SCRC Fall 2024 Events Galore!
by Special Collections Research Center staff
Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) had a fall full of programs and events—from our main exhibition, to pop-up displays, to panels that centered smart speakers in conversation with archives and special collections as material sites of discovery and creative-critical inquiry. Here, SCRC staff recap some of the activity.
Welcome Fest on August 29, 2024
At the start of the semester, SCRC tabled at Welcome Fest—the Libraries’ fall semester kickoff event that highlights the full range of resources, services, spaces and programs available to students. Representing SCRC were not only staff but materials from our collections. Students could explore SU history and the student experience by way of a century-old yearbook, a 1960s cheerleader sweater and a freshman beanie from the class of 1957 from the University Archives. Beyond the scope of SU, students were presented with a sampling of the types of materials held within special collections, such as our Oscar (Miklós Rózsa’s Academy Award for the music of 1959 major motion picture Ben Hur); a pre-The Simpsons illustrated guide to Apple Computers by cartoonist and writer Matt Groening; one of the earliest depictions (1578) of a woman employing a scientific instrument, an astrolabe, in a printed book illustration; and an early 1970s utopian look at an inflatable pop-up college project by the Antioch Environmental Design Team for Antioch Columbia College.
University Archivist Meg Mason, seated left, and Reference and Access Services Librarian Amy McDonald, standing, talk with students about the student experience through University history.
Destroy All Monsters: Developments in Fandom and Participatory Culture on display from September 9, 2024-January 23, 2025
Our fall exhibition, Destroy All Monsters, explored the founding of fan clubs, the emergence of underground publications known as “fanzines,” and the rise of fan conventions in the science fiction community. Showcasing materials from around the world and across decades of the 20th century, it highlighted some of the ways in which fans engage with the object of their fandom by copying it, remixing it or dismantling it altogether to make something new. On November 14, Destroy All Monsters: A Panel Discussion on Science-Fiction, Horror, and Comics Fandom brought together both enthusiasts and newcomers to the fold of fandom in conversation with a genre-bending and cross-disciplinary dive into comic book pages, the big screen and Do-It-Yourself enthusiasm. Featured speakers were SU professors Will Scheibel (English) and Chris Wildrick (Art), graduate student Meg Healy (English), Victoria McCollum of Ulster University (Cinematic Arts), with moderation by SCRC Curator Danny Sarmiento.
A visitor explores the history of science-fiction fan communities in the exhibit.
Coming Back Together pop-up on September 14, 2025
On September 14, SCRC welcomed alumni returning to campus for Coming Back Together (CBT) with a pop-up exhibition highlighting historical materials that document Black students and faculty at Syracuse University, as well as archival collections reflective of the Black American experience in Central New York from the 19th and 20th centuries. CBT is a triennial reunion for Black and Latino alumni, who come back to campus to celebrate their achievements, connect with students, give back and reaffirm their bond with the University. Established in 1983, the reunion has become one of the largest and most well-known of its kind in the nation. At the SCRC pop-up, visitors were able to view photographs, posters, correspondence, maps and printed materials and learn about Black student activism on campus, significant SU alumni, the Underground Railroad and the efforts of local abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and Samuel May. The exhibit also showcased materials about the broader experiences of the Black community in Central New York in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Irina Savinetskaya, early to pre-20th Century Curator, right, speaks with an attendee about a book on display.
Creation: The Art of Film Music pop-up on October 16, 2024
In anticipation of the Syracuse Orchestra’s October 19 concert 'Masterworks and the Movies,' featuring an excerpt from Franz Waxman’s score to The Bride of Frankenstein, the SCRC held a pop-up exhibition on October 16 to celebrate the works of film composers from the collection. In addition to a manuscript of The Bride of Frankenstein, the pop-up featured music manuscripts from Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (Miklós Rózsa), The Killers (Rózsa), Notorious (Roy Webb) and Spellbound (Rózsa); correspondence with musical and Hollywood figures like Ingrid Bergman, David O. Selznick and Alma Mahler-Werfel; photographs, posters, recordings, scrapbooks, a first edition of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein, and even an Academy Award for Rózsa’s score to Ben-Hur. Thanks to the generosity of John Waxman and the Syracuse Orchestra, attendees had the opportunity to win CD sets of works by Waxman and Rózsa and tickets to the concert.
Attendees share conversations while browsing the display.
Remembrance Week, October 20-26, 2024
Each year in the fall, Syracuse University observes Remembrance Week in honor of the victims lost to the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland that claimed the lives of 270 individuals from 21 countries, including 35 Syracuse University study abroad students. In the Aftermath: Documenting and Researching Victims Support Groups, a hybrid discussion focusing on the collection, preservation and use of these groups’ important records of the aftermath of tragedies and disasters, took place on October 25. More can be read about the event in this blog post by Pan Am 103 Archivist and Assistant University Archivist Vanessa St.Oegger-Menn.
On screen, panelist Jelena Watkins speaks about the origins of the Archiving Disaster Support Group Records project to attendees.
Tricks and Treats from SCRC pop-up on October 30, 2024
In celebration of the season, SCRC welcomed visitors to explore mystifying sights and sounds from the depths of our collections. Items such as the first gothic novel, a program for the 1883 student event on SU’s campus to bury calculus, automatic writings from a séance held in the 1870s, the 1922 ballet film of Love and Youth evading Death during the Black Plague, and a primer on the art of reading palms offered thrills and chills to all.
Instruction & Education Librarian Jana Rosinski, left, pages through a book on display with a visitor.
Orange Central on November 1 and 2, 2024
On November 1st and 2nd Syracuse University alumni returned to campus for Orange Central, the University’s homecoming and reunion weekend. University Archives staff welcomed alumni back with a table full of historical photographs and memorabilia, including a cheerleading sweater and Goon Squad button as well as old images of campus. SCRC’s exhibition Destroy All Monsters: Developments in Fandom and Participatory Culture was also open for viewing, and curator Danny Sarmiento gave tours for alumni.
Pan Am 103 Archivist and Assistant University Archivist Vanessa St.Oegger-Menn, left, and University Archivist Meg Mason, right, with an assortment of SU historical memorabilia.
Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives Pop-Up on December 17, 2024
In preparation of the 36th anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, a pop-up exhibition was held to share materials documenting the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the work of the investigative and trial teams, and the activism and advocacy of the victims’ families. This program was designed to welcome colleagues from the University’s emergency services and veterans’ affinity groups.
The display of materials arranged for browsing just before doors were opened for the event.
While we’re reflecting on events past in this post, you can look for what’s coming up in SCRC for spring. If you’re interested in SCRC events, the Libraries’ event calendar publicizes all of our exhibitions Look for “SCRC” or “Special Collections Research Center” in the title or event description.