Archival Passive Remembrance and Culture in the Lamplight

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    On Wednesday, my group-- Identity and Inclusion-- was provided with materials regarding race/ethnicity at Kenyon by means of the student organizations which act on behalf of those identity groups. I sifted through the quite well-documented history of "ADELANTE", an organization dedicated to both "support students of Hispanic ethnic community here at Kenyon" and to "expand other Kenyon students to the cultural differences of Hispanics" according to their founding document (see photo below). The curly blue font upon the peachy-orange page was reminiscent of its time and the language used doesn't quite have the same ring to it as efforts of identity today. Despite this organizations really intent-filled and diligent information keeping, none of us at the table had known of its history at Kenyon before this, even a member of the organization.

     This reminded me of Aleida Assman's concept of "passive remembrance" (p. 355, The Collective Memory Reader), as the preservation is there and meaningful, but does feel passive in some way as it doesn't serve as a reminder like tradition or a tangible act might. This type of storage is critical, still, in my opinion, as it serves as a reservoir of information for those who seek it. I think that for affinity groups, there will always be a longing for connection and there will always be that interest in the past as a means of understanding present identity. 

    I took Barry Schwartz's sentiment of the past as a mirror and a lamp to represent this concept well, as the past may serve as a model of society (mirror) or a model for society (lamp) (p. 245, The Collective Memory Reader). I think that the lamp, which provides a sentimental and knowledgeable light to see into unknown territory, is the more accurate comparison here. The archives as a tool is incredibly useful and does cast light upon distant memories and ideas, but similarly to a lamp in a pitch-black room, you have to know the tool is there and how to use it for it to be effective. This caveat makes other forms of remembrance key in keeping cultures alive in the form of daily remembrance, though the archives' ability to store and maintain much greater depths of information plays a key role in the development and efficacy of a collective memory. 

     (Extra Note:) On Friday, I was graced with a box from Allied Sexual Orientations ("ALSO"), an organization which I had never heard of. I chose to take out two "allstu" emails to add to our collection, both of which are provocative and silly, as opposed to the form founding document by ADELANTE. This somewhat deviant process of gaining attention and allies is different than what I've mostly seen before in this class. It's intentional, but it's divisive in nature and uses comedy as both a unifying and dividing force. I'm excited to learn more about how deviant cultural practices act as a means of social movement through sifting through Kenyon's history. 



References and Images:

Assmann, Aleida. 2010. “From ‘Canon and Archive’.” Pp. 334-337 in The Collective Memory Reader, edited by J.K. Olick, V. Vinitzky-Seroussi, and D. Levy. New York: Oxford University Press.

Schwartz, Barry. 2000. “From ‘Abraham Lincoln and the Forge of American Memory’.” Pp. 242-247 in The Collective Memory Reader, edited by J.K. Olick, V. Vinitzky-Seroussi, and D. Levy. New York: Oxford University Press.

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