Learning About Vincent

During the past few weeks, I've gotten pretty far into the life of Vincent Van Gogh. I never realized before, though, just how sad he was.

I knew that Van Gogh had suffered from mental illness (growing up, my first exposure to Van Gogh and his art was my 3rd grade art teacher showing us one of his paintings and then telling us about the time that he had cut off his ear in order to impress a girl - she failed to mention that it was much more complicated than that, but I suppose you can't tell small children at Catholic school that the ear was delivered to a brothel), but I don't think I ever realized just how much he felt rejected by his family and the society around him. These early chapters of the biography have been painful to read. They radiate sadness and a constant sense of alienation from those whom he considered his closest friends. It doesn't really help that Vincent's mother and father, the two people to whom he constantly turned in moments of doubt and despair, considered him a chronic disappointment as the family's oldest son, and did all that they could to disown him and save face without actually disowning him.

Van Gogh was the eldest son of a Dutch preacher and his wife, who lived in a rural area of the Netherlands. Van Gogh was different from his brothers and sisters even growing up, wandering the areas around his childhood home alone. Not completing his childhood education, Van Gogh spent his young adulthood and the early years of his adult life wandering through Europe in a succession of jobs that put him into touch with art but did not fully satisfy his desires to prove himself. At the point that I've reached, Van Gogh is beginning to discover his talent for art, but his family is attempting to commit him to an insane asylum.

I've never once read a biography before where the subject's sorrow bled so freely through the pages. Vincent's sadness from the constant rebuffs of his family make the biography, although beautifully written, makes the biography slow going. That being said, I am enjoying it immensely, and look forward to the next chapters.

Book Announcement!

I'm beginning an amazing book about Vincent Van Gogh that I've been wanting to read for a while now.

This image does not do the book justice - it's literally gorgeous

It's called Van Gogh: The Life. I've been lusting after this book since it was published a few years ago, and now I have a copy. Huzzah!

So my goals for this book are to a) learn more about Van Gogh (because, despite my love of his artwork and that one Doctor Who episode that he was the focus of, I know absolutely nothing about him) and b) find some more amazing and inspiring quotes from him to post around my room.

I've made it through a couple of chapters already, but my goal to keep up with the awesome Van Gogh quotes is to underline them all in purple. And not really to mark anything else in the book.

I'd also like to try and blog along with this book, so we'll see how that goes.

Please feel free to check out my last liveblog of a book on my tumblr page - I liveblogged my three day read of Donna Tartt's The Secret History (and how much it absolutely blew my mind).

I'm so excited to share this biography with everyone (if there is anyone who reads this besides me and occasionally my family) - it combines my love of literature with my love of history, which is my goal for this blog.

A Summer Reading List for Rising College Freshmen

Last summer, I saw this great post by author Cassandra Neace on BookRiot, and was inspired to post a version of my own on my tumblr blog, based on books that I own or that I've read. But I thought that I might update it this summer with books that have helped me immensely as I've gotten further into my studies.

One Shakespeare Play

Neace recommends something not typically read in high school literature classes, but I have to disagree - many of the plays that I read in high school are not being taught any more. Knowing Shakespeare's greatest hits is helpful, but no play has been more helpful to me as an English and history major than Hamlet. Everyone likes to allude to Hamlet, whatever field they're writing in, and the play's ability to question the deepest fears of mankind is something that I've always loved coming back to again and again. It's still probably my favorite Shakespearean tragedy. 

One Biography of a Historical Figure

Honestly, any biography will make you better and more well-rounded. Biographies will immerse you in the culture of a time from the perspective of a single figure, whether powerful or small, and increase your knowledge, not only of the person, but also of the era. That being said, I read a lot of biographies (they happen to be one of my favorite genres), and picking a single one that has been particularly helpful is difficult. There is always that one biography, though, that I enjoy going back to again and again - in fact, it got me into studying the French Revolution. That biography is Marie Antoinette: A Journey, by Antonia Fraser, which, while it has Royalist leanings, is still an excellent gateway into the story of the Revolution.

One Book About a Historical Event or a Period in History

Only one? There are so many that have been extremely influential on my studies. But my favorite so far has been a book that I read this summer - Dan Jones' The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens who Made England. I didn't know anything about the time period or the people before cracking the spine of the book - I just knew that Richard II was the last Plantagenet, and Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine were the first. But now, I find them fascinating - I can't read enough about them.

One "Classic" Novel - Pre-1910

So many excellent options to choose from... But my go-to response here is Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's classic novel. Not only is the novel an excellent story in and of itself, but it also provides a great starting point for anyone planning to try and analyze literature. In my very first freshman English course, we talked about Pride and Prejudice as a novel fulfilling the Marxist critical format. It also doesn't hurt that this is one of my favorite books, and I recommend it to everyone.

One "Modern Classic" Novel - Post-1910

Oh, without a question, The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel has influenced literature so much in such a short amount of time that, despite the number of high schools that assign it for reading, it is worth reading again. Gatsby is a lot to take in as a high school student, but rereading it pays off. It truly is the great American novel.

One Dystopian Novel

Brave New World. Absolutely no question. Huxley's alternate universe, while not as instantly terrifying as Orwell's in 1984, is the one that has stuck with me. The idea of a sex-obsessed, drug-addicted society that has forgotten the true power of words and true happiness is more terrifying than any mind control from government. That being said, read 1984 for comparison and see what you think.

One Young Adult Novel

So many options to choose from. YA lit is going through a renaissance, and many of the books that you can pick up today are going to be fabulous and well-written. But for the teen starting their freshman year, nothing will ring more true than Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl. The novel follows Cath, a girl starting out her freshman year at the University of Nebraska, and her struggles to find her place away from her family. She also happens to write fanfiction (thus the title). I'm really looking forward to the companion novel, Carry On, Simon, which is Rowell's take on Cath's fanfiction, and comes out (I believe) in the next year or so.

One Non-Fiction Title (Medicine, Science, Technology, etc.)

I will stand firmly behind the work of Bill Bryson. And here I will heavily recommend his work At Home: A Short History of Private Life. Here, whether you're fascinated by history, science, technology, or just somewhat strange factoids, you'll definitely find something to enjoy. Bryson's dry, witty writing style also comes across well here, so the work is engaging as well as informative.

Something Political

So, I don't really read a lot of political works (not really my area of expertise), but classic works such as Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville or The Federalist Papers will not only improve your ability to hold discussions, but they will make you a more involved citizen.

A Graphic Novel

I really am growing to love the graphic novel format. But my all-time, go-to fave is Sandman by Neil Gaiman. It encapsulates all the things that I love - driving plot, amazing characters, and smart, witty commentary that includes some fine literary references. There's even a new prequel series out now, so you can read even more Sandman when you finish the first volumes.

That's it! Anything that you think I've missed? Something that you disagree with? Leave me a comment below!

Thanks!

Coming to Terms

It's been a while since I've posted, but I've been slightly avoiding making my final post. Not just because it's the last post of this school year, but also because that means that this internship is actually over. And I really don't feel like accepting that.

I learned a lot from working in my school archives - not just about my school, but about the craft. I've learned valuable skills about preserving the past that I can take on with me into the future. And I've also learned more about my school's past, which makes me even more proud of my institution.

And this doesn't even begin to touch on all of the things I learned about Greek life this semester. Not only did I immerse myself in Spring Hill's traditions, but I learned more about the fraternities that were on campus as I found them, and about how they organized themselves. It was fascinating to see how things changed as years passed, and how many people stayed in their organizations as time went on. It was also really neat for me to see that some things never change - Greek students in the past were just as involved with campus life as Greek students are now, something that was heartwarming to see.

I'm sad to be leaving the Archives, and to no longer be working alongside such wonderful people, but I'm excited to move on to my summer job - working at another internship, doing similar work, but at a museum.

Which leaves me to wonder what to do with this blog in the interim.

I think that I might continue to blog here, but instead of posting what I'm doing - after all, there are only so many times I can post that I scanned a photograph - I might blog book reviews of what I'm reading this summer. It's a mix of history and fiction - I'm quite excited. So if you're interested in that, feel free to keep reading.

To the road ahead.

Beginning the Final Week

It's my final week on the internship, and I'm getting kind of teary-eyed. I'm going to miss this job, actually....But I'll save that for my final post. I can't afford to get sad yet.

Today, I spent more time working on typing up records for the fraternities. I've made it to 1950, which is quite a feat - when I started this, I thought I might make it to 1941 (if I got there at all). But to see the long list of names - no longer forgotten, but having their efforts recognized - makes me immensely proud of what I do. Hopefully, one day, either I or someone else will get the chance to finish the lists.

My final day at this internship is Wednesday - two days from now. I'm hoping that it will be exactly the kind of denouement that this job deserves - peaceful, quiet, and respectful.

I really am going to miss this job.

Music today was provided by Panic! at the Disco's Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!. It's a nice mix of upbeat sound and thought-provoking music.

Kind of like Fall Out Boy.

A Week in Review

So much has happened in the past week that I haven't been able to get to my computer and post exactly what has happened in the archives.... Here's a brief attempt at a summary.

Last Wednesday, nothing much different than usual happened: I spent all my time typing out student council members and members of Greek life up until the year 1941.

On Monday, I walked into the archives, and was confronted with the offer to go on what the Archivist termed as "an adventure:" we were going to photograph the school's old pool area, fondly called the "Pooleteria" by former students. While our current student center was being built, the school covered over the pool and used it as a cafeteria - thus the name "Pooleteria." Not only does the archives not have photographs of the pool area on file, but rumors have been swirling about changes possibly being made to the space - so we obviously needed to save it for posterity.

As soon as we got there, however, we discovered that the pool area was locked. It took us several minutes to discover that the only person on campus who had a key to unlock it was the Assistant Athletics Director, who kindly let us in. As we walked down and took photographs of the area, he talked to us about what the space might be used for in the future and asked us questions about Spring Hill's sports history. At one point, he and the Archivist disappeared into the boiler room next door (with many admonishments to me to "Keep the door open!") and returned with a 2004 Newsweek sent to a John Bender - how it arrived in the boiler room of the old pool I will never know.

As we left, the AD asked us to look into a specific person for him, a former AD named Billy Gardiner. When we returned to the archives, we immediately began searching, and found that William "Bill" Gardiner was probably the most influential basketball coach that Spring Hill ever had. His team beat not only LSU in their time, but also both Georgia and FSU to take the Gator Bowl. Needless to say, the AD was thrilled to find out more about him.

Today's activities were less exciting - I spent the day typing up records once again, but I did manage to find a third fraternity to add to my records. Sigma Alpha Kappa has now joined the ranks of Spring Hill College fraternities. I look forward to continuing with my work on Monday!

Sigma Alpha Kappa Crest

I spent my week listening to music by Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco.

Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! by Panic! at the Disco

An Unusual Monday

Today, when I walked into the archives for my internship, I was confronted with a massive search party. Our head librarian had arrived within the archives, desperately searching for items pertaining to the school's study abroad program in Venice (sadly, a program that has since been discontinued since her time at the school - from her descriptions, it sounds pretty awesome) for the Homecoming on the Hill event this coming weekend. In her searching, she found a box containing our information on two Cuban students at Spring Hill who helped to bring baseball to the island. She, along with our archivist, asked me to look through a stack of boxes for any other possible documents relating to the Venice Program, and also for any possible notes in our files about the program, which might have been filed under the buildings. 

As I began to work on this project, one of the Jesuits on campus sent an emailed request to the archivist asking for the dates on one of the old buildings on campus (the former Jesuit residence, Assumption Hall). I got to look up the dates within the files, and then turn to sorting through boxes. 

The first box that I opened contained a treasure trove. While it was not about the Venice Program, it did pertain to African Americans and their first years on Spring Hill's campus, and so the archivist and I set it aside within the Archives (with a special sticky note that I wrote on it - I'm looking forward to going through and cataloging everything in the box at some point in the future, if I get the chance!). The other boxes were fairly unproductive, although I did find some old editions of The Motley, our creative writing magazine, and several unbound Springhilians, our school newspaper. Otherwise, there was nothing much of interest in the boxes. The file folders also turned up nothing much of interest, so I turned to the archivist.

In the time that I had gone through boxes, the Jesuit who we had been helping with information on Assumption Hall had emailed us back, asking for more specific information. None of the documents on file had the dates requested, and so we had to turn to the books of the former archivist to find the information he was looking for. 

After this very exciting hour of work, I turned to entering more names into my list of Greek Life.

Needless to say, it was a very exciting day in the archives today. I'm looking forward to more work on the list on Wednesday, and possibly planning out some Civil War artifacts for a student group coming in on Thursday and Friday.