Gambier Experimental College
From KCpedia
The Gambier Experimental College was an “educational laboratory" that was run by members of the Gambier community and offered a wide variety of educational courses.
Contents |
Origin
The Gambier Experimental College (GEC) was founded in 1969 as a project of the Experimental Foundation at Kenyon College. The program was adopted from a similarly structured program at Denison University. The goal of this program was to offer a wide variety of short-term classes on a open range of topics and to provide a comfortable atmosphere that promoted positive interactions between the students and surrounding community.
Although the GEC had no true affiliation with the College, it was through this institution that Kenyon was able to round out its liberal arts tradition. The GEC began its operation in the 1969-1970 academic year, and was coordinated by Saul Benjamin and John Flanzer, both seniors at Kenyon.
Structure
The Gambier Experimental College was built around the idea that anything could be considered and viewed in an educational light. Sponsored and run by students and various volunteer members of the community. the aim of the GEC was to provide a series of seminars, workshops and small groups that investigated a wide variety of topics. The structure of the GEC was far from the normal academic frame, with no grades, tests, fees, or requirements other than an interest in the designated material.
The course topics were in most cases proposed by professors, students and community members who had an interest or background in the area and were willing to share their knowledge with others. Once a course was proposed and approved by those coordinating the GEC, a registration period was held prior to the beginning of the courses. The class times and locations were then determined by the instructor and the GEC coordinators. Most all of the courses were housed in College and Village buildings, with the exception of a few that took place in Mount Vernon. The cost to register for GEC courses was $1.00, with this money being used to cover the producing the course book. However, students were responsible for purchasing all of the necessary supplies for their courses. Only the instructors had their costs covered by the money provided by the College.
Success
The GEC experienced varying amounts of success throughout its existence. The types of courses often fluctuated in accordance to previous demand and the willingness of the instructors to teach. In its early years the GEC offered anywhere from 15 to 35 different courses. Over time this number would sometimes explode to over fifty courses and then fall to the mere twenties, with enrollment also fluctuating drastically.
The GEC and the History of Kenyon College
One of the mainstay courses of the GEC, which was offered either once or twice a year, was The History of Kenyon College. This course, which was run by the College’s Archivist Thomas Boardman Greenslade, provided an in depth look at the history of the College and the surrounding community. As a result of its popularity and ties to the college, the course was eventually adopted by the History Department at Kenyon after the demise of the GEC in the mid 1990s.
Examples of Courses Offered
- Thomas Greenslade’s History & Life of Kenyon & Gambier
- History of the Grateful Dead
- How to Make Pasta
- Bob Dylan Appreciation
- Middle Path Encounters
- Jewish Cooking
- Chess & Bridge
- Jazz Dance
- Bike Repair
- Archaeology
- Simple Auto and Stereo Repair
- Bread Making
- Ventriloquism
- Arts & Crafts
- Sailing
- Introduction to Dungeons and Dragons
- Quilting
- Trout Fishing
- Jitterbugging
- Candle Making
- Cambodian Music & Dance
- Marxism
- Introduction to Japanese
- Manipuri Indian Classical Dance
- Fundamentals of Air Guitar
- Bell Ringing
- Nietzsche the Woman Hater
- The Ford Administration
- Unicycling & Juggling
Resources in the Kenyon College Archives
- Greenslade, Thomas Boardman. Kenyon College: Its Third Half Century. Gambier, Ohio: Kenyon College, 1975. KNA Press, Inc. [Find in Kenyon's Library]
- Gambier Experimental College -- collected Materials
