So, I've been really unproductive and air-headed this week(and it's only tuesday! >.<"), and I didn't quite catch what Randolph was saying about the difference between a nuetral place and a civil place. Was she saying that civility, which means politeness is getting to know a person? I believe there's a difference. That maybe, civility(politness) is a way of initiating cosmopolitan behavior, but the act of politeness towards others in itself, is not necessarily cosmopolitan. This, of course, depends on how deeply you get into it. Politeness may be an obligatory feeling to question how someone is doing and minor questions about their past, but if the person takes in this knowledge and decides to further their information and to question and discuss without a feeling of obligation or politeness, then, maybe, politeness is cosmopolitan. Does that make any sense? Hahah. It kind of relates to a question I was asked in english about mandatory community service. What good is community service if the motive behind it isn't genuine? I'm being hypocritical, because I kind of want to think that mandatory community service would be a good thing...
My place is the sitting area in the back of the Patterson Office Tower! I'm excited to be able to do this place, because it is where the ESL and foreign language classes meet! I thought that there would be more interaction between the classes that meet there, but so far I have been disappointed to find that there don't seem to be as many random conversations being started up. I'm starting to think that it's not a cosmopolitan canopy, but I still believe it has the potential to become one. For some people, it may already be. I think it partly depends on the type of person who is put in that environment. Members of different classes in the seating area tend to sit apart from each other, and when there isn't enough room and they're dispersed, they seem less talkative. This isn't to say they aren't open to conversation. Why else would they be in the area "outside" the classroom where they know people will be? I have noticed several people studying, but mostly independently. They tend not to quiz each other, although sometimes they ask each other questions. I talked with Michele and Duncan and I didn't know them before this project, so, that was nice! (I asked if I could use their names...and I am talking about the project, so...) I accidentally started on the interviews early, so I guess I'll need to do some more! ~.~" Most of the people I talked to were upperclassmen, as well. I guess I'll also need them to think back so that I can more clearly see the results of my place in the long term.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
i just wanted to edit my comment cause i forgot to say something lol.. but here ill try again with my comment..
It seems like ur place has the potential to have some interesting interactions.. hopefully you will be there while one occurs! :) I think i would enjoy finding out what your obervations conclude at the end :)
As for my project... Well as far as the Livving Learning Community (LLC) and the Honors Program, all the students in the LLC are already honors students. Thats one of the requirements to join. The difference is, the LLC members have extra programs and meetings and such, the exact details i am yet to find out, im am going to try to meet with someone from the program in the near future. Ill let you know when i do! :)
-Reeice ^_^
You know what? I completely agree with you. One thing I want to mentions is that sure forcing someone to volunteer is not the altruistic way, but what if it can achieve something much more? Should you do it?
You've caught my meaning exactly right - does the trappings of civility mean (necessarily) neutrality or openness? In a society where honor is very important, people can be very civil since the outward symbols are very important parts of their identity. However, the recipient of that "civility" (e.g., a man opening a door for a woman to enter a building) should not assume that the courteous action means that the space is therefore neutral and/or safe. In the above example, the woman could be restricted to only some parts of the building because of her gender or she might never be granted equal pay for equal work in that company... even though, ostensibly, everyone is very polite to her.
Post a Comment