{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/106830"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/106830","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Set in Stone: Rhetorical Performances in Virginia Tech's April 16th Memorial","abstract":"This dissertation traces the rhetorical history of Virginia Tech's April 16th Memorial from its earliest appearance immediately following the April 16, 2007 shootings up to its present iteration as a permanent memorial on Virginia Tech's campus. Specifically, this study reveals how the April 16th Memorial is a public memory performance that has changed (and continues to change) in its form, function, and significance across time. Based on a data set that includes archival evidence, interview data, and fieldwork, I argue that over the course of its history, the April 16th Memorial has negotiated tensions and fusions between the epideictic and deliberative genres that exist within its bounds. In doing so, the memorial asks audiences to honor and remember the dead while also compelling audiences to deliberate over the social and political issues punctuated by the tragedy. Whereas the epideictic appeals in the memorial aim to reknit the community, the deliberative appeals invite audiences to imagine a better, safer world. By tracing the intersections between these two genres, this study demonstrates how complementary and competing forces in the memorial vie over not only constructions of public memory but also the lessons we are meant to gain from the April 16, 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech.","abstract_html":"This dissertation traces the rhetorical history of Virginia Tech's April 16th Memorial from its earliest appearance immediately following the April 16, 2007 shootings up to its present iteration as a permanent memorial on Virginia Tech's campus. Specifically, this study reveals how the April 16th Memorial is a public memory performance that has changed (and continues to change) in its form, function, and significance across time. Based on a data set that includes archival evidence, interview data, and fieldwork, I argue that over the course of its history, the April 16th Memorial has negotiated tensions and fusions between the epideictic and deliberative genres that exist within its bounds. In doing so, the memorial asks audiences to honor and remember the dead while also compelling audiences to deliberate over the social and political issues punctuated by the tragedy. Whereas the epideictic appeals in the memorial aim to reknit the community, the deliberative appeals invite audiences to imagine a better, safer world. By tracing the intersections between these two genres, this study demonstrates how complementary and competing forces in the memorial vie over not only constructions of public memory but also the lessons we are meant to gain from the April 16, 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Covington, Brooke Elizabeth"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Rhetoric and Writing","degree_department":"English","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Pender, Kelly E."],"committee_members":["Heilker, Paul V.","Mueller, Derek","Powell, Katrina M."],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-06-11","date_published":"2020-06-11","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:23Z","subjects":["memorials","Memory","materiality","deliberative rhetoric","epideictic rhetoric","mass school shooting"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:26023"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:26023","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/106830","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Pender, Kelly E."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Heilker, Paul V.","Mueller, Derek","Powell, Katrina M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Covington, Brooke Elizabeth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2021-12-04T07:00:10Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-12-04T07:00:10Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2020-06-11"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Rhetoric and Writing"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["memorials","Memory","materiality","deliberative rhetoric","epideictic rhetoric","mass school shooting"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:26023"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/106830"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation traces the rhetorical history of Virginia Tech's April 16th Memorial from its earliest appearance immediately following the April 16, 2007 shootings up to its present iteration as a permanent memorial on Virginia Tech's campus. Specifically, this study reveals how the April 16th Memorial is a public memory performance that has changed (and continues to change) in its form, function, and significance across time. Based on a data set that includes archival evidence, interview data, and fieldwork, I argue that over the course of its history, the April 16th Memorial has negotiated tensions and fusions between the epideictic and deliberative genres that exist within its bounds. In doing so, the memorial asks audiences to honor and remember the dead while also compelling audiences to deliberate over the social and political issues punctuated by the tragedy. Whereas the epideictic appeals in the memorial aim to reknit the community, the deliberative appeals invite audiences to imagine a better, safer world. By tracing the intersections between these two genres, this study demonstrates how complementary and competing forces in the memorial vie over not only constructions of public memory but also the lessons we are meant to gain from the April 16, 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Public memory refers to the shared recollections of history among members of a specific community. Rather than individual memory, public memory is constituted by what communities choose to remember and forget and what gets retold to future generations. Specific artifacts help support the creation of public memory, including archives, museums, monuments, and memorials. Scholars tend to agree that what communities chose to monumentalize in stone often reflects a desire to shape public memory in strategic ways. This dissertation traces the history of the April 16th Memorial at Virginia Tech in order to capture how the commemorative site has influenced (and continues to influence) public memory of the shootings that occurred at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. Using archival evidence, interview data, and fieldnotes collected at the site, I argue that the April 16th Memorial asks visitors to honor and remember the dead while also compelling visitors to deliberate over the kinds of action that might prevent school shootings in the future. This study demonstrates how complementary and competing forces in the memorial vie over not only constructions of public memory but also the lessons we are meant to gain from the April 16, 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Set in Stone: Rhetorical Performances in Virginia Tech's April 16th Memorial"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Pender, Kelly E."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Heilker, Paul V.","Mueller, Derek","Powell, Katrina M."],"dc:contributor.department":["English"],"dc:creator":["Covington, Brooke Elizabeth"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2021-12-04T07:00:10Z"],"dc:date.available":["2021-12-04T07:00:10Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2020-06-11"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation traces the rhetorical history of Virginia Tech's April 16th Memorial from its earliest appearance immediately following the April 16, 2007 shootings up to its present iteration as a permanent memorial on Virginia Tech's campus. 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This dissertation traces the history of the April 16th Memorial at Virginia Tech in order to capture how the commemorative site has influenced (and continues to influence) public memory of the shootings that occurred at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. Using archival evidence, interview data, and fieldnotes collected at the site, I argue that the April 16th Memorial asks visitors to honor and remember the dead while also compelling visitors to deliberate over the kinds of action that might prevent school shootings in the future. This study demonstrates how complementary and competing forces in the memorial vie over not only constructions of public memory but also the lessons we are meant to gain from the April 16, 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech."],"dc:description.degree":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:26023"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/106830"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["memorials","Memory","materiality","deliberative rhetoric","epideictic rhetoric","mass school shooting"],"dc:title":["Set in Stone: Rhetorical Performances in Virginia Tech's April 16th Memorial"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Rhetoric and Writing"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:23Z"}