September 11
Thoughts and recollections which emerged after the Sept. 11 attacks will be both recorded and collected for the Library of Congress by Utah State University students.
Students in the Regional Folklore class are collecting narratives in the form of voice bytes from people who are affected by the Sept. 11 events. The narratives will be sent directly to the Library of Congress to be preserved for future referencing, said Jeannie Thomas, folklorist and English professor.
The Library of Congress made the request for narratives to Thomas. Thomas then assigned the project to some of her students.
“When I got the call for this, I thought some of my students might be interested,” Thomas said.
Referring to Sept. 11, Thomas said, “It is a rare moment in history, and this is a chance for them [students] to get out and document them.”
Apart from this, Thomas said, the project is also a good way to learn about folklore and how important it is in people’s lives.
“At the end of the semester, I will gather them all together and mail them to the Library of Congress,” Thomas said. “Hopefully, they’ll also go into our folklore archives here as well.”
Thomas said the narratives will also be accompanied with some written texts. The project will be well-documented, she said.
“Ever since 9-11 happened, what we’ve been doing is looking at how it affects our lives in terms of folklore,” Thomas said.
Other than supervising over the project, Thomas is also collecting electronic folklore connecting to the 9-11 incident. Thomas also took part in class discussions on the themes and issues relating to the incident.
“It seems to me, this is the way for them [students] to connect the classroom to the real world and see how valuable those analytic tools that we’re learning in the classroom
can be in the real world,” Thomas said.
Julie Dethrow, a junior majoring in American studies and liberal arts, said she finds the project important. She is also one of the students participating in the project. She said, by gathering people’s feelings about the tragedy, she is able to help people remember what happened on 9-11 in the future. The narratives reflect upon the society, she said.
“I am in the process of recording some people I know,” said Aaron Clegg, a junior with an undeclared major.
Clegg said Sept. 11 was supposed to be a special day for his parents since it was their wedding anniversary. But after the tragedy, everything took a big turn, he said. Clegg said his parents’ narratives will be significant.
“It is important to remember these things,” Clegg said. “It’s history, and sometimes if we don’t record it, we’ll forget about it.”
For Beverly Bott, a senior majoring in liberal arts, participating in the project is something to be excited about. She said the project provides a way for her to be a part of history.
“This is the way I can be involved in it personally,” said Michelle Rounds, a sophomore majoring in English literature. “It interests me because it [the project] created so much patriotism.”
Rounds also said by collecting the narratives, she becomes more sensitive to other people’s views.
The narratives collected by the students will become a public resource through the Library of Congress, Thomas said.