Talking Abolition asks students to examine the historical and contemporary significance of abolition and slavery through the Knox College and Galesburg’s tradition of agitation and activism. Through sonic narratives in the form of the podcast, students explore the role that Knox and Galesburg played in the fight against slavery in 19th-century America and trace this legacy to the present day—a legacy that continues to shape the cultural, institutional, social, political dynamics in the region. Structured as a series of episodes sculpted by groups of students in Fall 2024’s MUS 125: Digital Audio Production I, Talking Abolition investigates topics ranging from the founding and founders of Galesburg to the institutional, abolitionist legacy of Knox College and its relationship with the present-day environment for higher education to the impact of capital on the ability for communities to engage in historical preservation.
Students edited and developed their podcasts in the digital audio workstation Reaper, recorded with microphone models like: Blue Yeti, Rode NT1A, Zoom H4N, Sony ECM-44B, and deployed creative commons audio samples from freesound.org to shape their sonic narrative. Recorded and background interviews were generously provided by Dr. Cate Denial, Dr. Jen Andrella, and Owen Muelder. Additional podcasting materials, support, and tutorials were generously provided by Dr. Jen Andrella and the Abolition for All Time Humanities Lab at Knox College.
Jeremiah, House, and Annika recount the history of abolition in the founding of Galesburg, its challenges, successes, how women impacted the movement in the region, and ask the question: is the community is living up to the ideals expressed by this history?
Produced by: Jeremiah Tooles Theauntae “House” Jones Annika Vagle
Thank you to Dr. Jen Andrella for sitting for background on this podcast.
Galesburg: Path to Freedom
Khanh, Anirudh, and Eddie sat down with Dr. Cate Denial for an interview that contextualizes abolition as a concept, the collapse of reconstruction, and how Galesburg’s tradition of abolitionism interacted with the national environment and was involved in the Underground Railroad.
Produced by: Khanh Nguyen Anirudh Madarapu Eddie Conversi
Thank you to Dr. Cate Denial for sitting for this interview.
Railroad City
Nathan, Chris, and Lyn sat down to explore Galesburg and Knox College’s Founders and the influence they had on the anti-slavery movement in the region as well as Knox College’s history as a manual labor college.
Produced by: Chris Wilson Nathan Ragans Lyndis Scherer
The History of Abolition in Galesburg Told Through the Gravestones in Hope Cemetery
Silvie, Sasha, and J.T. explore the physical traces of abolition through the gravestones of notable abolitionist figures who are buried steps away from Knox College in Galesburg’s Hope cemetery.
Produced by: Silvie Gillis Sasha Jeffries John T. Lightner
Photo Credit: WritingAmused, CC BY-SA 4.0
Underground Railroad
Mars and Chuyen give an in-depth overview of the Underground Railroad through historical context, the people who served as conductors, and some of the challenges historians face in gathering information on a deliberately secret organization.
Produced by: Mars Dolezal Chuyen Nguyen
Remembering Abolition
Lexy, Cecilia, and Daksh sat down with Owen W. Muelder, the director of the Underground Railroad Freedom Station at Knox College. They consider, through the story of Henry “Box” Brown, how daring escapes by the enslaved have served then and now as symbols of hope during dark and difficult times.
Produced by: Lexy Davis Cecilia Goodin Daksh Bhardwaj
Thank you to Owen Muelder for sitting for this interview.
Setting Fire to the Chains
Eli and Anushk spoke with Dr. Cate Denial about the interaction between Knox College’s history of abolition and the College’s current trajectory within the broader trends and conflicts that are affecting institutions of higher learning in the United States.
Produced by: Eli Quint Anushk Tamang
Thank you to Dr. Cate Denial for sitting for this interview.
Spoon River
Using Spoon River, a nearby, historical line of transit on the Underground Railroad, Jude and Rachel ponder historical preservation, landmarks, and knowledge-making in conflict with land use and private capital, posing the question: what makes one historical landmark more important than another?
Produced by: Jude Reed Rachel Schonfeld
The Rhetoric of Abolition
Knox’s graduating senior English majors of 2024 cordially invite you to their senior symposium, TheRhetoric of Abolition, on Tuesday, March 5th.
Their research topics include both 19th-century and contemporary abolitionist texts. Presenters will be Karen Castro, Lola Chamberlain, Adam Gadiel, Allie Konopelski, Marli Messner, and Jessica Whalen.
Tuesday, March 5th, 2024 Alumni Room, Old Main 100
4:00 PM
Clyde's
A play by Lynn Nottage, directed by Dr. Deana Nichols.
In Clyde’s, a truck stop sandwich shop offers its formerly incarcerated kitchen staff a shot at redemption. Even as the shop’s callous owner tries to keep them down, the staff members learn to reclaim their lives, find purpose, and become inspired to dream by their shared quest to create the perfect sandwich. Clyde’s is a comedy about power. And hope. And sandwiches.
Performances in Harbach Theatre (CFA): February 22-23, 2024 @ 7:30 p.m.; February 24 @ 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The Long Term
Between 2016-2018, artists, writers and members of the Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project created a series of thematic works around long-term sentencing policies. These projects emerged from classes and collaborative work at Stateville prison, where people are serving extraordinarily long prison terms. The Long Term utilizes a variety of mediums and visual languages to encourage social dialogue around issues of incarceration and the effects on people living under the weight of the justice system.
The Department of Art and Art History would like to invite the campus community to visit our new exhibit “The Long Term” in the Borzello Gallery. We want to acknowledge generous funding for the exhibit and for our upcoming educational programming from the “Abolition for All Time” grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The Long Term
Exhibit at the Borzello Gallery, Ford Center for the Fine Arts, Knox College
February 13 – March 12, 2024, weekdays 12:00 – 5:00 pm
Reception and Gallery Talk, March 1, 4:00 p.m.
