Contested Spaces
Examining the Past, Present, and Forgotten at the University of Virginia
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the University of Virginia Bicentennial Fund for sponsoring this project, the University of Virginia Library for assisting with research requests and inquiries, Gropen for allowing our design visions to come to fruition, and ultimately our professor, Dr. Beorn for being there every step of the way.
Who Controls a Space?
The final panel explores the cancellation of the infamous "Easters" celebration in 1982. A rowdy occasion of excessive drinking and disruptive behavior, University administration banded together with local police to prohibit the celebration of Easters in lieu of community anxieties and a general concern for the University's image. Our panel explores the responses of angered students, Charlottesville police, University administration, and the larger Charlottesville community to the "problem" of Easters in order to investigate the vectors of power, space, and ownership.
Memorialization
We sought to answer questions concerning the University’s treatment historically of hallowed spaces of ‘controversial’ groups such as burial grounds for black members of the University community and Confederate soldiers in compiling research for our panel. Research for our panel also examine the recent efforts to recognize and re-dedicate these spaces. Through analyzing burial sites at the University, we were able to gain insight into the way that they not only commemorate individuals, but throughout time are indicative of the way different groups are remembered in a community.
Absence of Spaces
Our panel examines the spaces at the University that no longer exist, the spaces that have slowly been forgotten, ignored or not properly recognized. By looking destruction of the Anatomical Theatre, the only building designed by Jefferson to be torn down, we discovered a dark history of racial bias, mistreatment of cadavers and grave robbing that is rarely addressed. Similarly, we learned that the University’s attempts to remember the destroyed area of Canada, an area once home to a thriving community of free African-Americans, have largely been in vain.
Naming a Space
Every building references a past legacy. Some buildings were named after donors, some were named after favorite professors, and still others were named for accomplishments left to the written record. But what about those past legacies we find unrepresentative of us in the present? Our panel sought to understand such a questionable legacy through Dr. Harvey E. Jordan, who was involved with eugenics research. How do we make sense of a beloved professor who was an advocate of eugenics? Furthermore, Pinn Hall (formerly Jordan Hall) helps us understand how legacies shape us; but we can also choose which legacies welcome us every day. Pinn Hall now commemorates Dr. Vivian Pinn in hopes that her accomplishments will inform the next generation of the right legacy. Who else will we place in stone to lead us forward?
 The Maverick Engraving |  Original Sketch of the Academical Village |  The Rotunda Fire |
|---|---|---|
 Development of the South Lawn |  The Rotunda with a Copper Dome |  UVA in the present |
Curating
the
Past
HIST 3559
Instructed by Dr. Waitman Wade Beorn
The changing use and appropriation of spaces throughout the history of the University of Virginia provide a new lens to explore community power dynamics, exclusivity, student agency, and student responsibility on Grounds. We hope you enjoyed our exhibit and utilize this website to further explore the themes we investigated.
​
