kohanemises

Kohanemises is a term used in anthropology and media studies to describe a form of collaborative memory construction within a community or online network. It denotes the process by which participants collectively gather, organize, and interpret past events to produce a shared narrative that cannot be reduced to individual recollections alone. In practice, kohanemises often results in a published timeline, a curated archive, or a narrated history assembled from multiple voices.

Etymology and origin: The term is a neologism in scholarly use, with no single approved etymology. It emerged in the 2010s within ethnographic and digital humanities discussions about how communities manage memory in participatory environments. The word is generally treated as a compound or portmanteau rather than a word with a clear Latin or Greek lineage.

Features and settings: Kohanemises typically involves participatory source curation, source triangulation, and negotiated meaning. It often arises in neighborhood archives, diaspora networks, activist collectives, and crowd-sourced history projects. The practice emphasizes transparency about sources, acknowledgement of multiple viewpoints, and ongoing revision as new materials are added.

Reception and critique: Proponents argue that kohanemises strengthens communal memory and accountability by foregrounding diverse experiences. Critics warn of power imbalances, potential homogenization of contested memories, and the risk of performative history if narrative control is dominated by a few voices.

See also: Collective memory, memory work, participatory narrative, digital ethnography, co-creation.