The American Geographies

In the article, The American Geographies, the author tries to make a distinction between the place that America used to be and the way it is now. Long ago, the indians inhabited much of the same land that is now filled with skyscrapers and factories. The indians had a different view of the land, they needed the land for their everyday survival. Everything they ate, the clothes they wore, the huts they built, all came from the nearby geography. They had a different idea of what nature is, of what wilderness truly is about. In today's world, we can eat strawberries any time of the year and never pick up a shovel. We can order goods from all around the world, and obtain them at a reasonable price. We can build large cities in the middle of the desert, build hotels over lakes, and build buildings many times taller than the tallest trees. We treat nature as a spectacle, something there for our viewing pleasure, not for its own reasons. When we go to a natural park, we expect to see lots of wild animals, but is that how nature really is. In the old vast forests, large predators had large tracts of land to roam, unbroken by a lacework of roads and fences. Zoo's are not a natural phenomenon, they are an alteration of the land. We now have the power to transform the land to fit our wants.

Proposal

It has been through multiple fires, seen thousands of men and women pass through its doors, and has been a place of learning in its multiple classrooms. It is the center of learning for the Western Program at Miami University and probably has the most diverse history of any other residence hall. Even the name of this building gives a hint to the vast amount of history it has witnessed. Peabody Hall is named after the first headmaster for the school of girls, Helen Peabody, an odd figure, shrouded in superstition and mystery. It is rumored she still walks the halls as a Ghost, preying on the boys of the residence hall who have invaded her personal living space. Since the school was originally just for girls, boys would have not been allowed to come into the building, thus the reasoning behind the superstitions. 

So why am I going to do research on this building? Why is an old girls college so interesting to me? The first reason is quite simple, I am a resident in the hall. I find that it is more interesting to do research about a space that you frequently visit, rather than one you sometimes pass through. I will have more time to dissect the space, and visit its many corridors. The second reason, the building is just plain interesting. It is difficult for me to talk about ghosts in a realistic sense because I am normally a rational person, but the ghost stories that float through the halls are so diverse, and interesting, that it is vital to include them as an integral part of the history of the building. 

The building is so full of history that it has its own mini museum on the ground floor. All the information in the museum is citable material, so obtaining information about the buildings past should be easy. Also, it may be possible to gain access to some of the more off-limits spots of the building such as the basement, and the attic. Those areas may have remained nearly unchanged for many decades, giving a researcher a glimpse into the past. It may be possible to do an interview with a custodian, or faculty member about their experiences in the building, or do a survey to get an idea of the amount of people who claim to have seen a ghost. No matter what I decide to do for research, I can tell you one thing, Peabody will find a way to make it interesting. 

Proposal and More on Coffee

I have decided to do my research on Peabody Hall of Miami University. It is one of the most easily accessible spaces for me, since I live there. Also, it has one of the most diverse and interesting histories on campus. It is the center for the Universities Western Program, and was originally the main building for the college of Women. There is many ways for me to do research on the building. I could do general research on college dormitories, and then do more specific research on the hall itself. There is a museum on the ground floor that gives good information on the history of the building, and the history of it's more famous inhabitants. It would also be beneficial to talk about some of the ghost stories that circulate the hall, not to validate their accuracy, but to include them as an integral part of the history of the building. There have been three separate fires that have engulfed the building, which add to the ghost stories, and provide interesting researchable material.

There are some interesting research methods being used in coffee and in shopping. In coffee, the author extensively quotes other people's thoughts and ideas, mostly from books or articles they have written. Also, the author gives specific background detailes about Starbucks. He tells the readers the amount of Starbucks stores there are, the net growth of the stores, and the monetary worth of the franchise. This info gives the reader a sense of the scope, size, and power of the stores to influence their lives. It would be helpful to include background info in my research so that the reader may understand the space with more detail. Perhaps I should explain the lay-out of Peabody Hall, the size of it, and a description of the study areas. A research method used in "Shopping" is the use of analogy. Even though the thing I am researching is a tangible space, I can still draw analogies from other buildings. Other buildings on campus, or even dormitories in general, can be compared and contrasted to Peabody.

Rhetoric of Coffee

     The invisible forces, according to the author, are the collections of rhetoric imposed on us from sellers. They are the things that surround us every day of our lives in a consumer based economy, wich try to persuade us to buy a product or service. The author gives the example of the employees of Starbucks acting as if they are members of a play. They repeat specific sayings and play predetermined roles, all for the entertainment or pleasure of the consumer. In our daily lives we are bombarded the invisible forces. Companies try to make their product seem like it is something you have to have. For example, people today don't think they could live without gourmet coffee, iphones, or McDonalds, but that may just be an illusion given to us by constant advertisements. If one takes a step back and really thinks about what the benefits of buying certain goods will be, instead of making irrational decisions, they might come to realize that those new items won't make them any happier. Two hundred years ago people were probably as happy as people are today. It is true that they didn't have all the gadgets and media, but they also had much slower lives. Do all of the advanced technologies really help the everyday person. In my opinion, no. I think they act of wanting is what the consumers try to harness that resides in most consumers. People will always want bigger and better things.
   The goal of the article was to try to make consumers more aware of the tricks and scams that bombard us from everywhere we go. If people were more rational and thoughtful about their purchases they would realize the kind of traps they fall into. In today's world, a rational thought process is becoming more and more necessary as sellers consistently try to take advantage of the consumer.

Shopping For Pleasure, Other Spaces

     The article "Shopping For Pleasure, " did a very good job of describing the similarities of religion and consumerism. It also went into detail to describe the metaphors involved, and the differences between metaphors and other forms of spacial comparison. In the context of the article, religion was viewed as a negative force that was trying to persuade people. The analogy between religion and consumerism is strongest at this point, in that both need to advertise to obtain customers. Religion advertises the gift of an afterlife to its followers, and consumerism must persuade their customers that their product is the best. 

     The article "Other Spaces," was a deeply philosophical argument as to the place of both real and figurative spaces in our society.  It outlined the differences between utopias and real spaces, and elaborated on the concept of time. One of the interesting points to me was the mentioning of the second law of thermodynamics. The law says that in a state of isolation, the entropy will always increase. This statement is important not only for the study of thermodynamics, but for our basic understanding of time. Time is such an elusive concept that has been proven to be entirely relative, not concrete as was first hypothesized for many years before Einstein. When a system increases in entropy, the disorder of the system increases. For example coffee cups never come back together when they fall off of a table, the arrow of time is always pointing in a single direction, allowing the cup to break but not return to its normal state. The article uses these concepts to make the claim that spaces have a personal time and meaning to them, as well as a societal meaning. Places, such as hotel rooms and bars, have their own set ideologies in society. We have a good idea of the atmospheres in both places before we ever step foot in the space itself. But, once closed off from societal influences, the personal time overtakes the normal, societal time, and people may change their activities or personalities. Spaces may be used differently when the user is not under a state of observation.