The Final Blog

Hard to believe its time for the last one ever, but here it goes. This semester seems to have flown by in all respects, and feel as though all-in-all I have done decently in all my classes, just have a couple finals next week and then in a month, we start over. Its kind of sad putting it this way, as if all this work is for nothing, and will soon be forgotten. But hopefully however that is not the case. I hope I can take the lessons I have learned in this class and in my other classes and apply them in the future semesters, and in my life in general. This course has taught me a lot about the importance of community, and how to be more open to foreign ideas and concepts. Whereas before, it never really bothered me that there are people over in Japan thinking and living on their own with their own ideas, now it seems it is my duty to track them down and figure out what they've been doing with their lives. By doing this, I can begin to act in modes of cosmopolitanism and better myself by talking to others. When you strip away everything else, we are all living here on earth to go through our life and develop a personality, and then inevitably die. We might as well spend the time talking and meeting new people, so that we may learn more about ourselves. The readings in this course were interesting, and I also learned some anthropology skills on how to evaluate my surroundings. With the UK project I learned a lot about an area I have spent a lot of time in, and figured out what was wrong with it. I will certainly continue practicing folk ethnography for the rest of my life, and observe what people are doing in my surroundings. As for the people in this class, I enjoyed hearing what all of you had to say about everything, we had an interesting make up of students, and this worked well for the themes of the class we were meant to learn. I spent a great deal of time reading blogs and discussing concepts and thoughts with other people, and in doing so learned a lot. Sadly now the blogs must end and we must all go our separate ways. Thank you all for reading these 34 entries, and may you continue to be a cosmopolitan in your life in order to make the world a better place.

Showcase

Our showcase project is all about Second Life. We have taken all of our old projects and mixed them together more or less, a large power point. This way we can show images from several of the locations, and what sort of interactions one may expect to have there. We also added in some things such as what we think Second Life is all about, a bit of research from the SL website, as well as conclusions and things we've learned from this initial project. This slide show will be looping while we simultaneously have a demo of the game set up. In this way, a person can learn about the experience as well as live it. As for who is in my group, who isn't in my group? A great deal of us are working on this together, and with our combined experiences we should be able to present a good idea of what we learned in this class, and particularly on the SL unit.

Revising UK proj

I have already submitted the first draft of my analysis to Richard and got fairly positive feedback. What I think I will do now is finish up a couple more interviews and add a couple of questions inquiring into scenarios such as "what do you think would happen if you sat down at a table of strangers". I will probably take my analysis portion and paste it directly into my paper, adding background information in the beginning about commons and my personal observations. Then I will get into the analysis and conclusions. I still have no background info, I hope to chat with a librarian tomorrow in between classes, but is has been hard for me to get a chance thus far with my tight schedule. I will post my first draft of the analysis below in case anyone wants to take a look at it and give me any feedback. As far as the showcase goes, looks like we're all going to be working on it together, I think this is a good idea and look forward to see what we will come up with.

Raw Data Analysis
My area of research was the Commons Market Cafeteria area. This on campus location rests between the Kirwain and Blanding dorms, and is a popular spot for evening dining crowds. I hypothesized that this location served as a juncture for people to gather in and eat together, and would then lead to further social interaction. I envisioned people coming together in the need of eating, and then being able to share through these common bonds personal information that could lead to socialization and friendship development.
Through the process of interviewing, I received some varied results. I was correct in stating that numerous people congregate in the Commons Market with the intention of eating, and then eventually lead in to socializing. However, it seems that most people come into the Commons with pre formed groups of friends, and do not break away from these friends. They all eat and talk together, but not with anyone else in the location. I speculate that part of the reason people do not engage with outsiders is due to the implicit social rules set up by the area.
Due to the fact that tables are set up individually and oriented away from each other with a lot of space in between indicates that the tables are to remain separate. Because of this people sit at their own table and don’t interact with other tables. Another rule is that if you are with a group, you sit with that group at your own table; if you are alone, sit at an empty table. I know from personal experience that table orientation and set up can govern the way social interactions take place. I ate at a restaurant in Rome one time, quite close to the Vatican City and Saint Paul’s Cathedral. In this restaurant, food was served up at the front, and then an attendant would come and seat you at a table. The tables were large with several seats on each side, and every table would be filled with people, whether they came in together or not. Save language barriers of this touristy area, I observed increased social interaction at these tables between strangers. It is not that people refuse to talk to strangers; it is just that some situations offer different social behaviors.
If someone at the Commons went so far as to sit at a table with a person they did not know, there are a few outcomes probable. The first outcome is that the stranger will just ignore the outsider, and just continue eating. A second possibility is the stranger will get up and leave. The final outcome is that the stranger will actually accept the approach, and begin a conversation. Although any of these outcomes seem plausible, and have been derived by the people that go to the Commons Market themselves, I feel as though it is highly unlikely for scenario three to occur. Given the atmosphere of the location, and the observed social rules being followed by dozens of people each day, it seems quite unlikely that anyone would go so far as to break this trend. I speculate that much different results, cosmopolitan principles, would be found if the seating area was set up differently. If the tables were pushed together and sitting with strangers was encouraged, people would no longer feel intimidated to walk into the venue without a group of friends, and would make new experiences each time.
It is through this method that people could act in the cosmopolitan principles set forth by Appiah. Appiah’s two fundamental principles of cosmopolitanism (our obligation to others, and our caring for the individual) are principles that cannot be denied by anyone. Appiah states the importance of reaching out to the imaginary stranger, The problem of cross-cultural communication can seem immensely difficult in theory, when we are trying to imagine making sense of a stranger in the abstract. But the great lesson of anthropology is that when the stranger is no longer imaginary, but real and present, sharing a human social life, you may like or dislike him, you may agree or disagree; but, if it is what you both want, you can make sense of each other in the end. By taking a chance and talking to others we can really begin to branch out and make connections with people we wouldn’t do so with otherwise. These connections can be made possible much easier if people engage in an environment in which they feel comfortable. In Anderson’s essay Cosmopolitan Canopy, the way in which people use their environment to help them feel comfortable in cosmopolitanism is explored. It is by this that I believe rearranging the Commons Market could lead to a radically different experience. Moving people together harmoniously would increase the fellowship and inspire an on campus community. In doing this Anderson’s Cosmopolitan Canopy could be created and practice Appiahs principles towards man. The same charming experience I had in Rome could be relived by myself and many of my peers.

UK Communities Preperations

As we near the end of the UK communities project, I look back on quite a bit of research I have gathered. I think my most useful resource will be found here in my blogs, as I have compiled most of my coherent thoughts in them. I feel as though I have a decent amount of information gathered on my own thoughts and observations, and certainly it will be useful having my interviews to look at, seeing where they agree and disagree with me. Whether or not my location is a cosmopolitan canopy or not is still somewhat up for grabs, I have evidence supporting it in both ways. It seems people do come and socialize, but not necessarily outside of their own groups. I think true cosmopolitanism would be everyone interacting together, but I guess its a start. I feel as though after I write my paper I will be truly prepared for a presentation, as I can compile all of my findings into a power point. This will help me organize my information, as well as provide an opportunity to add in some images and sketches. The only thing I find lacking in my project as of now is the background information of the site. I think we were told to hold off on this research for the time being, but am wondering when we are going to discuss it again. I have had trouble getting anything together on my own. If anyone else has any suggestions as to how to find some good background info, please let me know.

An Interview From an Interesting Angle

On one of my recent interviews, I talked to an interesting person who seemed to feel differently about Common's Market than I had expected, and a different view point then even my other interviewees had. This person seemed to think that the location was not a community, and does not enjoy coming there too much at all. I will post the interview as I find the perspective of it intriguing, as it comes from a person disproving what it is I came to research, the element of community at my site. Let me know what you all gather from this:

Gender: Male
Age: 18
Race: White
School Year: Freshman
Hometown: Franklin, Wisconsin
Do you come from a large Family? Family of four, an older sister also goes to UK
Are you a first generation college student? No, both parents and grandparents attended college at UK as week.
What dorm do you live in? Kirwain Tower

How did you come to discover the commons market? I sighted it while I was moving in on the first day.
What Compelled you to come to the commons market to begin with? Hunger, it was the closest thing to my dorm, so I had to try in eventually.
How often do you come here? Used to go a lot, now very rarely, maybe once every two weeks.
Why the shift in your visiting tendencies? I really don't like the food here that much, the staff seems cold and uninviting to me.
Where do you go instead? I usually go to Ovids or K-lair instead now.
What about these places do you like better? I like the controlled portions they provide, I tend to over eat in the buffet setting. These locations are also cleaner, and smaller.
Why do you like a smaller size better? I feel as though the commons market is too big, these other places set up a more intimate environment to eat in, I just feel more comfortable there.
How long do you stay per visit? Usually about a half hour to fourty-five minutes.
Do you typically sit in the same area? Yes, in the middle section
Do you feel comfortable in this environment? not really, I don't like the food.
Then why come at all? Usually I come while I am in a hurry, its really just a matter of convienience.
Do you usually come alone or in a group? I come with a group, sometimes alone.
Describe the difference in experiences when you are alone versus in a group? When I am with friends, I tend to stay longer since there is conversation. When I am alone, there is no one to talk to, and I only stay long enough to finish my food and then leave.
What is your favorite meal to get? I like the pizza sections garlic bread, also the milk they have here is local and really good. This is one of the things that keeps me coming back.
What is your favorite element of this place? I like the TVs, they provide a level of background entertainment.

What do you see people doing here? Eating and communicating with each other.
What sets this place apart from other areas on campus? The physcial size, this building is a lot bigger than other places to eat, even the student center cafeteria. I prefer a smaller setting.
Do you feel a sense of community here? No, everyone just sticks to their own groups and do not reach out to others.
Do you feel like you are a part of this community? No, everyone seems to keep to themselves, there is not a unified community.
Has an individual ever approached and talked to you? no
Have you ever approached an individual? Yes, I have struck up small talk.
Has this led to any further interaction? No, I have never been in contact with this person again.

More Observations of The Commons Market

One aspect of the Common's Market I was interested in studying was behavior of groups versus individuals. I have already speculated the different seating patterns I have noticed, large groups sit at centrally located areas at large tables, and individuals find small tables out of the way near walls and corners. Perhaps this is a basic assumption, but acting as an anthropologist I will point it out anyway: I do not ever observe an individual sitting at a large table, more than 4 chairs, and do not ever see a large group sitting around each other at separate small tables. It appears as though perhaps it is socially unacceptable for one person to take up too much space, as perhaps they would be offensive to a group of people trying to sit together and unable to find a table. Another observation I have noted about differing behaviors is that people in groups tend to eat at a comfortable, steady pace, and take lots of time to talk and laugh. Individuals seem to eat more hurriedly as to be able to get up and go as soon as they are finished. Some individuals appear nervous, as they will constantly look around, watch TV, look at their phone, look at their watch, read the paper, and repeat. It almost seems as though they have to engage in some sort of external activity other than eating so that they will feel more comfortable about being alone, as if they feel like they are being judged. I find these differing observations interesting and will perhaps try to inquire first hand why people act they way they do in an interview situation.