Analyzing a Place Worksheet

Project #1 Worksheet                                                          

Your Place: _____________________________________ISTB4_______________________

What are the intended functions of the place?                      

The intended functions for this building is research. Not any type of research, it’s not a library, but scientific research. It has laboratories and lecture halls for larger group. It also includes computers, study rooms, and enough equipment to conduct large procedures.

What overt messages does the place send (i.e., openly communicated through signs)?

This building sends out the message that science and exploring is fun. With the amount of artifacts, tools, diagrams, pictures, 3D exhibits and touchable objects in the building it gets your mind going. You get motivated just being in there. This building wants to show you that science is fun and that every day ordinary people push further and further into the unknown.

What covert messages does the place send (i.e., hidden messages)?

I don’t believe there are any hidden messages that lay in secret somewhere. This building has one purpose and that is to educate. There is no dirty motive lodged behind any of the words or photos stationed on these walls.

Have previous users left traces behind in the place?

Since this building is new, there are no traces of classes or students before us. No one has written there name and the name of their significant other on the walls or under a desk. Stains from spilt coffee or sticky black spots from gum don’t litter the floor. We are the first ones here.  We are the people that get to leave traces behind.

Has the place been re-appropriated (i.e., beyond its original functions)?

This place has not been re-appropriated. Like I said, this building is the newest building on campus, the purpose of it being built is still the purpose of it today. Maybe one day it’ll hold an important meeting for scientist or house a “one-and-only” artifact, but until then, it’s still innocent and unchanged.

What social or cultural customs did you observe (i.e., rules governing appropriate behavior)?

People treat this building like a library in some respects. It’s so clean and so new that you feel awkward if you happen to make too much noise. The only signs there say you can’t eat in the laboratories or in the lecture hall, but I haven’t seen anyone eat anywhere inside the building. And once I did eat inside the building and was glared at. Eating in the halls or the benches outside the rooms is allowed, but oddly still frowned upon because no one wants to see this place get dirty.

Who has access to the place?  Are there insiders and outsiders?

The beauty of this place is that everyone is welcome. Students, teachers, parents, homeless people (as long as they don’t leave a mess), fieldtrips full of little kids, and even random civilians that are just interested in what could be inside. Everyone is welcome.

Who owns the place?

The scientific community owns this place! But in reality, ASU does. Its run by a man named Rick who is in charge of the Astronomy classes (and more things that I don’t know of). But the people that truly own this place are the people that are willing to accept and use it for its entire purpose.

What is the place’s value (i.e., monetary or otherwise)?

This place’s value is knowledge. For me at least it is. To others, they might see million dollar meteors or a billion dollar dinosaur skull, but for me, its knowledge. And knowledge is a lot more than a billion dollars…kind of.

Are there official representations of the place (i.e., online, in promotional materials)?  Do they accurately capture the place as you experienced it?

There are articles written about this building because it’s the newest addition to the ASU campus, but no one will ever be able to properly describe what this building is truly like. You have to see it for yourself.

Is the place in transition, a changing place?

No, this building is completely finished and I hope it stays like that.

What conflicts or tensions are there in the place?

As of right now, there aren’t really any problems running around in this building. I sensed a little tension from the manager of this place before the grand opening but that was because he was under stress from the lack of time he had to prepare everything. Right now, no one really knows what is in this building or the equipment this building has. It’s quiet and kind of a sanctuary for the earth and space students at ASU. There aren’t any business majors or engineers commenting about how their science is better. It’s just us, it’s peaceful.

What is the place’s history?  Do you see evidence of the past there in the present?

Well, if by past you mean previous classes that have graduated. There is none. But, if you mean history, there is plenty. The first astronaut is standing tall on the third level. A dinosaur skull from billions of years ago is stationed by the door. Aztec pots and valuable stones lace the walls on the inside and outside. There is plenty of history here, just not ASU’s history.

How does this place differentiate itself from other places?  What other places is it similar to, but how is it different from those places?

I know I’m being redundant when I say that this place is new, buts its new. There is no other place like this on campus or anywhere that I am aware of in Arizona. Its unique.

What questions do you have about your place?

What can I achieve here?

What can I learn here?

Key Features / Profiles (taken from the Norton Field Guide (Goggin and Bullock) Chapter 16, pages 165-166)

An interesting subject.  What is unusual about your place?  Alternatively, is there something ordinary about it that you can show in an intriguing way?

Everything is unusual about this place. It has an exact replica of the rover Curiosity stationed in the front of the building. There’s a huge globe that you can touch and have different planets pop up for you to admire. The only ordinary thing about this place are the windows, there’s nothing special about the windows. They’re big, clear and open.

Any necessary background.  What background information will you need to include about the place in order to situate readers?

Everything, this place has a lot going on. I’ll have to name and describe almost everything here in order to give readers a minimum understanding of this building.

An interesting angle.  Rather than trying to tell readers everything about the place, what angle(s) might you use?

I’m using two angles. One angle is from what a teacher might see upon entering the building. The other is what a student might see when entering this building. I think this will appeal to many people and help them understand the building’s exterior and interior.

A firsthand account.  Did you interact with people in the place or participate in some way?  What experiences did you have there that you can write about using “I”?  (Yes, first person point of view is encouraged, especially for this paper.)

I go to classes here so there are many stories and happy encounters that I can tell while in this building. My geology teacher, Julia Johnson is my favorite teacher. She’s like a Doctor Suess character, bubbly, rhymes, and always has a large smile on her face. I’ve met friends in this building and get along with everyone, even the people I don’t know are more willing to talk to me than the ones at MU where cliques and outsiders are abundant.

Engaging details.  What specific information must you include in your description of the place?  What potential does your place have for the use of sensory images, figurative language, dialogue, anecdotes, and showing rather than telling?  What do you want the dominant impression to be?

The dominant impression I want to have is that this building is here for students and teachers alike to advance in their education and research. Everything here is worth noting or describing. So, a more suitable question is what can’t I include from this building in order to make this project a little less descriptive?

Generating Ideas and Text (taken from the Norton Field Guide (Goggin and Bullock) Chapter 16, pages 168-169)

Explore what you already know about your subject.  Why do you find this place interesting?  What did you already know about it?

I find this place interesting because the things in it interest me. It’s a science building, I like science. It has cool things in it, I like cool things that have to do with science. I belong here. I want to be here. This is where I want to learn about the things that are taught here. I know this building is amazing in every single way. I know it houses the largest meteorite collection in the US. I know it has created a underwater scenario of a remote-controlled submarine. I know it can sit up to 370 students in its lecture hall. I know it can show the time and location of any satellite or rover in the universe that we, or any other country, has sent out. I know a lot about this building because this building isn’t afraid to show what it knows.

If you’re planning to interview someone, prepare questions.  What would you like to ask someone in the place in order to better understand it?

What do you do here?

Do you enjoy your job?

How often are you caught daydreaming here?

Are you interested in the jobs of others in this building?

If you could be a part of any other job/internship going on in this building currently, what would it be?

Do additional research.  Does your place have an online component?  How else might you gather additional research?

This place has articles written about it, but that’s more for advertisement. I’m not sure how I would gather additional research on this building.

Analyze your findings.  What patterns, images, or recurring ideas or phrases did you use to describe your place?  What contrasts or discrepancies do you see?

I use the words: new, unique, amazing, perfect, dinosaur, rover, satellite, 3D, and laboratories a lot in describing this building. I see nothing wrong with this.

Come up with an angle.  What is most memorable about your subject?  What most interests you?  What will interest your audience?

I think this building can appeal to everyone person in some way. Maybe when you were younger you had a thing for dinosaurs or space. Maybe your dad or mom was some famous mineralogist, or your aunt believed that the Aztecs were taken into space by aliens. This whole entire building would interest any audience. They just need to know what part of earth and space that they’re interested in. The part that most memorable to me would be the replica of Curiosity. There’s something about that rover that gets me thinking.