This semester I took a class called Documenting Culture: Visual and Multimodal Ethnography. We discussed ways to produce ethnographic material in ways that are not written. For the final, I was inspired by Laura Marks and a chapter of her book Touch entitled “The Logic of Scent” as she writes about the attempts to commodify scent and how deeply personal scent is in relation to memory.
Her chapter made me think about how Homesick candles attempt to evoke the memory of various places and events but are not able to capture more than a general idea of an area. Their version of Virginia (which smells like “A soft rainfall mixes with notes of pine needles, sandalwood, and honeysuckle blossoms”) does not remind me of the state I grew up in. I remember the freshwater smell of the James River, gasoline from cars, and various scents of food wafting from local restaurants.
The disconnect between the Homesick candle and my scent memory of Virginia led me to find a candle based on my alma mater The College of William and Mary. In 2013 Yankee Candle made a William and Mary candle that smelled like balsam, aromatic cedarwood, and juniper berry. Finding out about that candle inspired me to interview one of my best friends Kate Avery to compare our scent memory of undergrad to the William and Mary candle.
So this podcast is Kate and I taking a trip down the memory lane of The College of William and Mary through scent. Instead of focusing on the candle, we focused on our memories and experiences. Enjoy our journey on “the highway to smell!”
Sara Schmieder 