The Communication Networks & Social Change (CNSC) research group is pleased to invite you to the Seminar: «Meaningful in a Meaningful World: The (Positive?) Impact on Ageism in Age Cohorts Engaged in Digital Collective Memory Projects», given by Severino Alfredo Sprovieri, PhD student in Communication Studies at Sapienza University of Rome and visiting researcher at the CNSC.
The seminar will be held, in hybrid format, on Wednesday, June 18 at 12:00 pm (CEST) in Room C1.16 of the Interdisciplinary R&I Hub (Building C).
Venue
Interdisciplinary R&I Hub (Building C - Sala C1.16)
Rambla del Poblenou, 154
08018 Barcelona
Espanya
When
18/06/2025 12.00h
Organized by
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Communication Networks & Social Change (CNSC) research group
Program
Abstract
Drawing on Terror Management Theory (TMT) and Social Identity Theory (SIT), this study explores how ageism (Lev, Wurm, Ayalon, 2018; Butler, 1969) is influenced by psychological and sociological processes. TMT posits individuals unconsciously uphold cultural worldviews offering symbolic immortality to counter death anxiety (Pyszczynski, Greenberg & Solomon, 2021), while SIT suggests individuals' identities and intergroup relations stem from group belonging (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), including age-based groups (Lev, Wurm, Ayalon, 2018).
Digital collective memory archives represent a compelling context to observe these dynamics. While prior research often focuses on the reception of dominant age narratives, there's a significant gap in understanding how bottom-up, co-created digital archives can challenge and re-signify generational roles, thereby impacting ageist perceptions. This study addresses this lacuna, building on work that highlights how communication projects, supported by social identity and coordinated management of meaning, strengthen community and collective identity through the innovative concept of social management of place (Sheffield, Ione, 2025).
Analytically, this work centers on the communicative process within these digital projects, assuming they arise from intergenerational collaboration—commissioned by organizations for older adults and produced by young professionals to construct a memory narrative. Such participation can provide tools to re-signify a group's contribution (Assmann, J., 2011) and expose age-related biases (positive and negative) in public discourse.
To investigate the impact of collective memory construction on age-related discourses across involved cohorts, this work-in-progress article proposes a comparative critical discourse analysis (CDA) of two multimedia archives on workers' struggles in Italy ("Ruvide, storie di lotta e lavoro" by Centro di giornalismo permanente & Spi-Cgil) and Spain ("Legado Obrero" by Fundación Jesús Pereda & Visual Creative), supplemented by in-depth interviews with key stakeholders. Expected outcomes include revealing dynamics and potential positive tensions in prejudicial stances regarding age-related discourses within these collective memory projects.
Severino Alfredo Sprovieri
PhD student in Communication Studies at Sapienza University of Rome. His research interests are related to journalism, migration, and studies on biases in public discourse (ageism). Journalist and writer, he teaches at the writing workshops of the "Lelio Basso" School of Journalism and the "Argolab" potential centre for young adults in Rome. He works on non-fiction investigation and reportage. He founded and directed the independent magazine Mmasciata, was central editor and chief of staff at Calabria Ora and has written, among others, for: Vanity Fair, Il Venerdì, Repubblica.