Invented Traditions in the Face of Inventions

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    Every Kenyon student knows the feeling of the constant buzz of their phone, symbolizing a new email in their inbox. Allstu keeps us in the loop about all collegiate happenings, from guest lecturers to lost items. All these important announcements communicated digitally prompt the question: What did the college do when there weren't electronic devices to so easily distribute these bulletins? During our time in special archives, my group examined old editions of the Kenyon "Newscope" from the 1970's. In many ways, the Newscope was just like many of our current allstu emails, with sections announcing academic opportunities, club updates, and even a section where people could ask for rides to the airport. However, there were a couple differences that stood out to me. While allstu emails usually contain news that's only relevant to Kenyon, the very first section of the Newscopes we read was devoted to world news. I believe we rarely get updates solely about news outside of Kenyon due to the fact that we are expected to attain that information on our own. We all have our own phones, media, and TVs, so we have no excuse for not being knowledgable of current events. I also realized that there was a whole section in Newscope dedicated to religious activities, specifically Catholic and Episcopal. Although we have a church on our campus, I feel that there has been a shift away from prioritization of church activities, which is further evidenced in these editions of the Kenyon Newscope.

    One reading from this week that I think is particularly relevant is the excerpt from Eric Hobsbawm's "Introduction: Inventing Traditions". In his writing, Hobsbawm details the differences between communities' traditions and customs. He talks about how traditions require repetition and a certain level of invariance due to the fact that they are supposed to be unchanging, as they link us to past versions of our communities, thereby helping us establish a sense of self in the present, "The object and characteristics of “traditions,” including invented ones, is invariance. The past, real or invented, to which they refer imposes fixed (normally formalized) practices, such as repetition." (Hobsbawm, 271-272). He also discusses how invented traditions differ from customs and conventions, which are variant due to the fact that they are imbedded in present life, which is never constant, "'Custom' cannot afford  to be invariant, because even in 'traditional' societies life is not so." (Hobsbawm, 272).

    In this way, I believe the Newscope we examined can be related to aspects of Hobsbawm's argument. I believe the old Kenyon Newscope most closely compares to a convention or routine identification. Its purpose is solely informational, and to the extent of my knowledge, holds no greater meaning to the Kenyon culture other than to communicate current events. Even the very material it was printed on conveys the extent of its significance in Kenyon history. While there are still a good amount in the archives, printing it on paper, a medium that is so easily damaged or lost, demonstrates how little meaning these daily articles had in the lives of Kenyon students. This is not synonymous with what a tradition is, as a tradition is usually characterized by the massive weight it holds in the lives of those who practice it. Also, it's very interesting to consider the link between the transition of Kenyon announcements from paper form to online. This idea is further explored in Hobsbawm's writing, "Societies since the industrial revolution have naturally been obliged to invent, institute or develop new networks of such convention or routine more frequently than previous ones." (Hobsbawm, 272). In this way, it is further proven how this artifact is a convention, as it has been altered and adapted to modern times with newer inventions.  



    Works Cited:

1. Hobsbawm, Eric. 1983 "Introduction: Inventing Traditions". Pg 139-149 in "The Collective Memory Reader", edited by J. Olick, V. Vinitzky-Seroussi, and D. Levy. New York: Oxford University Press.

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