A Spirit That Can Never Be Told”

Commemorative Agency and the Texas A&M University Bonfire Memorial

Bibliographic Data

ID12465387
AuthorsAdam J Gaffey (0000-0002-2105-7554, corresponding author), Jennifer L Jones Barbour
Year2018
Volume21
Issue1
Pages75-116
Publication date2018-03-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueRhetoric and Public Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1094-8392 • E-ISSN: 1534-5238
PublisherMichigan State University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.14321/rhetpublaffa.21.1.0075
OpenAlexW2804775688
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited15

On November 18, 1999, Texas A&M University (TAMU) experienced profound tragedy when the famed Aggie Bonfire collapsed, killing 12 students and injuring 27 others. This essay examines the rhetorical dynamics of the TAMU Bonfire Memorial and explores how it navigates the tension created when a constitutive symbol is implicated in a moment of tragedy. Specifically, 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 Bonfire 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

Agency (philosophy · Art · Art history · Literature · Political science · Rhetorical question · Social science · Sociology · Tragedy (event · Asian American and Pacific Histories · Latin American and Latino Studies · Law · Rhetoric and Communication Studies

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