר החברתי והטכנולוגי וניתוח הדינים הקיימים, נבחין בין סוגים שונים של זיכרונות דיגיטליים, ונבחן האם ראוי להמשיגם כקניין או כמידע אישי שמוגן לפי דיני הפרטיות.
המעבר מחפצי זיכרון לזיכרונות דיגיטליים אינו רק שינוי טכני. התפוגגות החומר משנה את זירת הזיכרון בצורה דרמטית. מאמר זה מתמקד בסוגיה של הגישה אל הזיכרונות. במותו של אדם, לקרוביו יש בדרך כלל גישה ישירה, בפועל, לחפציו. הנורמות החברתיות מתירות את הגישה לחפצים. בסביבה הדיגיטלית, לעומת זאת, יש בדרך כלל גורם ביניים: ספק שירות דוא"ל וענן, רשתות חברתיות, מפעילי יישומונים ועוד, שנמצאים בין המנוח לבין משפחתו וחבריו. ספקי השירות קובעים את תנאי הגישה לפי האינטרסים שלהם. הגישה הישירה הופכת לגישה מתווכת; הנורמות החברתיות מוחלפות בתנאים חוזיים, וסוג המידע והיקפו גדל באופן ניכר לעומת המצב האנלוגי.
המאמר מציג את ההקשר החברתי של זיכרון המתים ובוחן את מאפייניהם הטכנולוגיים-חברתיים של זיכרונות דיגיטליים בהשוואה לחפצי זיכרון. נבחן את משמעות התיווך המסחרי של הפלטפורמות. נתאר שתי פרקטיקות של גישה לזיכרונות הדיגיטליים: גישה בפועל (למשל, כאשר אדם יודע את סיסמאות הגישה של המנוח), וגישה בדרך של שימוש בכלים ייעודיים שהפלטפורמות מציעות לניהול הזיכרונות הדיגיטליים. האתגר מתעורר כאשר אין גישה בפועל, והכלים של הפלטפורמות אינם מופעלים. כאן, המשפט נכנס לתמונה. עיון בתגובות משפטיות שונות שננקטו בעולם מצביע על שתי גישות עקרוניות עיקריות: גישה קניינית וגישה של פרטיות אחרי המוות. על בסיס ההקשר החברתי והטכנולוגי וניתוח הדינים הקיימים, נבחין בין סוגים שונים של זיכרונות דיגיטליים, ונבחן האם ראוי להמשיגם כקניין או כמידע אישי שמוגן לפי דיני הפרטיות.
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Death generates rituals that organize the social world and bring to the fore the relational ties individuals have with one another. The media not only constitute the space where some of these death rituals take place but also are pivotal... more
Death generates rituals that organize the social world and bring to the fore the relational ties individuals have with one another. The media not only constitute the space where some of these death rituals take place but also are pivotal institutions that provide moral orientation. This article is interested in death-related media rituals and the extent to which these propose a way for individuals to situate themselves within a broader, social and political structure. Inspired by Judith Butler’s discussion of grievability, the article introduces the analytics of mediatized grievability, which offers a way of studying and analyzing news about death. This analytical framework unpacks the notion of grievability and accounts both for the properties of mediatized death rituals and for the moral principles embedded in these. The framework offers a systematic method of analyzing news about death and identifying the ethical solicitation such news addresses to its spectators with regard to how they should feel and act in situations of distant death.
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The presentation and representation of death is a political matter, and it was always a means to establish and confirm power relations. This chapter reflects on the use of gruesome images for establishing hierarchies of belonging and... more
The presentation and representation of death is a political matter, and it was always a means to establish and confirm power relations. This chapter reflects on the use of gruesome images for establishing hierarchies of belonging and utilising the visibility of death as a symbolic political weapon to give offence. The chapter explores the ambiguity of the offensiveness of gory images in Israeli mediated public sphere, and shows that the approach of news organisations to protect those who are dear to ‘us’ from the offensiveness of gruesome death images was gradually replaced by a non-journalistic approach that utilises such images in order to offend ‘the Other’. This contemporary practice challenges common perceptions about the offensiveness of death imagery and the ethics of its circulation.
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The presentation and representation of death is a political matter, and it was always a means to establish and confirm power relations. This chapter reflects on the use of gruesome images for establishing hierarchies of belonging and... more
The presentation and representation of death is a political matter, and it was always a means to establish and confirm power relations. This chapter reflects on the use of gruesome images for establishing hierarchies of belonging and utilising the visibility of death as a symbolic political weapon to give offence. The chapter explores the ambiguity of the offensiveness of gory images in Israeli mediated public sphere, and shows that the approach of news organisations to protect those who are dear to ‘us’ from the offensiveness of gruesome death images was gradually replaced by a non-journalistic approach that utilises such images in order to offend ‘the Other’. This contemporary practice challenges common perceptions about the offensiveness of death imagery and the ethics of its circulation.
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Death generates rituals that organize the social world and bring to the fore the relational ties individuals have with one another. The media not only constitute the space where some of these death rituals take place but also are pivotal... more
Death generates rituals that organize the social world and bring to the fore the relational ties individuals have with one another. The media not only constitute the space where some of these death rituals take place but also are pivotal institutions that provide moral orientation. This article is interested in death-related media rituals and the extent to which these propose a way for individuals to situate themselves within a broader, social and political structure. Inspired by Judith Butler’s discussion of grievability, the article introduces the analytics of mediatized grievability, which offers a way of studying and analyzing news about death. This analytical framework unpacks the notion of grievability and accounts both for the properties of mediatized death rituals and for the moral principles embedded in these. The framework offers a systematic method of analyzing news about death and identifying the ethical solicitation such news addresses to its spectators with regard to h...
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Theory of mediatized war asserts that the study of contemporary wars must consider the role of the media in it. However, while the focus of the mediatization of wars is usually on the power dynamics between the military, the media, and... more
Theory of mediatized war asserts that the study of contemporary wars must consider the role of the media in it. However, while the focus of the mediatization of wars is usually on the power dynamics between the military, the media, and the audiences, the institutional approach to mediatization invites us to consider the role of the media as educators and providers of moral orientation. Thus, the study of mediatized war needs to consider the moral work of news in articulating an ethical solicitation for spectators to reflect upon their responsibility to the suffering of distant others during wartime. Following Judith Butler’s call to reflect on the cultural frames through which ethical solicitation emerges, this article studies Al-Jazeera English’s coverage of the 2008 Gaza War and points to the discursive and performative means through which news constructs distant deaths as grievable and fosters cosmopolitan sentiment.
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Research Interests: Sociology and Solidarity
Does language allow gender diversity? Most of the research regarding gender and discourse deals with the differences between women and men, disregarding sexual orientation. Yet there are some studies focusing on same-sex discourse... more
Does language allow gender diversity? Most of the research regarding gender and discourse deals with the differences between women and men, disregarding sexual orientation. Yet there are some studies focusing on same-sex discourse strategies. My discourse analysis of Israeli men's interaction joins these studies and explores the discourse strategies of Jewish-Israeli gay men in contemporary Israel. I focus on inverted appellation, i.e., the use of feminine references for male persons (Bunzl, 2000). I will begin with exploring gender in society. Then, I will provide a short introduction to Hebrew grammar and its inherent gender bias. I will introduce my research and then elaborate on a particular discourse strategy in the talk of Israeli gay men's. The dominant culture perceives gender as a dichotomy. There are women, there are men. Women are feminine, men are masculine. Women are attracted to men and men are attracted to women. Gay men and lesbians do not obey this social order. According to the dominant perception, they are in a liminal status. Gay men and lesbians perceive gender in a versatile and consecutive way that permits endless performances: the male-female dichotomy is replaced with a continuum. Judith Butler (1993, 1990), following Foucault, discusses the idea of the body as a social site. Her study examined the performances of Drag Queens and the parodic fashion in which they challenge the conventional dichotomous gender categories. They dissociate men from masculinity and women from femininity.
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As our lives go digital, so will, inevitably, our death. Emails we send, photographs we post, and thoughts we share are all stored digitally. These are users’ digital remains that reflect their digital personalities and at the same time,... more
As our lives go digital, so will, inevitably, our death. Emails we send, photographs we post, and thoughts we share are all stored digitally. These are users’ digital remains that reflect their digital personalities and at the same time, make up the memories for friends and family. After death, the social norms and legal rules regarding access to digital remains are no longer clear. A conflict might arise between the privacy expectations of the user, and his or her family and friends’ wish to utilise the digital remains for mourning and commemoration. Some service providers and platforms have recently addressed the quandaries of digital remains, and legal systems slowly begin to follow. As these technological and legal responses emerge, we should not neglect the users themselves. What do users want? How do users wish to manage access to their digital remains? Based on a national survey of Israeli population, this chapter reveals the multiplicity of users’ perspectives, perceptions and practices regarding access to digital remains – their own and others. The chapter points to the emergence of new social perspectives on posthumous privacy and commemoration in the contemporary digital age, and comments on their relevance to policymaking.
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The digitization of social interactions and daily activities means that multiple aspects of our daily lives are documented and stored, and social interactions leave digital traces. The accumulated data do not evaporate upon death, and... more
The digitization of social interactions and daily activities means that multiple aspects of our daily lives are documented and stored, and social interactions leave digital traces. The accumulated data do not evaporate upon death, and questions about posthumous privacy and impression management arise. Drawing on eight focus groups comprised of Israeli Internet users from various backgrounds, the article points to the perceived interrelation between posthumous impression management and respect toward the dead and identifies a pervasive normative stance that advocates for the continuation of privacy management from life to after death. We call it the continuity principle. The living users position their personal data across two axes of public–private and in life–after death and manage access to their data accordingly. The findings suggest that given a digital footprint and possibilities to access digital remains, the separation between life and death erodes. However, users opine that in-life norms should linger and survive death.
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How should the law treat digital remains, namely, digital personal information of deceased people? Two rival conceptions compete over the best framing: property and privacy. Under property framing, digital remains are just another form of... more
How should the law treat digital remains, namely, digital personal information of deceased people? Two rival conceptions compete over the best framing: property and privacy. Under property framing, digital remains are just another form of assets, subject to succession law; under privacy framing, digital remains are personal data, and upon death, are not part of the estate. However, whether privacy rights survive death is contested. This article distinguishes between four legal categories of digital remains (intangible items, information about property, intellectual property and personal data), unpacks the two rival framings, and argues that the property framework captures the first three categories of digital remains, but not the last. The article examines the argument for posthumous privacy and concludes that at most, the law should protect reasonable expectations of the living regarding their post-mortem condition, subject to balancing them with competing interests and rights of t...
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The digitization of social interactions and daily activities means that multiple aspects of our daily lives are documented and stored, and social interactions leave digital traces. The accumulated data do not evaporate upon death, and... more
The digitization of social interactions and daily activities means that multiple aspects of our daily lives are documented and stored, and social interactions leave digital traces. The accumulated data do not evaporate upon death, and questions about posthumous privacy and impression management arise. Drawing on eight focus groups comprised of Israeli Internet users from various backgrounds, the article points to the perceived interrelation between posthumous impression management and respect toward the dead and identifies a pervasive normative stance that advocates for the continuation of privacy management from life to after death. We call it the continuity principle. The living users position their personal data across two axes of public–private and in life–after death and manage access to their data accordingly. The findings suggest that given a digital footprint and possibilities to access digital remains, the separation between life and death erodes. However, users opine that ...
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Scholars have observed a gap between users’ stated preferences to protect their privacy and their actual behavior. This is the privacy paradox. This article queries the persistence of the privacy paradox after death. A survey of a... more
Scholars have observed a gap between users’ stated preferences to protect their privacy and their actual behavior. This is the privacy paradox. This article queries the persistence of the privacy paradox after death. A survey of a representative sample of Israeli Internet users inquired of perceptions, preferences, and actions taken by users regarding their digital remains. The analysis yielded three distinct groups: (1) users interested in preserving privacy posthumously but do not act accordingly; for these users, the privacy paradox persists posthumously; (2) users who match their behavior to their preferences; for these users, the privacy paradox is resolved; and (3) users interested in sharing their personal data posthumously but do not make the appropriate provisions. This scenario is the inverted privacy paradox. This new category has yet to be addressed in the literature. We present some explanations for the persistence of the posthumous privacy paradox and for the inverted ...
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As our lives go digital, so will, inevitably, our death. Emails we send, photographs we post, and thoughts we share are all stored digitally. These are users’ digital remains that reflect their digital personalities and at the same time,... more
As our lives go digital, so will, inevitably, our death. Emails we send, photographs we post, and thoughts we share are all stored digitally. These are users’ digital remains that reflect their digital personalities and at the same time, make up the memories for friends and family. After death, the social norms and legal rules regarding access to digital remains are no longer clear. A conflict might arise between the privacy expectations of the user, and his or her family and friends’ wish to utilise the digital remains for mourning and commemoration. Some service providers and platforms have recently addressed the quandaries of digital remains, and legal systems slowly begin to follow. As these technological and legal responses emerge, we should not neglect the users themselves. What do users want? How do users wish to manage access to their digital remains? Based on a national survey of Israeli population, this chapter reveals the multiplicity of users’ perspectives, perceptions and practices regarding access to digital remains – their own and others. The chapter points to the emergence of new social perspectives on posthumous privacy and commemoration in the contemporary digital age, and comments on their relevance to policymaking.