Owen J Dwyer's article on collective memory interested me and made me curious about the many collective memory it portrays through its landscape. When Dwyer refers to landscapes as "...open ended symbolic systems(165)" he is referring to the many memories that spaces can convey through memorials and other commemorations. I was beginning to think about the different memorials at ohio university, and was most interest in the Memorial Auditorium. Everyone refers to it as the "Mem Aud" and people seldom wonder what it represents. After doing some research, I found out a lot about this memorial that I never knew before and it makes me respect the auditorium much more.
I first found out it is actually called the Templeton Blackburn Alumni auditorium, named in honor of John Templeton and Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn. Templeton was born a slave and was freed in 1813. He then went on to be the first black man to graduate from Ohio University. Blackburn was the first black woman to graduate from ohio university.
Since its opening in 1928, the auditorium has hosted many distinguished people such as Martin Luther King Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, and US. presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, and Obama. Memorials in general influence how people remember and interpret the past, and since African American's struggled for an education in the 1800's, the memory of these people should be evident and continue to remind people how far society has come. Dwyer mentions how the location of memorials and the accessibility and visibility are major factors that go into the importance of a memorial. Many people walk past it and don't appreciate its importance, however since it is a very central building on campus and holds so many important events, it places great importance on the people it is named after. The events that occur in the memorial are also reflections of the importance of the place and its attempt to remind people of not only future event it will host, but the past events that were held in the memorial that have left significant marks on the campus as a whole.
The Memorial Auditorium is very interesting to me. My first semester here, we had a professor use the auditorium for a final exam question. On the side facing the college green, there are several plaques along the exterior wall. On these plaques are quotes from influential people who visited Ohio University. This includes quotes from Martin Luther King Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, and many of the presidents you mentioned in your post. Honestly, before this exam question I had no idea these plaques even existed. For our question we had to choose certain quotes and relate them to development theory. I had completely forgotten about this type of memorial until I saw your post. Also, I never knew the history of the auditorium itself until now (thank you for the information). When I originally read the plaques on Memorial Auditorium, I remember wondering why these specific quotes were chosen. Some of them are very straight forward, while others are a little more abstract. However, each of them was chosen by Ohio University to reflect a certain value of the school. Also, the plaques show the importance of OU in relation to the many major historical figures that have made appearances here by including their names, titles, and dates they were here. I encourage everyone to stop by and read the plaques one day as they are very interesting.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this post, I never thought of university buildings as memorialization. To me, they were just always buildings filled with classrooms for learning and teaching. After reading the post and reflecting upon it, I began to wonder what memories buildings hold based on who they are named after. I wanted to understand the story and narrative behind the buildings. This reminded me of Dwyer and Alderman’s (2008) discussion of memorials as a text. University buildings named after an individual, or group of people, contain a story. The name and the person behind the name can reveal who is represented on campus, what values are important, etc. While the memorial you discuss in this post was named after two important black students at Ohio University, I fear the narrative of minorities on most campuses are left out of memorials. For example, at Bowling Green State University (where I attended school for my undergraduate career) I only remember buildings being named after white individuals, most of which are male. I believe this leaves out important stories of the other people who both attended and worked at the school. Thus, it is extremely important to examine memorials as text in order to fully understand who is being left out of the memorialization process.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s fascinating how pretty much all buildings on campus have a well known history and story. But not all places on campus are seen as a memorial to significant people in OU’s history. The Ridges are an example of such. I’m not entirely sure of the Ridges affiliation with the university but my guess is since that the university uses these buildings that they own them but that’s besides the point. All the buildings in the region have a number rather than a name. There is also a cemetery with hundreds of blank tombstones. From my knowledge of the Ridges, it was formerly a mental institution. Many people were held there for a variety of reasons - some of which were not medical. Many died there because they didn’t receive the treatment they truly needed in order to recover. At some point several decades ago, a decision was made to release all patients in mental institutions like the Ridges due to the inability to correctly treat them. This left these buildings empty for repurposing.
ReplyDeleteI’ve often pondered why the Ridges have buildings named by numbering. My guess was that it’s due to a lack of knowledge or a lack of pride in the facilities and services offered. In US history, mental illness has been severely mistreated and frequently left unrecorded. The Ridges was an example of this.
Generally, when we name a building after someone, it’s because they’ve done something honorable or important that is worth mentioning. Maybe the people who named these buildings couldn’t think of anything honorable about them or figured no one would want a former asylum named after them.
I find this post very ironic. Just the other day, I happened to be walking alongside Memorial Auditorium. As a grad student new to the university, I did not actually know what the building was until I saw its name above the doors. The name made me reflect back to our class discussion on memorialization of place. I was unsure who or what the university was trying to memorialize by naming the building “Memorial Auditorium”. After reading your post, I now have a better understanding of the building’s significance and what it stands to memorialize.
ReplyDeleteAlso, referring to an earlier comment, I saw the plaques of important figures that have visited the university/auditorium. At the time, I was confused as to why these people were memorialized on the wall of the building. I recognized that many were former US Presidents and other important figures in society but I was unsure as to why these people were given a special place on the wall of the auditorium. Now, I have a perfect understanding as to why these plaques are there.