Symposium keys into the history of Axinn

Author: Derek Matus

During Homecoming week, the annual Clifford Symposium hosted two faculty panels to discuss, debate and exchange ideas with the Middlebury community: by transcending department lines and uniting different methodologies to tackle specific topics, the event inaugurated the new purpose of the renovated Donald E. Axinn '51 Center for Literary and Cultural Studies at Starr Library as the home of literary and cultural studies.

The Symposium's theme was directly inspired by the psychological transformation of the building from the C.V. Starr Library to the Axinn Center in the minds of the Middlebury community. "Sites of Memory" commemorated the generations of alumni who remember researching for hours deep in the library's collection while anticipating the different associations of future Middlebury generations who will use the building as a classroom and study space. Because many college traditions resurfaced in the week's festivities, it was held as alumni returned for homecoming, illustrating the dynamic yet static nature of Middlebury's history.

The Wednesday panel and first event of the symposium introduced the "Sites of Memory" theme. Faculty moderator Jason Mittell of the Film and Media Culture Department began with a brief history of Donald Axinn and a description of the purpose of the Symposium: to promote dialogue among all members of the campus. Then, each member of the panel presented a unique example of the theme according to their discipline. First, Assistant Professor of History Rebecca Bennette discussed how the iconography of a German unification monument sought to create a new national identity through forgetting old factional disputes.

Next, Assistant Professor of English and American Literatures Dan Brayton contrasted the archetypal image of the immutable sea in literature with his own trip through the Pacific Ocean in which he witnessed human trash infiltrate the environment and the diet of its bird population.

Then, Assistant Professor of American Studies Rachael Joo told of her own experience in Seoul City Hall during the FIFA World Cup and how five years later the Korean people transformed the same space into a platform of political protest.

Finally, Assistant Professor of Film and Media Culture Christian Keathley narrated a multimedia presentation illustrating how specific visual images in a movie become ingrained in the mind of the viewer.

The event culminated with audience questions and discussion in an attempt to find "connective tissue," between each unique discipline and example.

The Saturday panel entitled "Looking Back: Milestones in the Field," used the same format to discuss important methodological breakthroughs in each represented discipline. Film and Media Culture Professor Leger Grindon began with his discussion of how the later adoption of the long-take style brought the film "Citizen Kane" critical acclaim and American Literature Professor Brett Millier read Elizabeth Bishop's poem "In the Waiting Room."

Professor of History Paul Monod discussed Simon Schama's top 10 history books to illustrate the abundance and variety of analytical innovations, while Professor of American Studies Michael Newbury discussed the change in symbolic meaning of the Statue of Liberty from American immigration to world civilization using Charlton Heston's scene from the original "Planet of the Apes" as an example. Faculty Moderator and Professor of English Jay Parini summed up the symposium panels and the Axinn center itself when he said that discussions that involve cross-discipline cooperation are an important part of modern academia.

The audience for each panel was comprised of students, faculty and alumni who returned for homecoming, representing a diverse cross-section of the Middlebury community. Jarrett Dury-Agri '12 said that "seeing the professors excited me about the academic opportunities that Middlebury has to offer." Although Dury-Agri may have a different Middlebury experience than others in the audience, they nonetheless will share the memory of inaugurating the Axinn Center.