Collins Unbound

Image of the Shelmidine Stained Glass

Each month at 4:00 p.m., the Archives & Special Collections will hold a series of informal presentations on current research, unique resources, and rare books that are part of the University of Puget Sound Collections. Join us for informal discussion, refreshments, and the opportunity to handle documents and artifacts hundreds of years old!

Early Spring 2015 Events:

• February 2 – June 15, Women from the Archives & Special Collections exhibition
  Located on the second floor of the library, this exhibit will feature women authors, activists, scientists, and artists whose works are held in the University of Puget Sound Archives & Special Collections.

• 2/3: Collecting the Northwest: Archives, Indians, Missionaries, and the Curation of Plateau Cultural Heritage, Trevor Bond, Head of Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections at Washington State University Libraries. Missionaries to the inland Northwest created the earliest and most substantial archives of Plateau Indian culture. This illustrated presentation examines how collectors with varied motivations amassed American Indian cultural materials. Power and wealth influence who acquires collections and where collections reside often resulting in the geographical dispossession of cultural heritage.  However, recent work centered on digital repatriation may provide one method for connecting cultural heritage with their respective communities.

• 3/3: reCollection: An Ephemeral Exhibition of Exquisite & Eclectic Ephemera – Jessica Spring, Springtide Press. Jessica Spring, local Tacoma letterpress printer and owner of Springtide Press, will discuss her recent work as shown in reCollection: An Ephemeral Exhibition of Exquisite & Eclectic Ephemera, which was on display at the Spaceworks Artscape from September – December 2014.  Jessica’s talk will focus on the process of collecting and the curation of personal archives.  “When used by collectors, the term ‘ephemera’ describes materials, often paper, that have little value beyond their intended use,” says Spring. Matchbooks, postcards and milk bottle caps are examples. “These objects serve to light a cigarette, send a message, or protect a bottle of milk, but they also provide a glimpse of another place and time.”  Jessica will share examples of the ephemera as well as talk about how the curation of the collection has inspired and influenced her own art.

• 4/7: From Jackson State to Ferguson: Memory and Erasure in the History of Racial Violence – Nancy Bristow, History, African American Studies.
  Asked in August, 2014, whether the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri “raises important issues about race that need to be discussed,” 80% of African Americans said “yes,” while 47% of white Americans believed “race is getting more attention than it deserves.”  These statistics make visible the divergent historical memories of two American communities and the powerful erasure silence around race makes possible.  Focusing on the police shootings that took place at Jackson State College forty-five years ago, Professor Nancy Bristow will situate the recent events in Ferguson and beyond in the nation’s long history of state violence against African Americans and will explore the white community’s persistent unwillingness to acknowledge and address its racial dynamics.

• 5/5: Documenting the Slide from Hope to Chaos: The Road to Tian’anmen Square – Professor David Hull, Asian Studies. The Egge Collection is a vast trove of media sources tracking the lead-up to the chaos of Tian’anmen Square in June of 1989.  Aside from a couple of very interesting unique artifacts of the movements, the collection’s real value lies in the Chinese print media collected in the weeks leading up to the violent clearing of the square. Please join us for tea, cookies, and conversation.  All are welcome!

Collins Memorial Library
Pugetsound.edu/library