A new book built from student research in SUNY Fredonia’s archives will be available during the university’s Bicentennial Homecoming weekend, Oct. 16 to 18.
“A Cabinet of Curiosities: 200 Years of Higher Education in Fredonia, New York” explores the university’s history through objects preserved in its collections. Edited by Amanda Shepp, coordinator of Special Collections and Archives at Reed Library, and Dr. Mary Beth Sievens, who is a professor of history, the volume grew from mentored research projects in which students chose an artifact, researched its place in campus history and wrote about what they discovered.
“It was wonderful to watch Fredonia students apply the skills they developed as History and Social Studies Adolescence Education majors to these projects,” Dr. Stevens said. “The essays in the volume demonstrate our students' ability to research, analyze, and to write interesting stories about the history of higher education in Fredonia. Readers will experience the interests and enthusiasms of individual students whose collaborative efforts teach us a great deal about the history of higher education in Fredonia.”
“Seeing which artifact each student selected was a very fun process,” Shepp said. “The topics that each student wanted to explore were quite varied, and some were very unexpected. It was a very fun challenge to present each class with a variety of materials that are interesting to explore and also tell our story, and I’m delighted with how engaged the students were with our university history collections.”
During Fredonia’s Homecoming weekend, the book will be available to purchase in connection with Sievens’ history talk on Friday, Oct. 16, at 3 p.m. in Williams Center Room G103ABC and at the Alumni Departmental and Interest Group Mixer on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Williams Center Multipurpose Room.
Copies will also be available for purchase on Friday afternoon and Saturday at the Bicentennial/Homecoming registration table in the Williams Center Blue Lounge, and at the alumni gathering at the White Inn on Saturday evening.
After Homecoming, books will be available at the Foundation House and Reed Library on campus or can be requested by filling out an order form on Fredonia’s Bicentennial website.
Copies will be available for $100, with all proceeds going to the Fredonia College Foundation's Bicentennial Fund.
The publication is part of SUNY Fredonia’s yearlong observance of 200 years of higher education in Fredonia.
