Do you love history? Are there specific events, historical figures or time periods that you think about way too often — or, as the kids say, your “Roman Empire?” If the answer is yes, you are in luck, because the Kenyon History Society (KHS) officially welcomed history enthusiasts with its first meeting on Nov. 21.

In an interview with the Collegian, Helena Godsman ’25, a KHS board members, recalled showing up to HIST 387: Practice and Theory of History — a required methods course — during junior year and finding herself surrounded by unfamiliar faces. To her, this was a sign indicating the need for more community building within the Department of History. Godsman noticed that there were more opportunities for intra-class connection for STEM majors — including the K-STEM mentoring program and the Math and Science Skills Center, which offer academic help and chances for socialization— than for history majors. So, Godsman, Theresa Phung ’25 and Elizabeth Redmond ’25 founded KHS as a space for departmental unity.

KHS is an open space for all history lovers, majors or not. A good number of Kenyon students are interested in history and find it to be a good supplement to their education — according to statistics provided by the Registrar, history was the most popular minor at Kenyon for the class of 2023 (it came in second place for the class of 2024, overtaken by philosophy). 

The precursor to KHS was the Department of History’s student advisory board established in 2023. The board previously organized several movie nights in conjunction with faculty where professors selected films related to their course material and led discussion afterward. The activities also include trivia nights. Last semester, Kenyon history buffs had the chance to compete in an Earth, Water, Wind and Fire-themed history trivia night at the Horn.

KHS’ plans for future events will be both extensions of those activities and new ventures. The organization will host its first movie night on Saturday. Attendees will enjoy a screening of “The Death of Stalin,” a 2017 satirical black comedy film. The film choice is meant to strike a balance between historical accuracy and comedic flair. Professors may, understandably, feel inclined to pick films that sacrifice entertainment for a fastidiously exact portrayal of historical events. “People would rather watch Bridgerton than a period-accurate piece about the 1800s, so we chose ‘The Death of Stalin’ because it is a deviation from that,” Godsman said. 

Trivia nights will also make a comeback. In an email to the Collegian, the KHS board expressed a commitment to ensuring that the trivia questions and movie selections reflect a wide range of historical subjects. KHS members are more than welcome to pitch suggestions on what eras, regions or topics the activities should center on.

If there’s a niche historical area that you are extra chatty about, keep an eye out for KHS’ upcoming blog, which will be dedicated to publishing students’ work and will start accepting submissions next semester. 

In an email to the Collegian, KHS stated: “As the board currently stands, we have a lot of experience with American, Native American, Asian, Eastern and Western European, Colonial and Imperial, Science Technology and Health and Gender History. We also have experience with African and Middle Eastern History to a much lesser extent.” They also called for any individual interested in applying for two open board positions, financial officer and website assistant, “especially if their knowledge base spans historical areas the board does not currently represent.” 

One future plan worth anticipating is conversations with Kenyon alumni who are established professionals in the history field. By bringing in alumni who are currently working in archives, museums, libraries and academia, KHS wants to remind people of the opportunities available if one wishes to continue pursuing history after graduation. And on the more unrealistic side of the agenda, one wild goal KHS has is “to have Ken Burns debut a film at Kenyon.” 

“It’s important to find ways to make history more communicable and accessible to everyone within the Kenyon community, especially history that reflects diverse stories that haven’t been part of the main narrative,” Redmond said.