While there is no physical evidence for it yet, the Department of History's days in Merrifield Hall are numbered (for more see: Moving from Merrifield Hall, More Merrifield Memories It occurred to me, however, that aside from our vocal protests, we haven't done much to commemorate and preserve the record of the Department's time in Merrifield. Recording how the Department inhabited space is not the most straightforward undertaking. It involves documenting all those small performances that make up the elusive "everyday life" Moreover, it has to include the wide array of spaces that we inhabit (where we dwell): offices, classrooms, hallways, thresholds, et c.
Not to be intimidated by such a complex project, I brought my wife's little Nikon point-and-shoot camera to school this very morning (unfortunately I did not bring her high-quality photographic eye) and began to take photos of my morning routine and the views that gave me a sense of place within Merrifield Hall. Imagine if we could encourage our students, faculty, and others to make an effort to produce an archive of history within Merrifield and to capture the experience of place there. Not only would this represent the archival and archaeological instinct present in most historians, but also serve as a silent, but potent protest to the rather cavalier way in which the University administration uprooted our department from its traditional spaces on campus.
Here are my tentative, preliminary offerings:
The History Hall.
My office door toward the hall.
Hooks for winter coats.
My Office.
Gordon Iseminger at the Photocopier.
The Stairs.
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