ENG194 Sustainable Society/Cultural Analysis
due Sept. 4
A Local Account
Write a detailed account (3-4 pages) of the place and surrounding area where you currently live - your permanent address or residence hall. Consider your immediate surroundings and the place you spend the most of your time - your room, the kitchen/cafeteria, the backyard, the courtyard, the study area, the bathroom, etc. Also consider adjacent areas - the street, the buildings nearby, the immediate neighborhood. Is the area residential? Commercial? Extend your observations for your account to include the larger area in the community where you are living - the block, the campus, the corner strip mall and convenience store, the church, the park, etc. How do these things impact on you? What do they mean in your daily life? How do they make you feel? Is there traffic? What kind? Are there open spaces? For what purposes? Are there lots of people? What are they like? What do they do? What is their age, appearance, culture? How do they spend their days?
Don't rely solely on your general impressions and remembered perceptions. You will need to gather specific data about your subject through close observations as well. Think of yourself like the character, Ged, in A Wizard of Earthsea. This is your world, your local context, where you exist. Explore and approach your surroundings with awareness of your place in it. Walk around, sit in different locations, observe and take notes. Look, listen, talk to people. Give people, things, places, specific names. Consider the obvious things that get your attention but also things that are less obvious or previously invisible to you. For example, if you live in an ASU residence hall you might note that getting to classes is a hassle because it means crossing busy urban streets, or that you have to be concerned with security after dark. However, on reflection it might also occur to you that a university campus that is integrated with a vibrant urban community as opposed to being an insular rural campus is something positive and desirable in terms of your educational and social development. How so?
Take lots of detailed notes about your impressions. What exactly is it about this place that makes it good, or bad, or both? If you think the place is "boring," try to explain why exactly and consider what it is about you that gives you such an impression. If you are indifferent, try to explain where that sense of indifference comes from. As you write this account, reflect on your definitions of what a "good place" or "bad place" should be. What does it have? What must it have? What shouldn't it have? What constitutes a "good" neighborhood or an undesirable one? Do you feel your neighborhood is similar to others or unique? What serves as your basis for comparison?
Remember, you do not have to come to a finite conclusion. The purpose of this account is for you to engage in a critical self-reflection of the place you live in and to provide a foundation for critical inquiry on culture and sustainability in the following reports.
The main problem you are likely to have with this account is focus. There is so much to observe and take note of that you may feel overwhelmed and tempted to merely list features and generalize about your impressions. The solution to this is to start early and take the time to gather lots of data, make lots of notes, and record your impressions and ideas as you go - i.e. set aside specific time to do the research for this project but also be prepared to take notes on serendipitous observations and ideas while you are engaged in other activities. Use notes from class discussions, the introduction to the text book, and forum discussions on "public space" to help guide your observations.The more data you have recorded, the more likely you will be able to control the way you write up your account.