Confronting the physical (difficulties)

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 This week, my group and I focused on how/ if we could present ideas that may lean on the negative or darker side of Kenyon's history. Because our group is "Kenyon in the World," we have done a lot of extensive research on how Kenyon's presence exists in the world. Although we weren't surprised by this finding, not all of "Kenyon in the World" is positive or "good." Of course, my group's goal is also to maintain the integrity of our case and show our viewers a display that accurately and truthfully represents Kenyon's presence in the greater world. Hence, it was much to our surprise when we came across the images and objects representing "Stewie," a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity who was killed in one of the United States' first reported hazing deaths. We were shocked by this discovery but also it assured us in some ways that we could continue to uphold our original mission of keeping our display case accurate, despite the controversy it could arise. Yet, after reading Lyn Spillman and Brian Conway's “Texts, Bodies, and the Memory of Bloody Sunday,” I have been reflecting on the merit of including Kenyon memorabilia that could create uncomfortable feelings for individuals.

In Spillman and Conway's “Texts, Bodies, and the Memory of Bloody Sunday,” the authors explain "bodily memory" and how bodily experiences create collective memory. Spillman and Conway talk about Bloody Sunday in Ireland (a shooting that killed 13 people in 1972 in Derry, Northern Ireland) and how that is an example of bodily memory creating collective memory. The authors write, "As one relative of a victim says, “I live and breathe Bloody Sunday. . . . you feel like you’re carrying this baggage around with you” (Gartner 1998:126). Some march participants’ extended reflections include poignant evidence that the bodily repetition of the commemorative marches is an important site of memory, among others" (Spillman and Conway 2007). To me, this demonstrates how bodily memory is a visceral experience that can be triggered by bodily memory. Even if someone didn't experience the actual thing, they can still remember the event very well because the visceral experience is so strong.

Connecting Spillman and Conway's ideas to my experience observing the "Kenyon in the World" display case, I remain reflective on the possibility of someone coming across the exhibit and experiencing a memory that could be difficult and derive a visceral experience. In our case, we do address Kenyon during the Kent State shootings, which was a tragic event in the United States, but Kenyon remained open. This could bring up very difficult emotions and memories for people who actually lived through the tragedy, or were personally affected by it. Even though it is important to include all aspects of Kenyon's story, I wonder if there is a way to present these things while also taking people's experiences and responses into consideration. Because it is a case that will display some difficult events, I imagine that this possibility could happen, of someone having an intense visceral memory. And because that experience is real and valid, how do we, as memory curators deal with that possibility?



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