All Americans --whether directly involved or not -- were profoundly affected by the events of September 11, according to New York University professor Diana Taylor.
Taylor addressed a packed Filene Auditorium yesterday afternoon in the inaugural Susanne Zantop Memorial Lecture.
The Zantop Memorial Lecture is sponsored by the comparative literature department and honors Susanne Zantop, one of the founders of Dartmouth's master program in comparative literature.
Taylor, currently a professor of performance studies at NYU, was a close friend of Susanne Zantop and is a former member of the Dartmouth faculty.
Before the event, there were several people hugging and kissing one another on the cheek, making one forget about the tragic events of the Zantop killings and Sept. 11.
The lecture kicked off with remarks by President James Wright, who compared the title of one of Susanne Zantop's books, "Bitter Healing," to the state of a Dartmouth community still healing from the tragic murders of Susanne and Half Zantop.
"Community, collaboration and intellect" are the three words that define Zantop's contributions at Dartmouth, said President Wright.
Following Wright's remarks, a graduate student introduced Taylor, remarking that "our presence is a witness to her [Zantop's] legacy."
Taylor began in a slightly trembling voice, explaining that Susanne "is very much with us today ... my dearest colleague and dearest friend."
Taylor then reflected on the emotions that she felt as she watched two airplanes crash into the World Trade Center. Staring dumbfounded down the street, she recalled, "I could not assimilate it, either live or on TV."
Inundated with photographs and video footage, Taylor said that she dealt with her feelings through photography, creating her own narrative of the tragedy.
"I wanted to pause the moment and save it for later," said Taylor, as she tried to hold back the tears.
As Taylor presented a slideshow of pictures, some people in the audience looked down or scratched their heads, not wanting to relive the moments of the tragedy.
In the aftermath of Sept. 11, Rudy Guiliani, firefighters and rescue workers were portrayed as the only heroes, and those directly attacked were portrayed as the only victims, Taylor said.
Yet such a portrayal, Taylor continued, failed to acknowledge the feelings of those excluded from these categories
The average citizen was expected to sit back and show support merely by going about his or her daily life, which Taylor said she found frustrating.
"Our role was to sit back and clap," commented Taylor.
"Guiliani spelled out what that meant: take our credit cards and buy theater tickets, eat at restaurants and fly on planes," added Taylor.
Among the picture slides, there was a newspaper photograph of two women walking by the empty platform of the World Trade Center, with the caption reading "spectators walking through debris."
Taylor argued that victimization does not apply exclusively to those directly attacked, but to those who were negatively affected indirectly as well.
The lecture was followed by a lively question-and-answer session.
One student asked what the difference was between watching the event from afar and from a close proximity.
Taylor responded that the smell of the towers lasted for over three months and the sensory attack constantly reminded her of the incident.
"It was like eating the towers," said Taylor.
After the lecture, several people gathered around Taylor praising her lecture.
When asked how she felt about giving the speech, Taylor commented that "it is extraordinary for Dartmouth to arrange such an event."
