Abstract:
In recent years many scholars have taken up the rhetorical study of sites of memory, observing how museums, memorials, and other commemorative sites function to cultivate public memory. This study situates itself in this field of research by examining the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Through a multi-faceted rhetorical analysis of the site's visual and textual components, surrounding landscape, and supporting texts, this study reveals multiple critical, popular, privileged, and vernacular interpretations of the site and King's memory. I contend that the Memorial and its related texts, notably including its dedication ceremony, help universalize and institutionalize King's memory, creating a contentious rhetorical battleground where various people contest the "ownership" and use of King's memory. This study complements the field of memory studies, as well as scholarly knowledge on King's public memory. In Chapter Two, a review of public memory literature details the study's theoretical framework. Chapter Three's historical-contextual analysis recounts the Memorial's history and collects many official and critical interpretations of the site. Chapter Four presents my own critical interpretation of the Memorial's visual and textual elements, along with its surrounding landscape, offering a composite reading of the site. In Chapter Five I examine the site's dedication ceremony as supplementary rhetoric to the site, observing how privileged rhetors interpreted, politicized, and helped institutionalize King's memory. Chapter Six concludes the study by offering implications, limitations, and directions for future research.
