Table Of ContentUniversity of Colorado, Boulder
CU Scholar
ATLAS Institute Graduate Teses & Dissertations ATLAS Institute
Spring 1-1-2011
Grassroots Heritage: A Multi-Method Investigation
of How Social Media Sustain the Living Heritage of
Historic Crises
Sophia B. Liu
University of Colorado at Boulder,
GRASSROOTS HERITAGE:
A MULTI-METHOD INVESTIGATION OF HOW SOCIAL MEDIA SUSTAIN
THE LIVING HERITAGE OF HISTORIC CRISES
by
SOPHIA B LIU
B.A., University of California at Irvine, 2004
A thesis submitted to the
Faculty of the Graduate School of the
University of Colorado in partial fulfillment
of the requirement for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Technology, Media and Society
Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society (ATLAS) Institute
2011
This dissertation entitled:
Grassroots Heritage: A Multi-Method Investigation of How Social Media
Sustain the Living Heritage of Historic Crises
written by Sophia B Liu
has been approved for the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society Institute
Leysia Palen
Ken Anderson
Gerhard Fischer
Elisa Giaccardi
Diane Sieber
Date
The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we
Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards
Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline.
IRB protocol # 0209.33
ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION
By Sophia B Liu
(Ph.D. Technology, Media and Society; ATLAS Institute)
Grassroots Heritage: A Multi-Method Investigation of How Social Media Sustain
the Living Heritage of Historic Crises
Dissertation Directed by Associate Professor Leysia Palen
Unprecedented uses of information and communication technology (ICT) and
particularly social media (e.g., Wikipedia, Facebook, and Twitter) are occurring in times of
crisis. This dissertation investigates the socio-technical practices emerging from the use of social
media and how these practices help to sustain the living heritage of historic crises. The purpose
is to provide empirical evidence on how heritage is a living and participatory phenomenon that
needs to be considered when designing technology for heritage matters. The concepts of
grassroots heritage and socially-distributed curation are offered as a way of interpreting heritage
in the context of the participatory culture.
This dissertation presents a multi-method investigation to determine what crisis narratives
appeared in social media and how social media were used to sustain these narratives through
curatorial activities. The first study surveys the social media presence of 111 crisis events that
occurred between 1960 and 2010 to examine if and how past historically significant crisis events
were being commemorated in the present day through new media. Then, ethnographic and
automated collection methods were used to identify narratives appearing in the social media
landscape for four crisis events that exhibited a high social media presence in the survey. The
dissertation presents five meta-narratives for two crisis cases: (1) the 1984 Bhopal gas leak and
(2) the 2001 September 11 attacks. One critical finding is that people sustain the heritage of
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historic crises in the digital world by perpetually revising narratives while adapting these
messages to the new media of today. The second study critiques both the concept of “curator” as
a profession as well as the concept of “curation” that is emerging from the social web to develop
an initial conceptual model of curation. The final study involved the application and assessment
of this initial conceptual model by analyzing the curatorial activities that produced the crisis
narratives found in the first study. From this assessment, I articulate a theoretical model called
socially-distributed curation to inform the design of future social technology.
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DEDICATION
To my family, my ancestors, and all my relations.
“Centuries brought us here so we can mend”
– LYNX, To Mend
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My journey toward becoming Dr. B Liu has been a heartwarming experience of
discovering my true passion in life through the knowledge and wisdom shared by many people
around me. I am deeply beholden to my advisor, my mentors, my colleagues, my participants,
my friends, and my family.
It was seven years ago when I had my first conversation with Leysia Palen at CSCW in
the Art Institute of Chicago. Ever since the day I met Leysia, she has been an amazing advisor,
mentor, and friend. I am honored to be her first PhD student and to be a part of the growth of her
research lab. Although I experienced some challenges throughout my years as one of the first
cohorts in the Technology, Media and Society PhD program, Leysia has always been my guiding
light teaching me how to reach above and beyond my potential. I am deeply thankful for her
strong determination, her maternalistic nature, her patience, and her friendliness. She has shown
me what it means to be a successful professor, an amazing mother, and a good person who cares
about the world and makes a difference.
I would like to also express my deep appreciation to my dissertation committee members.
I am tremendously thankful for Elisa Giaccardi’s keen insights and for reminding me of my
passion in heritage matters through a creative lens. I am also thankful for Gerhard Fischer’s
wholehearted interest in my work and showing me the importance of making this dissertation
personally meaningful to others. I have much gratitude for the inspiring conversations I have had
with Diane Sieber, who has reminded me the importance of my work not only to the humanities
discipline but also to humanity. And last, but not least, I want to thank Ken Anderson for
teaching me how to turn my work into practical implications for technology designers, for being
such an articulate professor, and for always having such a kind presence in our research lab.
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I would also like to give a special thanks to Mike Twidale for the stimulating
conversations we have had about curation. His visit to our lab over the past year has made my
journey towards the completion of my PhD a smooth one. In particular, Mike helped me see how
my work connects to larger concerns that are of interest to the intellectual communities we share.
My gratitude also extends to Aleksandra Sarcevic for her keen interest in my work and
for sharing her knowledge after recently completing her PhD. I feel fortunate that she chose to
work in our lab this past year, as she has helped me realize my potential to mentor others during
my final year as a PhD student. She has an amazing intellectual talent that shines through her
charisma.
I am deeply indebted to my colleagues in Leysia’s Connectivity Lab and her Project
EPIC (Empowering the Public in Crisis) research team at University of Colorado at Boulder
(CU-Boulder) who have created a friendly and intellectually stimulating environment that is like
no other. I want to especially thank Kate Starbird for her continual interest in my work, for
taking the time to always chat during difficult times, and for making me appreciate my shortness
through her tallness; Joanne White for her unconditional support, her heartfelt appreciation of my
work, and for making me pavlova for my defense; Amanda Hughes for her amiable presence as
far back as when we both began as advisees with Leysia and her love for purple; Sarah Vieweg
for sharing her intellectual critiques and tasty treats; Aaron Schram for his continued presence in
the lab and taking the time to chat and laugh with me; Casey McTaggart for her personable
presence and kind words; Mossaab Bagdouri for his brilliance and for always sharing a smile;
Jeff Hoehl for being so perceptive and for his aesthetic appreciation in the shirts he wears; and
Matt Smith for his enthusiasm for sharing his work and wanting to always chat. I am fortunate to
work with a truly diverse group of colleagues that have shared their unique cultural backgrounds
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to enrich the intellectual work we have created together. It is the diversity that we each bring to
our lab everyday that has deepened my connection to the intellectual community we have
nurtured here.
I would like to also thank my former University of California at Irvine (UC-Irvine)
colleagues, who helped me begin my research journey at such an early part of my life. I extend
my deep appreciation to Paul Dourish, who kindled my interest in research as an informal
undergraduate advisor and who reminded me what it means to do “interesting” work particularly
around the social and cultural implications of technology. I am also extremely grateful to have
Suzanne Schaefer as a mentor during my time at UC-Irvine and for her continued friendship
during my time in Boulder. It was Suzanne who helped me transition into becoming a successful
PhD student while she was completing her doctorate. Her constant reminder that I need to be
comfortable with ambiguity was a critical piece of advice that I have carried with me throughout
my six years as a doctoral student. I am also deeply indebted to Suzanne for introducing me to
Leysia at CSCW in Chicago, both of whom were PhD students at UC-Irvine. I am proud to be a
part of the intellectual lineage that deeply connects CU-Boulder and UC-Irvine. Last, but not
least, I want to thank Danyel Fischer, Jon Froehlich, and Madhu Reddy, who were all graduate
students during my time as an undergraduate at UC-Irvine and became important role models
during my early years in college.
I want to also thank my participants and all the social media users that I have included
here. It is an honor to pass on their stories to you through this dissertation. I would like to
specifically thank Adil Laiq Ahmed, Glenn Miller, Jörn Clausen, Deb Robison, Mike Tuck,
Elaine Enarson, Phyllis Potlongo, Brad King, Ben Kepes, and Nancy Hall for taking the time to
share their thoughts with me and enrich this work. Patrick Meier, Jen Ziemke, and Anahi Ayala
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Iacucci have also been extremely influential to me, as their inspiring work on the ground has
shown me how to transform intellectual work for the good of humanity.
Throughout my years as a graduate student attending conferences and other intellectual
venues, I have had the fortunate opportunity to meet some phenomenal scholars, researchers, and
big thinkers who have graciously shared their time with me through intellectually stimulating
conversations. I especially would like to thank Michael Muller, Elizabeth Churchill, Wendy
Kellogg, John Thomas, Beki Grinter, Jonathan Grudin, Christine Hagar, Batya Friedman, Dan
Cosley, David MacDonald, Judy and Gary Olson, Gloria Mark, Ban Al-Ani, Deborah Tatar,
Steve Harrison, Ben Shneiderman, John Tang, Tom Zimmerman, Dan Russell, Per Ola
Kristensson, Jonas Landgren, Bartel van de Walle, David Mendonça, Murray Turoff, Starr
Roxanne Hiltz, Diane Cox, Suzanne Frew, and many others I have cross paths with over the
years at CHI, CSCW, ISCRAM, and the Natural Hazards Workshop. I would also like to extend
my appreciation to the entire staff at the Natural Hazards Center at CU-Boulder for helping me
ground my work in the long history of hazards and disaster research at such an early part of my
doctoral studies. Additionally, this research would have not been possible without the financial
support provided by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Fellowship and NSF grants
#IIS-0546315 and #IIS-0910586.
I sincerely appreciate the unconditional support from my Boulder family. I want to give a
special thanks to Marie Rosalie, Malaine Gabel, Edica Pacha, Lauraleight MaQi, Aylah Rosa,
Ivon Viviana, Shaela Noella Roselena, Robert MacNaughton, Johannes Rath, Matt Kelley, Kirill
Kireyev, Ethan Lanpher, Per and Eileen Hulquist, and the many other Boulderites who have
softened me and given me the creative balance of integrating art, music, and dance, which I
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