Embedded, Embodied, Engaged: Studying and Valorizing Home Movie Dispositifs

Building on our experiences in the NWO-funded research project “Changing Platforms of Ritualized Memory Practices: The Cultural Dynamics of Home Movies” (2012–2016), this chapter reflects upon the heuristic potential of the concept of dispositif for both studying and valorizing the history of home movie making and screening as 20th-century family memory practices. Our experiences with a wide variety of valorization activities – such as the making of two museum exhibitions, a historical re-enactment, and an online best practice guide – support an understanding of valorization as a highly reciprocal process between all stakeholders involved. Rather than involving a one-way dissemination of findings, embedded and embodied valorization practices, we argue, can facilitate engaged humanities research and raise the societal relevancy of historical investigations.