Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1999 The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt: A Novelistic Approach to Decoding the Layers of Meaning in the "Pieced" Social Drama. Louis Edward Myers Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Myers, Louis Edward, "The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt: A Novelistic Approach to Decoding the Layers of Meaning in the "Pieced" Social Drama." (1999). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 6951. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/6951 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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THE NAMES PROJECT AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT: A NOVELISTIC APPROACH TO DECODING THE LAYERS OF MEANING IN THE “PIECED” SOCIAL DRAMA A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Speech Communication by Louis Edward Myers B.A., Carson-Newman College, 1982 M.A., Louisiana State University, 1986 May, 1999 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9936103 UMI Microform 9936103 Copyright 1999, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Aurbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of my grandmother Dotsie L. Lewis— January 13, 1898 - November 8, 1989. She not only taught me a great deal about quilting she taught me a great deal about life. It is because of her wisdom, encouragement, and the occasional “push” that I am where I am today. Even now, I am inspired by her memory. Thanks “Grarmy.” u Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgments I would like to thank the individuals whose cooperation and guidance made the completion of this project possible. First, I would like to thank my advisor. Dr. Ruth Laurion Bowman, for her patience, wisdom, encouragement and faith. Next, I would like to thank Dr. Mary Frances HopKins for her invaluable suggestions and insight. I would also like to thank the other members of my committee. Dr. Andrew King, Dr. Frank deCaro, and Dr. Bill Harbin for their patience and support. Special thanks are extended to Bob Ames, Jay N. Bonner, J. Michael Click, Barbara Coyle, Dorothy Durgm, Kathy French, Bruce Gamer, Tricia Grindel, Laveme M. Haight, John P. Hilgeman, Garry Hodgson, Julia Jackson, Antoinette James, “James,” Donna Kohlbach, Larry Lehman, Don MacLeish, Penny O’Connor, Richard Smith, Rosemary Spatafora, and Roger E. Wamix for their participation in the project. I would also like to thank my parents Clarence and Audrey Myers who have provided support throughout all facets of my educational experience. And to my Aunt Louise Lewis, I say thanks. Thanks is also extended to special friends Anita Newport, Jean Jackson, Jacque Burleson, Dr. Sheridan Barker, Glenn Cragwall, and Dr. John Lee Welton. ui Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Finally, I would like to offer special thanks to a special person, Ron Hall, for the generous support and encouragement he offered. Perhaps he made the greatest contributions and sacrifices throughout the entire process. IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Dedication ............................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgments ............................................................................................. iii Abstract............................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1 Introduction to the Study ................................................................. 1 2 The AIDS Crisis as Social Drama..................................................... 28 3 The Personal Context and Function of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.................................................................................. 59 4 The Social Context and Function of the AIDS Memorial Q uilt...................................................................................................92 5 The Political Context and Function of the AIDS Memorial Quilt............................................................................................... 120 6 The AIDS Memorial Quilt as ‘TMovel”............................................ 135 Works Cited ....................................................................................................... 156 Appendices A Questionnaire and Confidential Release Form ........................... 164 B Research Questionnaires ............................................................. 168 V ita ................................................................................................................ 233 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract la this study, I focus on the AIDS crisis as a social drama, and evaluate the various functions the AIDS Memorial Quilt plays within that drama. Using Victor Turner’s concept of social drama I first discuss the breach, crisis, redression, and reintegration stages. I identify two fundamental breaches in the AIDS drama—the health breach and the moral/religious breach. As regards the crisis phase of the drama, I identify specific crisis performers and performances. Although many attempts were made at redression, I conclude that most attempts were not successful as redressive acts. Rather than “solve” or “set straight” particular issues within the AIDS drama, many performances returned the conflict to the crisis stage. I also conclude that the inability to redress the issue is not necessarily a sign of failure. By keeping the crisis rhetoric alive, it is difficult if not impossible for society to dismiss an unresolved conflict as resolved. Turner’s reintegration stage was not applicable to this study. After identifying and analyzing the personal, social, and political functions of the ADDS Memorial Quilt, I draw on Bakhtin’s concept of “novel” to further theorize how the Quilt operates in this social drama. The shift in perspective re-directs focus from the social drama context to the more specific operations of the Quilt as a social aesthetic, a novel with multiple voices or languages, that is, also, reflective and reflexive of the social drama. VI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I conclude the Quilt offers us alternative ways we might address social conflicts. For instance, the Quilt teaches us that individual participation and creativity permits those involved in a conflict to become active agents while it also infers that they are part of the social body that generated the conflict and the social collective that can address and redress it. vu Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter One Introduction to the Study As a child, I was always fascinated with my grandmother’s love of quilting. For her, the quilt provided the necessary warmth for her