The Life of Memorials: Manifestations of Memory at the Intersection of Public and Private

The Life of Memorials is a project by Team Kenan in conjunction with Perkins Library. Team Kenan is an initiative of the Kenan Institute for Ethics that seeks to bring attention to ethical issues through student-organized programming. Team Kenan programs are for students, by students. Members have launched a number of new ventures aimed at making ethics available, accessible, and appetizing to students.

The postcards seen online in this exhibit and all those on display in the physical space are from the Postcard Collection of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, of Duke University, which contains postcards from all over the world. The Few death mask and the gravestone are both from the University Archives of Duke University Libraries. The RBMSCL has a variety of collections containing samples of hair, including pieces belonging to Walt Whitman, Jefferson Davis, Sallie Bingham, John Wesley and William Cullen Bryant.