As noted in the previous post, alumnae in their 50th Reunion cycle were invited to attend join a special online presentation in April, 2024. In case you missed the presentation by Associate Professor Colin Hoag and students who curated ‘The Bell Jars: Lyman Conservatory and Sylvia Plath’s Botanical Imagination’ exhibit, it is available on YouTube, and will be repeated on May 22nd at noon ET. Click here to register for the May 22nd event.
Related student work: in a Spring 2023 Anthropology course, Smith College students majoring in Biological Science, English, Environmental Science and Policy, Computer Science, Anthropology, Government, and more gathered together to investigate the possibility that conservatories are relevant to our understanding of the human condition, focusing on Sylvia Plath’s (‘55) botanical encounters at Lyman in the 1950s. Student essays examine one plant species that features in Plath’s work, accounting for its ecology, geography, and taxonomy; the symbolic work it does in Plath’s writing; and the historical context in which Plath came to know it. Collectively, they demonstrate how Plath’s education in botanical science helped her to theorize the human experience, particularly for women living under the oppressive atmospheres of 1950s USA patriarchy. (The Plath Conservatory. https://sites.smith.edu/the-plath-conservatory/ Accessed 05/03/2024)