Setsuko Thurlow: "Preserving Memory, Fostering Peace"
{{youtube:large|jWWAnPxDPPQ:Setsuko Thurlow, "Preserving Memory, Fostering Peace"}}
Setsuko Thurlow is a hibakusha — a survivor of the 1945 atom bombs. She was a 13-year-old schoolgirl living in Hiroshima when the bomb dropped. She has spent the seven decades since testifying to the horror of nuclear weapons and campaigning for a world free of them.
The hibakusha fulfill the ceremonial role of story-teller in that there is a long-held belief that only those with first-hand experiences have the cultural authority to speak about the event. As the number of hibakusha decline, there is even greater urgency to share that story.
Public Event
Setsuko was on campus April 8-12, 2019. Her Campus COLL 300 Main Event was on Wednesday, April 10 in the Commonwealth Auditorium.
Spring 2019 Theme: Ceremony
Ceremony occurs in many forms and arenas, spanning the natural and cultural, the secular and sacred, and grounding the legitimacy of authority. The performance of ceremony expresses the accepted social order – and can mark transitions in that order – for individuals, groups, and nations. Ceremonies may include religious rituals, such as baptism, marriage, and pilgrimage, and state rites, such as the inauguration of political leaders and the execution of criminals. They may vary in scale from large public rites, such as the commemoration of important historical events or the opening of a new city shopping mall, to small private ceremonies, such as the celebration of a wedding anniversary or a funerary ritual.
