Remembrance, Memory, and Memorial Practice: Philosophical Foundations and Public History

Land Acknowledgment and public remembering

• ECU’s land acknowledgment statement: recognizing the original inhabitants of the region (Wichita, Caddo, Apache, Comanche, Iowa) and their successors (the Chickasaw).
• Acknowledges contributions to East Central University and the larger community.
• Notes ECU exists because of community leaders and the generosity of Chickasaw citizen Daniel Hayes.
• Purpose: to acknowledge history of the land and its people as an act of remembrance.

Genesis of today’s talk (genealogy and relevance)

• The talk was not the original plan; it evolved from conversations with Dr. Bettin during planning for fall honors events.
• Events referenced: Vietnam Fifty (a day-long event with multiple presenters) and another event on a date described in the transcript as “thirty first nineteen twenty one” (the speaker notes that records indicate only 36 lives were lost on that occasion, while historians estimate over 300).
• A memorial is a focus of tomorrow’s activities (the plan to visit a memorial).
• A production of Hairspray will be discussed because of prior work engaging with topics of femininity, race, and gender; Dr. Bettin and Reed approved the talk, allowing exploration of what Hairspray signifies to different people.
• The talk situates remembrance within concrete cultural events and productions to illuminate broader questions about memory.

Framing: remembrance in relation to 9/11 and public memory

• Visual material: images of 9/11 included carefully to acknowledge the severity without intentionally triggering trauma for most viewers.
• Description of the 9/11 attacks: hijackers flew two of the four planes into the World Trade Center towers (the centers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, NYC).
• The timing and public reception: due to time delays between impact and collapse, breaking-news broadcasts interrupted regular programming, creating vivid, shared memory.
• Personal recollections: the speaker recalls watching with family; parallels are drawn to how parents remember pivotal historical events (e.g., Kennedy assassination) and how those memories become vivid family lore.
• The claim that 9/11 is not over: ongoing efforts to identify roughly $40 ext{ }\%$ of victims’ remains have not yet been identified, underscoring the persistence and ongoing nature of collective trauma.
• The idea that memories of pain can catalyze a return to the original experience and emphasize the need to discuss the event openly rather than suppress it.

Philosophical itinerary: memory in ancient thought

• Plato (fifth century BCE)
• Memory as a linchpin of intelligence and a perfect enduring archetype for categories (e.g., the ideal form of a chair or a podium).
• Process: perception hits senses, triggers recognition, memory maps to prior knowledge, enabling categorization from particular observations to general conclusions.
• Conclusion: memory enables knowledge by connecting observations to forms.
• Aristotle
• Memory as the glue that binds perception and experience; memory sustains self-identity (the sense of a single, continuous self).
• Memory supports the unity of self across time, integrating what has been observed with lived experience.
• Descartes (referenced in contrast to Aristotle per the transcript)
• Memory is not described here as the eternal substance; the point is that memory is a construct connected to perception and experience rather than an external, timeless essence.
• Nietzsche
• Nietzsche provides a contrasting, often challenging critique of memory.
• Portrayed as the “grave digger” that digs up painful memories and forces them into the present, which can feel intrusive and undesirable.
• Emphasizes the discomfort and resistance many have toward painful recollections.
• The speaker notes Nietzsche’s reputation for being hard to understand, making it difficult to narrow to a couple of works.
• Articulation of a tension between remembering and forgetting
• Memory can be a force for knowledge and continuity, but it can also be psychologically burdensome.

The narrative of forgetting: Santayana and Arendt on memory’s danger

• George Santayana and Hannah Arendt are presented as thinkers who resist forgetting because of its dangers in the wake of mass atrocities.
• Historical context: Nietzsche predates World Wars I and II, whereas Santayana and Arendt lived after WWII and therefore foreground the ethical stakes of forgetting.
• Distinction between want vs. should
• Sometimes forgetting is appealing, but certain memories should be kept alive due to long-term consequences if we forget.
• If past horrors are submerged and inaccessible, we can’t learn from them or prevent repeats.
• The ethical imperative to remember for prevention and moral learning across collective memory.

Real tragedy, art tragedy, and the function of memory in culture

• Real tragedy vs. reenacted tragedy (Aristotle’s framework)
• Tragedy can rupture the timeline: past, present, and future become disjointed.
• Art works can help reweave the fabric of time, creating a collective bridge to repair rupture and restore continuity.
• Monuments vs memorials (Danto’s distinction)
• Monuments express victory and are often organized around a vertical axis (e.g., the Washington Monument) to communicate ascendance and triumph.
• Memorials emphasize loss and death and embody an ethics of remembrance.
• The role of forms of display and symbolism in conveying memory and meaning.
• The memorial as instrument: guiding us back to moments we’d rather forget but must revisit to avoid repeating harm.

The duty of remembrance and the politics of memory

• Hannah Arendt’s critique of Nietzsche’s forgetting cure: forgetting is too dangerous and breaks the chain of reactivity, potentially enabling recurrence.
• Forgiving vs. promising (Arendt’s framework)
• Forgiving is past-oriented and happens in the present, oriented toward past events, but does not secure forward action.
• Promising, made in the present with full knowledge of the past, creates a commitment to prevent future repetitions and to address possible complicity in wrongdoing.
• Remembrance, in Arendt’s view, energizes the promise by resurrecting the pain of the past to motivate ongoing ethical action.
• The memorial as a tool for ethical orientation: keeping painful memories present to guide future behavior and prevent recurrence.

Narratives, memory, and memorial design

• Do memorials tell stories? Do they have plots?
• Narratives can serve as mnemonic devices, aiding memory, but not all stories or representations do justice to the events they memorialize.
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial case (dialogue referenced for broader implications)
• Michael Norman’s critique: war representations can simplify or distort reality when embedded in satisfying narratives.
• The Vietnam Memorial’s original abstraction faced critique for lacking a clear, traditional narrative; later additions introduced sculptural elements to guide visitors and create a more recognizable narrative path.
• 9/11 Memorial and site complexity
• The speaker notes the 9/11 memorial comprises multiple components: a garden, a fountain, the Freedom Tower, and a museum, each contributing to a broader, complex narrative of memory and national trauma.
• Design trade-offs and interpretive guidance
• Some memorials risk disorientation if they are too abstract; others incorporate traditional elements to provide a guided narrative for visitors.
• The role of narrative in shaping collective memory and the need for careful representation to respect victims and history.

Practical reflections for students and memory work in everyday life

• The speaker invites students to reflect on ceremonies and rituals (e.g., school assemblies) and to consider how thinkers covered in this discourse help foster psychological healing and the ability to move toward promises about the future.
• Encouragement to engage with faculty (e.g., Dr. McMahon) for further discussion and guidance on remembrance and ethical memory practices.
• The close emphasizes the ongoing nature of remembrance as both a personal and public practice, linking academic reflection with lived experience.

Summary implications for remembering well

• Memory serves as a foundation for knowledge (Plato and Aristotle) and for personal and collective identity.
• Forgetting can be dangerous, especially after mass atrocities; remembrance supports prevention through learning and commitment (Santayana, Arendt).
• Real tragedy disrupts time; art and monuments/memorials can repair temporal coherence and foster ethical action.
• Narratives matter: they shape how we understand events, but they must balance accessibility with honesty and responsibility.
• Memorial practice has ethical, philosophical, and practical dimensions that influence how communities heal, remember, and act to prevent recurrence.

Key figures and terms to remember

• Plato: memory as form, recognition, and the kernel of intelligent knowledge.
• Aristotle: memory as the glue of self-identity and experience.
• Descartes: memory discussed in contrast; not treated as a timeless substance here.
• Nietzsche: memory as a potentially intrusive “grave digger” of painful recollections.
• George Santayana and Hannah Arendt: defense of remembering; caution against forgetting and the importance of promising.
• Danto: monuments (victory) vs memorials (loss) and their architectural expressions.
• Michael Norman: critique of war representations embedded in comforting narratives.
• The Vietnam Veterans Memorial as a case study in narrative design and memorial architecture.
• The 9/11 Memorial as a multi-component site (garden, fountain, Freedom Tower, museum).

Closing thought from the talk’s purpose

• Remembrance is both a personal recollection and a public practice that structures our ethical commitments, future actions, and understanding of history.