Gazing at the Golden Age: The Role of Perspective in Counter- Memorial Display By © 2019 Elizabeth Miller Smith DPhil, University of Kansas, 2019 M.A., Illinois State University, 2013 B.A., Miami University, 2011 Submitted to the graduate degree program in the Department of Communication Studies and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Chair: Beth Innocenti, PhD Dave Tell, PhD Jay Childers, PhD Scott Harris, PhD Jacquelene Brinton, PhD Date Defended: 3 June 2019 ii The dissertation committee for Elizabeth Miller Smith certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Gazing at the Golden Age: The Role of Perspective in Counter- Memorial Display Chair: Dr. Beth Innocenti Date Approved: 3 June 2019 iii Abstract How does the traveling museum exhibition 1001 Inventions design memories of the Golden Age of Islam to counter Islamophobia in the modern world? The Golden Age of Islam occurred centuries ago but is still a potent rhetorical force; I seek to understand how counter-memories of this era have been used to re-shape current image of Islam, particularly in the West. I also examine the role perspective plays in the rhetorical construction and circulation of counter- memory. With American politicians pushing a ban on Muslim immigration, European nations closing their borders to Muslim refugees, and struggles within the Muslim community over the true nature of Islam, it is crucial that rhetoricians examine how different memories have been used to legitimate various ideologies about Islam. To answer this question, I analyze the 1001 Inventions exhibit and its companion book using the concept of perspective as used by Kenneth Burke and Donna Haraway, as well as Michel Foucault’s idea of counter-memory. I explain how 1001 Inventions designs memories of the Golden Age to depict Islam as scientific and tolerant. My analysis shows how the exhibit uses Burkean metaphor, metonymy, and synecdoche to display a situated, embodied perspective on the Golden Age. It also shows how the exhibit counters anti-Islam discourse and what Bruno Latour would call a “modern” viewpoint by merging past and present, Islam and the West, and religion and science. However, because it emphasizes merger over division, this exhibit reifies a Western narrative of progress and essentializes Islam. These mergers create rhetorical footholds for critics to maintain a sharp divide between past and present, Islam and the West, and religion and science. I conclude that had the exhibit been designed using Burkean irony, offering a perspective of perspectives on the Golden Age, it would have inoculated itself against Islamophobic pushback, blunted criticism, and presented a more robust counter-memorial account of an historical era worth remembering. iv Acknowledgments There are 1001 people who helped make this project possible. No scholar operates alone; as this dissertation shows, the production of knowledge is contingent and contextual and can be traced to various sources and inspirations. I could not have begun to produce this dissertation without all of the teachers and professors who guided me in my work. Dr. Beth Innocenti, I so appreciate your help and encouragement. I could not have asked for a kinder, more insightful, more responsive advisor. To you and to the rest of my committee: Dr. Dave Tell, Dr. Jay Childers, Dr. Scott Harris, Dr. Robert Rowland, and Dr. Jacquelene Brinton, thanks for pushing me, motivating me, and shaping me into the scholar and thinker I am today. I also owe a great debt to the friends and colleagues who encouraged and empowered me across the years. Andrew John and Evelyn Masso, I could not have finished this project without your friendship. Andrew, I know I can always talk through ideas with you and come away from the conversation ready to create. Evelyn, you are a mainstay of emotional support and I am so glad our lives never stopped intersecting. To Josh Morgan, Emily Vietti, Gretchen Montgomery, Mark Vestecka, Lindsay Harroff, Gaby Byrd, Allie Chase, Jordan Christianson, Talya Slaw, Abigale Kingsford, Matthew Kay, Becca Johnson, Hailey Drescher, Nick Labinski, Rose Helens- Hart, Chelsea Graham, Sean Kennedy, Brendan Bankey, Phillip Schiffelbein, Ben Knight, Dylan and Lena Sweyko Kuhlman, Drew and Samantha Linenberger, Valerie Hird, Megan Kraus, Robi Mahan, and Laura Balinski, thank you for being there for me and with me through some of the happiest and the most difficult parts of my life. You are bright lights in the darkness. To my whole family, Millers and Bacons and Smiths, thank you for always believing that I could accomplish something like this. To my grandma, Ruth Bacon, I appreciate every reminder to keep going until I get my Phud. To my sisters, Lauren and Grace, you are anchors in v my life. Thanks for always letting me know how much you love me and how proud you are of my work. To my dad, Jonathan. I wish I could sit with you at Bob Evans and tell you about my dissertation. Thank you for your kindness, your creativity, and your quiet love. To my mom, Jennifer, you have always been my person. Thank you for long talks, unwavering support, and many bowls of popcorn. Thank you also for prayers, and for continually modeling a Christ- centered life. To Josh Smith, my husband and partner in all things. Thank you for cooking me meals, listening to my complaints, editing my chapters, caring about my well-being, and carrying half the load called life. I love you and I look forward to debating the definition of rhetoric with you for many years to come. vi Table of Contents Abstract...........................................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................................iv Chapter I: Introduction.....................................................................................................................1 Perspectives on the Past: Memories and Counter-Memories in the Museum.....................6 Memory Differs from History..................................................................................7 Memory is Contested...............................................................................................9 Museums as Collective Memory...........................................................................12 Collected Memories of an Historic Golden Age................................................................15 The Golden Age: Debate and Consensus...............................................................16 The Golden Age: Contributing Factors..................................................................17 Nothing Gold Can Stay..........................................................................................21 1001 Inventions as a Rhetorical Text.................................................................................22 My Visit to 1001 Inventions..................................................................................23 Museum Exhibits as Text......................................................................................25 The Importance of Perspective..............................................................................27 Precis of Chapters..............................................................................................................30 Endnotes.............................................................................................................................33 Chapter II: Counter-Memory, Perspectival Truth, and the Golden Age of Islam..........................43 Memory, Perspective, and the Master Tropes...................................................................46 Metaphor................................................................................................................49 Metonymy..............................................................................................................50 Synecdoche............................................................................................................52 vii “From Darkness into Light”: A Metaphoric Shift in Perspective......................................53 “Heroes of the Golden Age”: Metonymy and Synecdoche in the Museum......................60 The Elephant in the Room.....................................................................................63 An Embodied Depiction of the Golden Age..........................................................65 The Tale of Ibn Al-Haytham..................................................................................66 The Human Side of Knowledge.............................................................................70 Diversity of the Golden Age..................................................................................76 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................81 Endnotes.............................................................................................................................82 Chapter III: The Memorial Mergers of 1001 Inventions...............................................................89 Merger, Division, and the Moderns...................................................................................91 Burkean Irony........................................................................................................92