office space

Built in 1885, Placid Hall, named for St. Placidus, one of St. Benedict’s first disciples, has served many purposes—adapting to the College’s needs and lending itself to classrooms, physics and chemistry labs, the infirmary and apothecary, a kitchen, and dorms, first for seminarians and then Minims and Prep Schools students. And, while the third floor of Placid is now the quiet, dimly lit home of the Theology, Philosophy, Liberal Arts, and History Departments, in the 1970s, the Benedictine Sisters were the ones to call the hallway home. The sisters who lived in Placid 308, though, would probably be shocked and amused to see the state of their former dorm room now.

Dr. Gil Bogner, associate professor of history, has an office that could easily pass for a vintage toy store or, according to a former student, a pop culture emporium. But, be not fooled by the life-sized Stormtrooper cutout or the collection of classic GI Joe action figures—Bogner’s office could also pass for a micro-museum, filled with facsimile historical artifacts, scale models of medieval weaponry, and more history books than you can count.

A self-identified kid at heart, Bogner is the type of person who likes to surround himself with fun things. And while all of the things in his office are undeniably fun, they all also have a meaning. The model trebuchet and figurines of knights on their noble steeds, the medieval flags and brass rubbings adorning the walls of Bogner’s office—they’re there because of a love for Dungeons & Dragons, the early iterations of which were heavily inspired by the fantasy elements and societal structures of the Middle Ages (Bogner’s historical specialty). The Star Trek figures and DC Comics memorabilia—they’re there because they inspired an intense interest in the history of objects and things. They sparked questions in Bogner’s mind as a child, the same kinds of questions Bogner aims to spark in the minds of his students.

A peek inside Gil Bogner’s office shows us that history doesn’t have to be boring; on the contrary, it’s actually pretty darn fun.