Behind the words, “They will never be forgotten” are a child’s crayon depictions of the Sept. 11 tragedy. We never imagined that analyzing pictures and artwork drawn by grade school children from around the world would be so interesting.
Since the beginning of the spring semester we have been working with Dr. Joe Downing Assistant Professor, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs and Dr. Pricilla Linn (Senior Curator of the United States Diplomacy Center) to analyze images from a traveling U.S. State Department exhibit titled “After 9/11: Messages from the World and Images of Ground Zero.”
The exhibit, which was developed in collaboration with The Museum of New York, features condolence messages and other artifacts that individuals, mostly school children, from 110 countries sent to U.S. embassies and consulates shortly after the Sept. 11 attack. Photographs taken by Joel Meyerowitz, who was the only photographer allowed free artistic access to the Ground Zero site, are also included in the exhibit. Thus far, the exhibit has traveled to several locations across the United States but has stopped the presidential libraries and museums of three past presidents: Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter and George Bush.
The images from the exhibit include important cues and opportunities for crisis communication scholars, but the artwork contributed by children is most interesting to us. Image after image show airplanes on fire, two tall buildings with smoke billowing out of gaping holes and an American flag flying high above it all. To date, communication scholars have conducted almost no research on children’s perception of causation during a crisis.
After awhile, the images and artifacts seem to blend into a giant homemade “get well soon” card, which is refreshing considering six years have passed since the tragedy. Undoubtedly, we are in the midst of an unpopular war; often, it is easy to feel like the whole world is against America’s decision to be in Iraq. However, we cannot lose sight of the immense support America received following the Sept. 11 crisis. Within the messages of hope and regret, we wish to further analyze how aircraft is depicted within these images of hope and also how children depict good versus evil, or happiness versus sorrow, during crisis situations.
“In the Meadows School, there are several initiatives currently under way that support faculty members collaborating on research projects with undergraduate students,” Downing said. “I am always thrilled about how much I learn from my students in these projects.”
If you would like to hear more about our research or see pictures of the exhibit, we invite you to visit our table at the CCPA Awards Gala that will be held in the Umphrey Lee Ballroom tonight at 5:30 p.m.
About the writers:
Cheryl Dunlap is a senior CCPA major. She can be reached at [email protected].
Angela Pena is a senior CCPA major. She can be reached at [email protected].
