Description
On November 18, 1999, Texas A&M University (TAMU) experienced profound tragedy when the famed Aggie Bonfıre collapsed, killing 12 students and injuring 27 others. This essay examines the rhetorical dynamics of theTAMU Bonfıre Memorial and explores how it navigates the tension created when a constitutive symbol is implicated in a moment of tragedy. Specifıcally, we use this case to explore how memorials help shape perceptions of victim agency in commemorative form. As we argue, the memorial taps into resonant modes of public reasoning—including temporal metaphors, Christian theology, and campus tradition—to imply the tragic outcome of the 1999 collapse had cause beyond human or institutional control. Our analysis of the Bonfıre Memorial illustrates the importance of commemorative agency and, in particular, how eliding victim agency can limit epideictic encounters that might foster a sense of present and future engagement on unreconciled issues.
Publication Date
1-1-2018
Keywords
Communication Studies, Faculty Works, Scholarship, Tragedy, Rhetoric
Department
Communication Studies
Recommended Citation
Gaffey, Adam J. and Jones Barbour, Jennifer L., "“A Spirit that Can Never Be Told”: Commemorative Agency and the Texas A & M University Bonfire Memorial" (2018). Communication Studies Faculty Works. 38.
https://openriver.winona.edu/communicationstudiesfacultyworks/38
Unique Identifier
WSUCMSTFACWORKS-2018b-Gaffey-Jones-Barbour-ASpiritThatCanNeverBeTold.pdf
Comments
Gaffey, A.J. Jones Barbour, J.L. “A Spirit that Can Never Be Told”: Commemorative Agency and the Texas A & M University Bonfire Memorial. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 21 (1), 2018, pp. 75–116.