Commemorating the Past of Our Village

By

     Of the four artifacts on our table, my group was most drawn to the Kenyon Collegian archives from 2006 to 2007. We read about old achievements and master plans that the college had in store. After sifting through many of the archive’s pages, we were drawn to one particular element of the Collegian from this period. There was the “Village Record” in every issue, a record of incidents that had gotten called in and logged down over a week. One instance that stood out was when a student stole a microwave from Lewis Residence Hall. After reading about stolen microwaves, fire alarms, illegal drug possessions, and unregistered gatherings, our group began questioning why they included this record in the Collegian. What was its importance? 

    In Habit of the Heart (1985), Robert Bellah discusses how an authentic community is a community of memory. What he means by this is that real communities acknowledge all of their history. The stories that produce a community of memory are intended to be made up of successes and failures. It loses authenticity if a community doesn’t include what Bellah calls dangerous memories in their stories. Communities of memory connecting us to our past orient us toward a hopeful future. They allow individuals to connect their desires for themselves and others close to them to a larger whole. Additionally, those are able to recognize their efforts as a small part that contributes to the good of the community.

The Kenyon Collegian is a way for Kenyon to produce a community of memory. It displays the successes of Kenyon students and Professors, current events in Gambier, and future desires for the community. As part of the Collegian, the Village Record makes Kenyon a genuine community. We don’t just commemorate these grand plans and achievements; we also commemorate our not-so-perfect moments. By shedding light on times of stealing microwaves or engaging in illegal drug activity, Kenyon achieves its status as a community of memory that accepts all aspects of its characteristics. 



Bellah, Robert. 2011. “From: ‘Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life’.” Pp. 229-230 in The Collective Memory Reader, Edited by J.K. Olick, V. Vinitzky-Seroussi, and D. Levy. New York: Oxford University Press.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Junzo Shono: How We Remember Gambier

By Anonymous
Image
When I entered the Special Collections room, I had no idea where to start or what to do. We were given large files of several notable Kenyon alumni, and it was overwhelming. Without a clear understanding of the responsibilities we were tasked with, we each selected a different file without giving reason or pause as to who we selected. For one reason or another, Junzo Shono’s name caught my eye. I had never heard of the man, but after taking a class on Japanese Literature last fall, I was curious as to who he was and his involvement with the College. Junzo Shono, an acclaimed Japanese writer, first came to Gambier in 1957, where he spent a year in the College capturing and describing the mundane moments of everyday life (Creel, 2022). He would eventually publish these memories in the form of a novel titled “Gambia Taizaiki” (Sojourn in Gambier. He was born in Osaka, Japan on February 9th, 1921, and studied at Osaka University of Foreign Languages for four years, and later studied at Kyu...
Read more

Archival and Canon Memory: Understanding Our Present Through Our Past

By
Image
  This week, one of the many artifacts my group examined, was an old issue of The Collegian. The main story of this issue was the reconstruction of the Brown Family Environmental Center. This edition of the Collegian was significant because it detailed certain transformations being made to the center that would give it more focus on academics and incorporating student education as a part of the BFEC. For example, the article focuses on the construction of a new building that will operate as a hub for both student labs, as well as environmental education programs for the public, which the BFEC is now well known for. This article is also historically significant as it was written right after the BFEC was renamed to the Brown Family Environmental Center. It is important to examine sources like these, as they offer what the earliest perspectives and actions of what the BFEC were, which is interesting to compare to modern activities of the environmental center. This week we also read an...
Read more

Reflections on "The Struggle for the People's King" and Archive Presentations.

By
The presentations of each group’s project, and the depth of their research were interesting. Glimpsing into their selection process and getting an idea of what informed the final product. For example, the case on student life, allowed us to connect with the Kenyon students who came before us. They presented photos taken by students, as well as posters and objects we see as both recognizable and commonplace at our school today. In the hill case, we tried to collect items less for their individual story or significance but rather chose objects that supported the overall story of growth in the Kenyon community. In the case of other cases, for instance, Kenyon in the world, it was interesting to see the collection of notable figures, objects, and events, creating a full sense of the history.  The reading from this week was concerned with the use of Civil Rights memory toward different ends. The first chapter was concerned with the Islamophobic sentiments rising around America after 200...
Read more