Kenyon Courses on Rural Life

A growing number of Kenyon courses explore rural themes or involve students directly in Knox County life. Many faculty are also willing to direct independent studies in these areas. The following list provides a starting point for students interested in including local and rural study as part of their Kenyon education; contact individual faculty members for additional information regarding these courses.

ANTH 392 Anthropology of Food (Kimmarie Murphy)
ARTS 229 Documentary Photography (Marcella Hackbardt, Gregory Spaid)
BIOL 352 Aquatic Systems (Siobahn Fennessy)
ENVS 112 Introduction to Environmental Studies (Ray Heithaus, Robert Mauck)
HIST 300 History of Kenyon College (Christopher Barth)
HIST 481 Feast, Fast, and Famine: Food in the Premodern World (Jeffery Bowman)
PHIL 115 Practical Issues in Ethics (Yang Xiao)
RLST 481 Religion and Nature (Miriam Dean-Otting)
SOCY 111 Identity in American Society (Howard Sacks)
SOCY 292 Sociology of Food (Jennifer Johnson)
SOCY 367-368 Fieldwork: Rural Life (Howard Sacks)
SOCY 372: Research Practicum: Doing Social Research (Marla Kohlman, Jan Thomas)

RLC Archive

The RLC archive contains general materials related to rural life, scholarly papers about Knox County, and project collections. General materials include information on county organizations and events, printed materials on subjects related to rural life, and various books and magazines. Scholarly papers, written by Kenyon students, cover a wide range of subjects and are listed below within broad subject areas. Project collections include audiotapes and videotapes, field reports, photographs, and ephemera gathered in connection with RLC sponsored research; specific collections are summarized below.

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Papers (under construction)

Family Farming
Local History and Culture
Rural Issues

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Collections (under construction)

All American City
Alternative School
Community Within
Family Farm Project
Knox County Fair
Life Along the Kokosing
Living Together
Rural Homelessness
Sustainable Agriculture
Times Present, Times Past

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Additional Resources on Knox County

Libraries and Museums

Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County
201 North Mulberry St.
Mount Vernon, OH 43050
740.392.8671
Hours: Monday-Friday 9 AM-9 PM; Saturday 9 AM-5 PM

Knox County Historical Society and Museum
997 Harcourt Rd.
Mount. Vernon, OH 43050
740.393.5247
Hours: Tuesday 2-4 PM; Wednesday 6-8 PM; Friday-Sunday 2-4 PM

Knox County Agricultural Museum
Knox County Fairgrounds,
Mount Vernon, OH 43050
740.397.1423 or 397.1225
Hours: By appointment.

Fredericktown Historical Society Museum
11 East Sandusky Street
Fredericktown, OH 43019
740.694.8891 or 694.2453
Hours: By appointment.

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Published Works

County Histories

N. N. Hill, Jr., History of Knox County, Ohio. (Mount Vernon, OH: A. A. Graham and Co., 1881)

Frederick N. Lorey, History of Knox County, Ohio, 1876-1976. (Mount Vernon, OH: Knox County Historical Society, 1976)

A. Banning Norton, History of Knox County, Ohio. (Columbus, OH: Richard Nevins, 1862)

Albert B. Williams, Past and Present of Knox County, Ohio. 2 vols. (Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen, 1912)

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Additional Sources

______________, Seems Like Romance to Me: Ohio Fiddle Traditions. Phonograph record and booklet, GFS-901 (Gambier, OH: Gambier Folklore Society, 1985)

David N. Keller, Cooper Industries, 1833-1983. (Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1983)

Hans Nathan, Dan Emmett and the Rise of Early Negro Minstrelsy. (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1962)

Howard L. Sacks and Judith Rose Sacks, Way Up North in Dixie: A Black Family's Claim to the Confederate Anthem. (University of Illinois Press, 2003 [1993])

Lorle Porter, Politics and Peril: Mount Vernon, Ohio in the Nineteenth Century (Zanesville, OH: New Concord Press, 2005)

Howard L. Sacks, "From the Barn to the Bowery and Back Again: Musical Routes in Rural Ohio, 1800-1929." Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 116 (461):314-338.

Howard L. Sacks, "Cork and Community: Postwar Blackface Minstrelsy in the Rural Midwest." Theatre Survey, Vol. 41 (2):23-50.

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Web Resources

General Information

U.S. Census Bureau: Knox County
population data and estimates, economic data, business patterns

Knox County Profile
demographic, business, and agricultural data

The Ohio State University Extension--Knox County
agriculture, natural resources and environment, family life, and Extension activities

Mount Vernon News
daily paper covering county and regional events

History

Knox County Genealogy
genealogical data and resources

The Political Graveyard: Knox County
county political history, cemeteries and memorial sites

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
detailed maps of Mount Vernon, Fredericktown, and Danville

Community Development

Knox County Comprehensive Plan
long-range plan for community development

Site Selection: Knox County
editorial survey of local economic development opportunities

Public Organizations

NAMI of Knox County
mental illness information and support activities

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