Restration Within the Archives

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 Working with the archives has been different than I expected. This project was special to me because of low expectations going in. I am not good at staying optimistic about anything school related. I have been this way my whole life, and I don't like it. However, this project quickly brought me in and I truly liked participating. This week in the archives we got a taste of what everyone has been working on. I enjoyed listening to everyone talk about their work, and talking about my own work. My group finished up our project focused on the past 100 years of Kenyon and the next 200. The portion of the past we focused on was what especially stuck with me. I had never heard of so many things that we learned about, including the Old Kenyon fire. It is a staple of Kenyon history and I had never heard of it. My group was able to bring these memories to ourselves in a way; through restoration. The fire was a huge centerpiece of our display. We were able to acknowledge the tragedy and detail the aftermath, while also incorporating some lighthearted humor with it. 

    In our reading of Yazdiha's The Struggle for the People's King this week, there was an emphasis on the restoration of memory. To Yazdiha restoration is essentially the return of memories based on past collective memories. It can be based on people, but in my case it can also be based on events. Many memories that need to be restored are looked at as bad or traumatic memories. It is important to acknowledge all history. Yazdiha argues that first off, the only way change can be made is by looking at the past. Secondly, it is important to remember anything that has been forgotten, and look back closely in order to move forward. She writes in depth about the #metoo movement to argue her point. These moments of different women speaking out about their stories are difficult for each and every person. But examination of the memory is essential for progress forward. “Tensions cannot be reconciled to make forward progress without looking backward"(Yazdiha 163). 

This reading related to everyone's work in the archives including mine. Our focus on the Old K fire felt like restoration to me. Like I said, I hadn't even heard of this event before this project. I am not sure if it is pushed down by the Kenyon community, but it is definitely a traumatic event that isn't talked about much. Our display restored these memories and also showed the progression forward to the next 200 years. This helped me understand Yazdihas views on the importance to look back on past events in depth in order to move forward in the best way possible.

Works Cited:

Yazdiha, Hajar. 2023. The Struggle for the People's King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement.Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.


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