Notice of Proposed Land Use Action

Sydney!

2009-04-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Just kidding, this posting isn't about Sydney at all, I just speculate that she checks the blog on a semi-regular basis, so it would be nice to give a little shout out to her and her blog here.

Also, here is a great article about a new book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which, perhaps oddly, seems relevant given our (your) recent writings in response to Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine.

Also, if you've made it this far in reading this post, then by all means, please scroll down and complete the library survey four posts back. Thanks.

Final project

2009-04-13T14:31:00.000-07:00

Due next week, April 20:
A summative, reflective piece (5-6 pages or more, as needed*) that describes and explains how you researched, conceived, designed, implemented, and responded to the project you present(ed) to the class. Again, consider all of the writings we've done this semester as feeding into this piece. How have the different parts helped you arrive at a certain point in your work? What works have you cited? How was this a *research* project for you? Was it successful, and what's next? How did the other class members respond to your work? Does this project and approach correspond to the ways that you approach your other classes and disciplines? How is writing a mirror to your practice?

Also due April 20
Bibliography:
Including everything, everything, everything you've researched this semester, whether directly cited in your pieces or not. All of it. The bibliography is a road map to/through your work.

*The document length here is a guideline only. As we've discussed, depending on the format you choose (perhaps this is a play, a score, some sort of hybrid writing--) this may be substantially longer. It should include a cohesive argument, description, and explanation of your project and how the work developed.

Project Schedule

2009-04-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

Here's the presentation schedule for this week:

Wednesday, April 15, meeting in the Faculty/Staff Lounge, MCC

Sasha

Camryn

Sydney

Travis

Lisa

Kelton (we're looking at Kelton's project on site, so depending we may look at his work first or last)

Friday, April 17, meeting at Faculty/Staff Lounge MCC, then shuttle to Kerry

Abbie

Angel

Keenan

Stella

Ian

Ross

Sam

To be scheduled:

Carla

Jessie

Brendon

Brian

Zoe

If you have not scheduled a time to present your project, please email me with your preference no later than tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14. I will update this list as soon as possible.

All writings due Monday, April 20.

Survey Says

2009-04-12T12:24:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone,

Here is a link to a quick (but important) survey that the Cornish Library designed to help them better design their orientation for next year's Integrated Studies.

At your earliest convenience, would you please fill out the survey (it's all online) and confirm with me when you've completed it?

Thanks.

Death and Life

2009-04-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hi, just checking in. Tomorrow we'll be focusing on the reading from Jane Jacobs and looking at proposals for your site-based projects, talking about a timeline for production (and required elements), and delving further into what you should be compiling for a list of works cited. See you all tomorrow. Weather journal? It's like 60 today!

Wednesday, March 25

2009-03-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

We're meeting tomorrow at Kerry Hall for a walk down to The Egan House. Information on the location (and image) courtesy Historic Seattle here.

Week of March 23rd

2009-03-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

Mon, 3/23:

DUE: Writing on your tour. Over the weekend you were encouraged to take someone on a tour of your chosen site. The intention here is two-fold: first, to think of this writing as a revision based on experiential research in the field, where you are designing your writing in conversation with other people (collaborators?). Second, to see the tour as an opening version into a project about/on the site. Like the Reverse Charrette project that came before it, and the charrette project that preceded that, the last few weeks of this course will be in development of a project that you make, built around your experiences with your location. It doesn't have to be a historical account of the site, but hopefully it will unfold the place and it's forgotten or overlooked aspects.

In-class: Discussion on Dark Days and Peter Marin's Helping and Hating the Homeless.

Wed, 3/25: Tour Egan House with Stella, TBA

Fri, 3/27: Seattle Central Library, Database training and history, TBA

Tomten album released

2009-03-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

We're listening to the new Tomten album right now, and it's amazing. We're trying to place their sound and think it lies somewhere in the nether region between Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music, Peter Sarstedt, Waylon Jennings, Yoko Ono, Cornelius, and Beck (the Mutations era). Here is a link to their myspace page, and if you haven't seen the images of their performance in Room 303 last December, check them out here.

Post-Spring Break

2009-03-13T15:57:00.001-07:00

Hi,

Special thanks to everyone in Theatre who read for us today, you are all so awesome. Here's what I've got planned for this week:

Mon, 3/16: Welcome back! Discussion on the Weather Journal in progress.

We'll read Mallery Avidon's play in class, together. BRING YOUR COPY WITH YOU.

Wed, 3/18: Bibliography (for your Proposed Land Use Action site/research project) DRAFT due, with three examples of your Weather Journal as well. We'll be working with the weather journal entries deeply in class, exploring them, rewriting them, adding, subtracting, changing. Depending on time, I may also begin screening Dark Days. Reading assignment: William Whyte, Undesirables, Peter Marin, Helping and Hating the Homeless.

Fri, 3/20: Film: Dark Days, dir. Mark Singer, 2000. Following this (or maybe half of this, depending on time), you'll be breaking into groups of two or three and going to tour one of the Proposed Land Use Action sites you've identified. The tour (depending on your role, obviously) will be the subject of a short writing piece, due Monday. If you are leading the tour, you can revise your preliminary draft, adding to the experience, locating any difficulties with the experience, completely retooling as necessary. If you are being toured, you'll be recording the experience, trying to describe and explain what you saw and how you saw it.

Tacoma Underground

2009-03-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

In the wake of our recent Seattle Underground Tour, it seems prescient to note that The Weekly Volcano just wrote their cover story on the possible routes through/under Tacoma. Shanghai? Speakeasy? Drugs? Heating? Students? You name it, it's probably somewhere under The City of Destiny.

The article is here

Rainier Square

2009-02-19T08:25:00.001-08:00

images courtesy Lead Pencil Studio and Lawrimore Project

RETAIL/COMMERCIAL

LEAD PENCIL STUDIO

February 6th through March 14th, 2009

Rainier Square Shopping Center

411 Union Street (Between 4th and 5th)

Seattle, Washington

Hours: Fridays/Saturdays 1-6pm

Project Summary: Retail/Commercial is a site specific installation that responds directly to a 4,300 SF former Italian men’s clothing retailer. The site was selected for its proximity to the thriving and continually regenerating retail core of the city and for its adjacency to the exclusive shopping boutiques surrounding the store. Within this retail environment, there is nothing for sale. Instead, the artists present only the armatures used for the sale of goods and the interior surfaces that contain them.

The project deploys the sectioned spatial configurations of three retail environments overlapping within the shell of an existing musty fourth. With the exception of some new material for the shell re-configuration, the primary material for the exhibition was sourced from neighborhood dumpsters and “going out of business” liquidation sales that occurred during January 2009, most within a two blocks of the site.

The artists are principally interested in the architectural section as a full scale method for analysis and as a means to quarantine individual spatial environments. Other interests in evidence include a pursuance of color across space, architectural phase changes, incongruous formal collisions, observations on the disquiet of architectural influence and emptiness or the lack thereof.

This project was made possible by the generous support of UNICO Properties, The Mayor’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, King County 4 Culture, Creative Capital and Artist Trust.

Here is a link to Jen Graves' article on the Slog, describing the project and the really strange opening night.

Also, here is a link to a podcast interview that the artists did with The Stranger in 2006, after being award their Genius Award.

Where Is My Proposed Land Use Action Site?

2009-02-11T22:38:00.000-08:00

Please post your answers as comments to this post.

Image courtesy vintageseattle.org

Discussing The Mezzanine

2009-02-10T09:48:00.000-08:00

Here's the questions we generated during yesterday's class, to give us some starting points when discussing The Mezzanine. As you're reading, let me know if there are additions (or subtractions) to this group? Do some chapters suggest only one approach for us in our discussions?

How is time explored in the book? Is the narrator recognizing a generation gap; is he aware of a "timelessness" to the objects and experiences, and how does he experience their disappearance? Are these anachronisms?

How is regionalism addressed? Is the book written in a dialect or with a certain inflection? Are there scenarios that only happen in certain areas of the country?

How difficult is the reading, and does the (your) level of engagement change throughout your reading of the text?

How transparent are the author's intentions? Where is he going with this?

How is The Mezzanine informing your own research and writing practices?

How are the experiences derived from childhood? Does he suggest that the past is better?

What were his major advances (into adulthood), and what are your major advances? Are they mirroring one another or separating?

When does the writing occur? Is this memoir or fiction? How is trust built with a narrator?

Here is an interview with Baker that addresses some of the topics we described.

Art, Theatre, Design, Rusty Trombone?

2009-02-05T17:41:00.000-08:00

I LEGO N.Y.

2009-02-05T11:41:00.000-08:00

So this project, like everything else we do, can (and hopefully will) have a vital interdisciplinary part to it. Here is an example of work from Christoph Niemann.

Semester project

2009-02-03T11:29:00.000-08:00

As we’ve been discussing, and as Heather Sheppard outlined during her research presentation (using Ballard Denny’s as a model), all of the writings for the rest of the semester will be considered as ONE PIECE. While some weeks will be prompted, others will be self-directed. Formats and responses will be different—some weeks you’ll write poetry, essays, short stories, scripts, blocking notes, proposals, forms, drafts, and notes. All of these writings (along with your notes from class and observations from the field) will be submitted periodically throughout the semester (see below), along with a bibliography. The bibliography is a cognitive map of your investigations during this course. It will record the places you go, the books and articles you read, the images you see, interviews you conduct, tours you take, films you watch, music you hear, conversations you hold. The semester will see this writing project grow organically.

While the first three weeks have been focused on The Reverse Charrette Project, the next several weeks will be focusing on four discrete but potentially interconnected things: Nicholson Baker’s The Mezzanine, the homeless population that shares our city with us, the waste stream moving through Seattle, and your work identifying locations you’ve passed, been curious about, fear, love, hate, or know already. We’ll begin by casting a wide net, looking at several sites, getting a feel for what kind of writings will work, and then slowly focus, narrow down a group of sites that may have commonalities, significant differences, or nothing in common at all.

To begin, we’ll look at your writings weekly (2-3 pages recommended per person, every week), in a series of peer-review sessions; sharing approaches, reading works for content and form. We’ll integrate textual analysis, research methodologies, and conceptual approaches to a potentially wide range of places around town.

Reverse Charrette Project

2009-01-22T09:57:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Google Maps for this image. This posting will be the repository for all the writing components and schedule for the Reverse Charrette Project. It repeats (and describes further) the Course Calendar, posted below.

STAKEOUT. Research the location for the Reverse Charrette Project and write a piece that includes factual information on the site that is acquired from a source that is not the internet. This information may come from the library, an interview with a resident or worker in the neighborhood, a walk with a friend, time spent at the location, or perhaps something entirely different. These writings will be the basis for our seminar next Wednesday, so they may be notes, poems, or an essay, but they should be in a format that can be shared with the group. As always, you are welcome to include any other materials you find pertinent (photos, video, webcam, audio samples), but the primary work will emerge and build off of your writings. DUE Wednesday, January 21.

BORDERLINE OR, WRITING AROUND THE BLOCK. Working with only found text appropriated from the one block radius (same side of the street) as the site at 2105 6th Avenue, create a written piece that gives a sense of the location, the neighborhood, and the experience of walking around with the group. DUE Monday, January 26.

REVERSE CHARETTE RESPONSE. Most of this description is co-opted from the previous charrette project, but this is done honestly, as I'd like to create a link to that process here. This piece is to be an essay responding to your experiences and the development of your REVERSE charrette project. This piece is designed to reflect on the last three weeks of the course, and describe/explain particular elements that have been significant in your work (in IS) during this time. As we've discussed in class, the curriculum has (obviously) been very layered with readings, videos, audio works, your writings, field work, seminars, and group/collective project work all sharing the same place. We've ventured out into the surrounding neighborhoods, empty lots, donut shops, stone

You've worked in groups together, exploring the layers of your own discipline and a new, perhaps foreign, way of responding to the environment. What drives you, and how is that drive perhaps encapsulated or exhibited in the project you've made? Are there things that you learned through the process that you feel are vital to share with an audience, or things that may just need to be written to clarify them? How have you seen these disparate sources link together in your writing? In your project? Are there things that really worked in the group project? Was your voice heard? How did the project develop with you or around you? What role did you find yourself taking in the process, and is this a role you've previously had in other projects? Part of the ensemble? Composer? Author? In building a document of this nature, I would encourage you to look back at the readings we've done and the writings you've done (your notes, your descriptions, your research), looking for patterns and (MLA-style) possible citations or quotes. Did certain authors articulate thoughts on a particular aspect of this program for you?

In considering the length of this document, I'm not going to offer a *word count* as a guide, but my suggestion is that it is a length (maybe 4 pages or more, or more) that allows you some space to substantially discuss everything that went into this project for you. DUE Monday, February 2.

WEATHER JOURNAL. Everyday. Due Monday, February 2.

Reverse Charrette Calendar Dates to Remember:

PRESENTATIONS IN-CLASS ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 30!

Snack Day Friday Returns

2009-01-15T09:35:00.001-08:00

Here's the tentative schedule. And remember, like last semester, it's not a meal, it's a snack.

1/16: Me

1/23: Paramount Tour 2pm

1/30: Travis

2/6: Abbie, Jessica

2/13: Keenan

2/20:

2/27:

3/6: Camryn

3/13: Spring Break

3/20: Sydney

3/27: Sasha, Angel

4/3:

4/10: Blake, Lisa

4/17: Zoe, Stella

4/24: Ross

5/1: Last class!

Proposed Land Use Action Calendar

2009-01-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

Week 1

Mon, 1/12: Introduction, syllabus overview

Wed, 1/14: SEMINAR--Course reader re-cap: Steve Featherstone, Alain de Botton, Alfred Kazin, JB Jackson, Nicholson Baker, Susan Mitchell. Reading assignment: Andy Warhol, "Atmosphere".

REVERSE CHARRETTE: Taking our cues from Sydney and the charrette project we did last semester, we will again be working in team-based situations. However, like a really good reality tv show, there is a new twist: You will be again be working with a group in your discipline, BUT you will be using the tools and methods of ANOTHER discipline to execute your project. For instance, if we take a group of dancers, lead them to a site and ask them to do a visual art project with the material, what will the results be?

Fri, 1/16: SEMINAR-- Andy Warhol, "Atmosphere".

Reverse charrette, group work. Return portfolios from Fall semester.

Writing project DUE Wednesday, 1/21: STAKEOUT. Research the location for the Reverse Charrette Project and write a piece that includes factual information on the site that is acquired from a source that is not the internet. This information may come from the library, an interview with a resident or worker in the neighborhood, a walk with a friend, time spent at the location, or perhaps something entirely different. These writings will be the basis for our seminar next Wednesday, so they may be notes, poems, or an essay, but they should be in a format that can be shared with the group. As always, you are welcome to include any other materials you find pertinent (photos, video, webcam, audio samples), but the primary work will emerge and build off of your writings.

Week 2

Mon, 1/19: NO CLASS, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY

Wed, 1/21: Writing project DUE with Reverse Charrette casebook on Monday, 2/2: Borderline or, Writing Around the Block. Working with only found text, appropriated from a one block radius (same side of the street) as the site at 2105 6th Avenue, create a written piece that gives a sense of the location, the neighborhood, and the experience of walking around with the group. Reverse charrette group work and writing, discussion on site. Reading assignment: Handout.

Fri, 1/23 Tour Paramount Theatre, 2 pm.

Week 3

Mon, 1/26: Reverse charrette team-based work.

Wed, 1/28: Visiting lecturer Heather Shepherd, Cornish Librarian.

Reading assignment: Rem Koolhaas/OMA Process Book. See link at right.

Fri, 1/30: Reverse Charrette Presentations in class.

Week 4

Mon, 2/2: Film: The Cruise. Reverse Charette casebook DUE.

Writing assignment: Choose two locations in the city--PROPOSED LAND USE ACTIONS--and write brief descriptions of each site, describing and explaining how and when you located them. Due Friday, February 6. Reading assignment: Nicholson Baker, The Mezzanine, ch. 1-3.

Wed, 2/4: SEMINAR on The Cruise, "Mystery on Pearl Street", The Mezzanine. What are the connections between the three pieces, and how are they different/distinct? Reading assignment: The Mezzanine, ch. 4-5.

Fri, 2/6: Seattle Central Library TBA. Library card required, see link at right.

Week 5

Mon, 2/9: SEMINAR on The Mezzanine. Writing in response to the text, in response to one of the sites you've located, linking the two together.

Wed, 2/11: SEMINAR on The Mezzanine, continued

Fri, 2/13: Film: Streetwise. In-class writing:

Week 6

Mon, 2/16: NO CLASS, PRESIDENT'S DAY

Wed, 2/18: SEMINAR on The Mezzanine, ch. 6-8, finish reading text for Monday

Writing due: Descirbe your chosen Proposed Land Use Action site in the style of Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine.

Fri, 2/20: Tour Moore Theatre 2pm, Lead Pencil Studio at 5th & Union TBA

Week 7

Mon, 2/23: Reading assignment: Real Change

Wed, 2/25: SEMINAR on Real Change

Films: The Hidden Life of Garbage, Fresh Kill

Fri, 2/27: Pioneer Square, writing in-class

Week 8

Mon, 3/2, Individual meetings, see list

Wed, 3/4, Individual meetings, see list

Fri, 3/6, Seattle Underground Tour, 2 pm

Pick-up Course Reader for 3/16

Week 9

NO CLASS, SPRING BREAK

Week 10

Mon, 3/16: BRING COURSE READER TO CLASS.

Wed, 3/18:

Fri, 3/20: Film: Dark Days. MOHAI TBA This is a placeholder

Week 11

Mon, 3/23: Writing due

Wed, 3/25:

Fri, 3/27: Seattle Central Library TBA This is a placeholder

Week 12

Mon, 3/30: Writing due

Wed, 4/1:

Fri, 4/3: Meeting at Seattle Central Library TBA

Week 13

Mon, 4/6: Class discussion

Wed, 4/8: Class discussion on Jane Jacobs

Fri, 4/10: Films: Christo in Paris, Islands

Week 14

Mon, 4/13: sick day, no class

Wed, 4/15: Project presentation TBA

Fri, 4/17: Project presentation TBA

Week 15

Mon, 4/20: Film TBA. Portfolios DUE.

Wed, 4/22: Presentations in class

Fri, 4/24: Field work TBA

Week 16

Mon, 4/27: Focus group meeting, see list

Wed, 4/29: Focus group meeting, see list

Fri, 5/1: Cluster meeting at Cascade People's Center TBA. See list

Weather

2009-01-07T13:31:00.001-08:00

For every day of the Spring Semester, write a description of the weather in Seattle.

Blues Scholars

2008-12-18T09:29:00.001-08:00

Their Joe Metro video is here

Locusts

2008-12-18T09:26:00.000-08:00

Tomten performance, December 12, 2008

2008-12-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

Final Portfolio

2008-11-28T11:42:00.000-08:00

Writing has been the primary means of presenting your research this semester, and the portfolio is an opportunity for us to see your production assembled, providing us a shared space to look for patterns in your work, and assess your writing at this time. It is a chance for you to consider your writing as an integral part of your discipline, of your practice, of your output, and of your work.Integrated Studies is a writing-based course, developed to support you as an artist who writes.

During the semester you have been investigating sites ranging from physical locations (parks, offices, libraries, schools, a bus tunnel, and City Hall) to more conceptual spaces (Calvino’s text “Invisble Cities” and your own proposed charrette spaces). For the final writing exploration of this semester, you’ll be investigating your own body of writings as sites of inquiry.

By the time the portfolio is submitted, you will have had exposure to a broad range of writing opportunities (journal sketches, revised drafts, self-reflective essays, proposal/charrette briefs, presentations, revisions, synthesis of resources, and blog entries, among others). Is your writing moving in directions that are helpful to you as an artist? In what ways can you improve upon this process?

For your portfolio (and this list in consistent within all the Integrated Studies courses), please include the following elements:

1. A compilation/portfolio of all your writings from the semester-- this should include EVERYTHING* you have written (a chronological list of your submitted works is included at the bottom of this page, but this packet may also include any notes, research, or mix tapes you have found relevant in your process). All works (wherever possible) should be three-hole punched and submitted in a three-ring binder, labeled with your name and the course title.

2. From these works, you will select and foreground three (3) pieces of your writing from this semester which will be the basis of a self-reflective writing introducing the portfolio (see #3 below). These three papers should be clearly separated from the other works in your binder. They may be any three pieces you’ve written--they could be three distinct works, multiple revisions of a single work, or a combination of these things. They may be notes, papers we've already discussed, or something new that you've been developing.

3. An introduction/self-reflective piece introducing your portfolio. For length, consider a significant writing (100o words is a nice start, right?), although you may want to explore this writing; I'll read as much as you write (it takes me awhile, but yes, really), and it's a great opportunity to really unpack your work this semester and take some time with your output. What worked? What sucked? Ideally, this paper will include your responses to both the coursework and your own writings. What role does writing fulfill in your artistic practice? How are you taking steps to develop your work? What direction would you like the writing aspect of the course take in the future? Are you seeing your writing process grow? What are your hopes for writing in the coming semester, or coming years at Cornish?

In this self-reflective, introductory (to the portfolio) writing please also describe your process of selecting three pieces from the semester. Why are they vital to you now? What links the works together? Is your process of research the same from one piece to the next? Are there common elements in the writings? How are these writings exemplary of your progress this semester?

4. Works Cited. In only a few of our writing projects have you been asked to synthesize resources from outside of the course readings, but we're moving towards a more research-based process in the coming semester, this seems like a great opportunity to get the ball rolling, and confirm we all adopt the same protocol. As listed previously, Cornish Library links to numerous citation guides here

All works for this writing portfolio are Due Monday, December 8, 2008.

Everything* should include--if you choose-- a fair selection of your notes or preliminary writings. You don't need to extract or copy all of the pages from your journal, but if there are specific writings or notes or diagrams you've taken that have helped you go to someplace new in your writing, then yes, by all means, include them here.

Here are embedded descriptions of three of the more developed writings that should be not only included in your portfolio, but also function as landmarks. These are pieces that we've spent more time working with, in both peer review as well as framing, through field work, conversation, and associated readings:

Charrette

Invisible Cities

Writing about parks

Columbia Center

2008-11-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

Here is a page of fun facts on Columbia Center

For our visit to the building, I asked everyone to consider the pace of business. How quickly are people moving through the building? Where do they congregate? What paths do they form, and how do they navigate?

Writing about Parks

2008-11-15T10:15:00.000-08:00

DUE Friday, November 21, 2008

We've visited numerous parks: Freeway Park, Volunteer Park, Westlake Center Park, Seattle Times Park, Cascade Neighborhood Park, and (soon) Denny Park.

Synthesizing your readings on parks (including Calvino, deBotton, and others), William Whyte's research models in The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, our collaborative work with Erica Howard's class, and our own navigation through those diverse spaces, how can a writing tie together you diverse experiences in these locations? Do the parks all share common attributes? How are the bordered by and linked to their surroundings?

Do parks offer a comfort and diversion from the pressures of the city, or are they something else entirely?

In a significant writing (let's say maybe 1000 words or so), describe and explain what our explorations through the green spaces of Seattle have made you consider about the changing roles of parks in our city. Are they being used in the ways that you expected? Do they remind you of other similar spaces you have explored on your own; a park where you grew up? Which communities are activating (enacting) these sites? What draws us to a park?

In this writing (like much of the work we've done), don't feel compelled to write an essay. Rather, consider this as a platform or question in terms of the form of the writing. Do you write about all parks the same way, or does each park offer it's own voice? We've explored these disparate spaces by different prompts-- overheard conversations, found writing, lists of resources. Is there a hybrid of writings that you can assemble to give a rich portrait of our parks?

In line with this, please include a list of Works Cited, identifying any quotes or citations that you reference in your work. For assistance with formatting, please see the Cornish Library website here

I want to go here at Volunteer Park

2008-11-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

Information on the park is here
And the Olmstead plan (thanks to History Link) is here
Please place your suggestions for the park as comments on this posting, and see you all Friday!

Image courtesy Friends of Olmstead Parks

2008-10-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, we'll catch the 2:30 boat from Pier 55 and return on either the 3:00 or 3:40 from Seacrest Park. The whole travel schedule and info (on rates and such) is here
Go Water Taxi!

Invisible Cities

2008-10-26T14:09:00.001-07:00

Due Wednesday, October 29, 2008
For the writing, please consider and respond to the following:

Working from both the reading and your memories, describe at least three of the cities Marco Polo discusses with Khan, and compare to cities that you know, have visited, read about, or feel an affinity towards. What unites these disparate places? What differences do they exhibit? Who populates them? How do you navigate them? What is their character, and how does your writing reflect that character? Do you need to use different types of writing to give the sense of each different place? Is one city defined through poetry while another needs to be interviewed? When do you gain familiarity with a city? Can you trust a city?

Freeway Park

2008-10-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Erica Howard for these links to info about Freeway Park

The Cultural Landscape Foundation has a concise description of the project here

image courtesy Ryan Forsythe, image description on Wikipedia here

Mid-term conferences

2008-10-14T10:54:00.001-07:00

By consensus, here's the schedule for the conferences next week, both Monday and Wednesday during class time (beginning both days at approximately 4:30). You only need to be present for your individual conference. For this week, you will be working independently on your writing on Invisible Cities (and your Invisible Cities), more information is here

Monday meetings at Kerry Hall (we'll meet in the lobby, or most likely at Joe Bar)
Ian
Carla
Stella
Brian
Zoe
Angel
Brendon
Kelton
Camryn
Abbie

Wednesday meetings at MCC, 7th Floor, Faculty/Staff Lounge
Lisa
Jessie
Sam
Sasha
Sydney
Travis
Eunyi
Keenan
Ross
Blake

Soundtransit Art

2008-10-13T16:00:00.001-07:00

here

Some project images

2008-10-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

Street Text

2008-10-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

Here's the post that I'd like you to comment on with the writing that you read in class yesterday.

SHARING=CARING

2008-09-30T12:54:00.000-07:00

Who's bringing food to share with the class? Remember, it's not a meal, but something small, inexpensive, and shareable!

Every Friday:
10/3: Jessica, Travis, Marc

10/10: Sasha, Angel, Sam

10/17: No Food! Cornish Library Orientation 2:30- 4:00

10/24: Carla, Stella, Zoe

10/31: No Food! Water Taxi!

11/7: Ross, Ian, Brendon

11/14: Sydney, Blake, Brian

11/21: Camryn, Kelton, (Eunyi, Lisa TBA)

11/28: No food! Thanksgiving!

12/5: Carla, Stella, Jessica

12/12: Blake, Marc

Food Pyramid provided for the public domain by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) 2005. The image and text has not been modified from its original form.

Janet Cardiff

2008-09-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Here is the link to Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller's website which has audio samples from many of their walks. Cornish also has two books with companion audio in their collection (link to the library is on the right-hand side of your screen).

Charrette timeline

2008-09-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

Many of the activities below reitterate the course calendar, but my intention here is to couch them within the framework of the CHARRETTE

PROJECT 1: CHARRETTE CASEBOOK

Your first major project for our class is a “charrette,” a term that comes from the disciplines of design and architecture. A charrette is “a period of intense (group) work, typically undertaken in order to meet a deadline. Also: a collaborative workshop focusing on a particular problem or project; a public meeting or conference devoted to discussion of a proposed community building project” (Oxford English Dictionary). The term comes from a customary practice of French architecture students, who would use a small cart to carry their models and plans on the day of an exhibition; the word “charrette” literally means “handcart” in French.

So what do handcarts have to do with cities, interdisciplinarity, practices and collaboration? We’ll be adopting the charrette paradigm for an interdisciplinary and collaborative group project in which you identify, analyze and resolve a problem or gap within a specific urban community: the Cornish community.

Our process over the next few weeks will involve several stages and the practices of different disciplines to help you identify, analyze and resolve the problem or gap your group wants to work on. The project will culminate in two final products: a group presentation of your design and a “casebook” that you put together on your own, which will include materials you created along the way and a short reflective piece of writing on your experience.

The gap (or problem) we are attempting to expose is this:

Where and how do you see opportunities for practitioners of your discipline (or, really, you) to work between the Main Campus Center and Kerry Hall? How and where does your studio practice potentially unite the Cornish communities with the greater Seattle community?
Is this a project that could happen in multiple places, at multiple times? Are you working on it when you ride the shuttle to class? Have you ever been to Kerry Hall?

For this project you will be producing two key elements. The first is a casebook, or portfolio; a collection of all your writings, maps, and notes on this project. This may also include any research you are doing along the way. Many of the elements included in the casebook will be group authored--we'll write them together in class (similar to the disciplinary "maps" you've made and presented to the group. In line with this, you will also be composing a summative writing or response to the entire process, describing what you did, how the work developed, and what the experience meant to you. More information on all of the elements to be included in the casebook will be provided in class.

The second element is the project itself. Rather than say this is a presentation, it may be helpful to think of it instead as a performance, or installation, utilizing the methods and tools of your discipline. For example, it minght be that a musician in the class may choose to design a performance to take place somewhere along the route from MCC to Kerry Hall. Perhaps the music they play references the history of the area, or their feelings about a certain space.

This project is designed to be temporary and non-invasive. No illegal activites will be considered or discussed in this framework. As much as we are examining the boundaries of our neighborhoods and communities, my expectation is that you will also examine the boundaries of the law.

Here's how we start:

Wednesday 9/10
We'll do a mini-mapping project, taking a block (Lenora-Boren-Terry) around Cornish and describing (in writing, maps, photographs, drawings) everything we can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste there (okay, not everything, but you get the idea). Time permitting, we'll look at the results at the end of class, or more likely at the beginning of class on Friday.

Friday 9/12
We will meet in the Faculty/Staff Lounge and, using the same tactics as Wednesday, you'll explore/chart/find routes between the main campus and Kerry Hall, describing and mapping the area you traverse. How do you get from one place to another and what dictates that pathway? What factors help you choose your route?
DUE MONDAY:
1. Transcribe (type) and print your observations/drawings/notes from your field work on Wednesday and today.
2. Make a map of your route and copy for everyone in the group. Map should include street names, clearly depict he route you followed, and note both landmarks in the areas (neighborhoods) as well as indicate potential sites for your group project(s).
3. Read articles from Twyla Tharp, Ed Ruscha, and John Cage for discussion on Monday.

Mon 9/15
Discussion on Tharp, Ruscha, Cage.
Reading for Wed: James Rojas, Jess Mowry

Wed 9/17
Discussion on Rojas, Mowry
Reading for Fri: Klosterman

Fri 9/19
Discussion on Mowry, Klosterman, Rojas
Writing Center orientation 2:15- 3:00 pm
Film: The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces
Reading for Monday: Calvino, Marcovaldo
WRITING DUE NEXT WEDNESDAY: Two elements, as follows (approximately 3 pages or more):
First, an outline of the project and your contributions, including a daily timetable between now and the presentations, scheduled to begin on Friday, October 3. In this outline, please also describe the relationship of your project to the readings we have done in the course, and how they may (potentially) overlap one another. Are there spaces that Rojas describes that you find yourself gravitating towards? Does the way that Robby negotiates his environment in "Rats in the Trees" offer ways of understanding how you move through a park, or bus stop?

Second, a rough draft (or preliminary version) of your project, identifying the components-- what you will be doing or making as an artistic response. This may include any number of things, such as blocking diagrams (for movement pieces), short scripts or character sketches for performances, layouts/comps for posters, stencils for chalk designs, etc. Remember, this project is-- in part-- being designed to introduce you as members of the Cornish community to other members of the community (including Cornish). Beginning next Friday, we will share these with the class.

Week 4
Mon 9/22
Field work in groups, locations to be discussed prior to class

Wed 9/24
Field work as group. MEET AT KERRY HALL.
Writing project: Kerry Hall sound/music map-- listing spaces, the music or sounds that they conjure, and brief descriptions of how the spaces & sounds go together. Please consider this as a draft, a document we will build and change throughout the next couple of weeks. Some of the ways that students have handled this prompt in a past class are archived here

Fri 9/26
Discussion on Kerry Hall music, look at different strategies for navigating the building and music

Discussion on excerpts from Italo Calvino's Marcovaldo

WRITING DUE NEXT MONDAY: Describe (using citations or quotes) an instance in Calvino's story where Marcovaldo regards the city in an unexpected way and explain a situation where you may have had a similar experience. When has the city surprised you? What, if any, ways can you integrate these *surprises* of the city in the charrette project you are designing?

Week 5
Mon 9/29
Discussion on Calvino & Lars Eighner
Reading: Center for Land Use Interpretation/ Wendover, Denis Wood
Field work, location TBA
Writing DUE Wednesday: Assemble a writing (to be read in class on Wednesday) that consists ONLY of written text found during our class walk. As we designed the rules in conversation, some of the things to keep in mind: found words may be used multiple times in your work, but cannot be pieced apart to make new words.

Wed 9/30
Field work, location TBA. Class reading found works (as above), and group work

Fri 10/3
Class meeting looking at draft versions of charrette projects IN PROGRESS

Week 6
Mon 10/6
Student Affairs Presentation

Wed 10/8
Presentations, as needed TBA. You'll present your proposal or project or work in progress or piece to the class. This will most likely take a couple of days, and span the distance between/across the campuses, so prior to this day, we'll design a schedule of events/presentations to help you plan.

Fri 10/10
Presentations this day

Writing DUE Wednesday, 10/15: An essay responding to your experiences and the development of your charrette project. This piece is designed to reflect on the last six weeks of the course, and describe/explain particular elements that have been significant in your work (in IS) during this time. As we've discussed in class, the curriculum has (obviously) been very layered with readings, videos, audio works, your writings, field work, seminars, and group/collective project work all sharing the same place.

We've met with representatives from across Cornish, including the Writing Center, Student Affairs, Marketing (Meike Kaan, for those of you in Design), and others during this time. We've ventured out into the surrounding neighborhoods. We've walked up Capitol Hill. We've ridden (commandeered?) the Shuttle. We've read (together, sometimes out loud) fiction, poetry (in two languages), essays, maps, and the landscape (including moving buses).

You've worked in groups together, exploring the layers of your own discipline. What drives you, and how is that drive perhaps encapsulated or exhibited in the charrette project you've made? Are there things that you learned through the process that you feel are vital to share with an audience, or things that may just need to be written to clarify them?

How have you seen these disparate sources link together in your writing? In your project? Are there things that really worked in the group project? Was your voice heard? How did the project develop with you or around you? What role did you find yourself taking in the process, and is this a role you've previously had in other projects? Part of the ensemble? Composer? Author?

In building a document of this nature, I would encourage you to look back at the readings we've done and the writings you've done (your essays, your descriptions, your notes), looking for patterns and (MLA-style) possible citations or quotes. Did certain authors articulate thoughts on a particular aspect of this program for you?

In considering the length of this document, I'm not going to offer a *word count* as a guide, but my suggestion is that it is a length (maybe 4 pages or more, or more) that allows you some space to substantially discuss everything that went into this project for you.

Week 7
Mon 10/13
MEET AT Kerry 218
Debriefing/ discussion on charrette, writing project: describe and respond to Soundtransit projects on Broadway
Reading assignment: Calvino, Invisible Cities chapters 1, 2-- pp. 1-39

Wed 10/15
Begin discussion on Invisible Cities, chapter---

Fri 10/17 Cornish Library orientation 2:30- 4:00 pm

Course readings Fall 2008

2008-08-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

Charrette reader in three sections:

1: Collaboration, Introducing Interdisciplinary Studies, The Role of the Journal, Artist as Writer

*Kushner, Tony. "Is it a Fiction that Playwrights Create Alone?". Barron, Frank, et al., eds. Creators on Creating: Awakening and Cultivating the Imaginative Mind. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 1997.

*Warhol, Andy. "Work". The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again). New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1975.

*Teague, Deborah. "Making Meaning--Your Own Meaning--When You Read". Bishop, Wendy, ed. The Subject is Reading. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 2000.

*Tharp, Twyla. "I Walk into a White Room". The Creative Habit. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.
*play video of Tharp dance, from Cornish Library

*Ruscha, Ed. Excerpts from Leave Any Information at the Signal: Writings, Interviews, Bits, Pages. Schwartz, Alexandra, ed. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2002. pp. 384-429 (selection).

*put Ruscha books on reserve in Cornish Library

*Cage, John. "Composition as Process". Silence (Lectures and Writings by John Cage). Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
*Audio of Cage composition, on reserve in Cornish Library

[Tharp, Richter, Ruscha, and Cage as one reading project]

2. Boundaries and Intersections in the City: Seeing Green, Seeing Grey

*Robert Smithson image, see above
Floating Island To Travel Around Manhattan Island
Link to articles and images (on blog only) showing the realized project in 2005

*Calvino, Italo. Excerpts from Marcovaldo: or The Seasons in the City. New York: Harvest Books, 1983.

*Mowry, Jess. "One Way". Rats in the Trees. New York: Penguin Books, 1990.

*Rojas, James. "The Enacted Environment". Groth, Paul and Chris Wilson, eds. Everyday America: Cultural Landscape Studies after J.B. Jackson. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 2003.

*Klosterman, Chuck. "The Ice Planet Goth". Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas. New York: Scribner, 2007.

[pair Mowry, Rojas, and Klosterman together as one reading project]

3. Mapping your environment

*Kaiser, Ward L., and Denis Wood. Excerpts from Seeing Through Maps (The Power of Images to Shape Our World View). Amherst, MA: ODT, Inc.

*Harvey, P.D.A. From "The Map and Its History". Mappa Mundi: The Hereford World Map. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1996.

*Lister, Raymond. Selected figures from Antique Maps and Their Cartographers. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1970.

*Buisseret, David. Selected figures from The Mapmaker's Quest: Depicting New Worlds in Renaissance Europe. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2003.

*Wood, Denis. "Two Maps of Boylan Heights". Harmon, Katherine, ed. You Are Here (Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination). New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2004.

*Davis, Katie. "Memory Maps". Harmon, Katherine, ed. You Are Here (Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination). New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2004.

*Turchi, Peter. Excerpts from Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer. San Antonio: Trinity Univ. Press, 2004.

*Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird (Some Instructions on Writing and Life). New York: Anchor Books, 1994.

*Iyer, Pico. "In Praise of the Humble Comma". Bishop, Wendy, ed. On Writing: A Process Reader. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.

*****
Post-charette

Naming the City, Remembering the City, Opening the City

*Calvino, Italo. Invisible Cities. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974.

Orientation, or Moving through Rooms, Neighborhoods, Buildings, and Parks
*Calvino, Italo. "Park-bench vacation", from Marcovaldo: or The Seasons in the City. New York: Harvest Books, 1983.

*Featherstone, Steve. "Heads Up: Military Graffiti in Kuwait and Afghanistan". A Public Space. Brooklyn: A Public Space Literary Projects, Inc., Issue 5, December 2007. pp. 140-155.

*De Botton, Alain. Excerpts from The Architecture of Happiness. New York: Pantheon Books, 2006.

*Kazin, Alfred. Excerpt from A Walker in the City. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1979.

*Lewis, Pierce. "The Monument and the Bungalow". Wilson, Groth, Paul and Chris Wilson, eds. Everyday America: Cultural Landscape Studies after J.B. Jackson. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 2003.

*Jackson, J.B. "The Past and Future Park". A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.

Working in the City or, The Language of the Office: Office Culture, Office Spaces, Office Writing

*Baker, Nicholson. Excerpt from The Mezzanine. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1990.

*Koolhaas, Rem. "Generica". Mutations. Bordeaux: ACTAR, 2001.

*Mozingo, Louise A. "Campus, Estate, Park: Lawn Culture Comes to the Corporation". Wilson, Groth, Paul and Chris Wilson, eds. Everyday America: Cultural Landscape Studies after J.B. Jackson. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 2003.

Building through Seattle: Scaffolding, Containers, Atmosphere(s), Disorientation, Development and Loss

*Walker, Lester. American Shelter: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Home. Woodstock: The Overlook Press, 1981.

*Buren, Daniel. "The Function of the Studio". Ulrich-Obrist, Hans and Barbara Vanderlinden, eds. Laboratorium. Antwerpen: Dumont, Promotie Antwerpen Open, 2001.

*Warhol , Andy. "Atmosphere". The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again). New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1975.

*Mitchell, Susan. "Notes Toward a History of Scaffolding". D'Agata, John, ed. The Next American Essay. St. Paul: Graywolf Press, 2002.

*Ponge, Francis. Excerpts from Selected Poems. Winston-Salem: Wake Forest University Press, 1994.

*Dillard, Annie. Excerpt from The Living. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. pp. 156-167.

*Morgan, Murray. INSERT READING HERE from Tacoma Public Library Murray Morgan essay collection here

*Offenbacher, Matthew, et al., eds. La Especial Norte (zine). 2008.

Calendar Fall 2008

2008-08-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

Week 1
Wed, 9/3: Introductions, syllabus reading.

Fri, 9/5:
Writing workshop. Collaborative project by discipline, mapping your discipline.
Readings: Warhol and Kushner pieces for discussion Monday, 9/8.

Week 2
Mon, 9/8: Discussion on disciplinary approaches to process/product, notetaking (see Warhol, Kushner). Cluster Course reader should be purchased from Perfect Copy and brought to class on Friday, 9/12.

Wed, 9/10: Discussion on studio practice, rehearsal. Introduce charrette, design teams (3-4 people, cross-disciplinary). Field work: Survey the block around Cornish, noting the community--who uses these spaces--and what are possible sites for interventions/insertions? How can artists use this space? Readings: Ruscha, Tharp, Cage for Monday. Bring examples of your journals.

Fri, 9/12: Charrette work-- choose route from MCC to Kerry and chart route (more on this in class).

Week 3
Mon, 9/15
Discussion on field work, Cage, Tharp, Ruscha readings. Play Cage audio in class.
Reading assignment in-class: Deborah Teague, “Making meaning as you read”.
Reading assignment for Wednesday: Jess Mowry, “One Way” from Rats in the Trees, James Rojas, "The Enacted Environment"

Wed, 9/17:
Writing workshop, responding to Rats in the Trees, The Enacted Environment. Reading assignment for Friday: Chuck Klosterman, "Something Wicked This Way Comes".

Fri, 9/19: Charette work,
Writing Center orientation 2:15- 3:00 pm.

Week 4
Mon, 9/22- Fri, 9/26
See Charette post

Week 5
Mon 9/29- Fri, 10/3
See Charette post

Week 6
Mon, 10/6
Student Affairs Orientation
Charrette Casebook due. See Charette post for details.

Wed 10/8
See Charette post for details

Fri 10/10
See Charette post for details.

Week 7
Mon, 10/13:
CLASS MEETING AT KERRY 218, Discussion on charrette projects, viewing/writing descriptions on Soundtransit installations on Broadway
Schedule Mid-term conferences, to take place during Week 8
Course evaluation for mid-term discussion during the next week
schedule reading timeline for Calvino's Invisible Cities,

Purchase Invisible Cities, as we will be utilizing this as our primary text for the next few weeks, followed by a course reader for the last few weeks of the course.
Excerpts from the book (think of this as a trailer) are here

Wed, 10/15
Discuss readings on maps, from Course Reader. Audio samples from Brian Eno (Music for Airports), Jackass, William Wegman-- discuss role of the audience in site-based works

Fri, 10/17
Library Orientation 2:30- 4:00 pm, class meeting at Cornish Library

Week 8
As both Monday and Wednesday of this week will be spent in small group conferences, you will be doing much of the work outside of the classroom. Two components that you will be responsible for during this time include reading Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities and writing in response to the work. For the writing, please consider and respond to the following:

Working from both the reading and your memories, describe at least three of the cities Marco Polo discusses with Khan, and compare to cities that you know, have visited, read about, or feel an affinity towards. What unites these disparate places? What differences do they exhibit? Who populates them? How do you navigate them? What is their character, and how does your writing reflect that character? Do you need to use different types of writing to give the sense of each different place? Is one city defined through poetry while another needs to be interviewed? When do you gain familiarity with a city? Can you trust a city?

M 10/20
Writing on charrette DUE,
Reading assignment: Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
MID-TERM CONFERENCES AT KERRY HALL

W 10/22
Reading assignment: Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
MID-TERM CONFERENCES AT MCC, 7TH FLOOR, FACULTY/STAFF LOUNGE

F 10/24
Cluster meeting with Erica Howard, Freeway Park. Links to articles on Freeway Park here

Week 9
M 10/27
Discussion on Invisible Cities

W 10/29
Discussion on Invisible Cities, visit Westlake Park

Fri 10/31
Field work: WATER TAXI TO ALKI. Writing prompt: Describe the journey using only words that you overhear along the way

Week 10
Mon 11/3
Calvino paper with revisions DUE, in-class peer response, discuss

Wed 11/5
Parks (continued): visit Seattle Times Park. In-class writing: Write a description/portrait of someone you passed on the street today. Then, give that description to another person in the class and ask them to make a drawing of that person (based exclusively on the description).

Fri 11/7
Class meeting at Federal Courthouse 2pm. Please remember -- no cameras, food, or drink. Also, you must present a picture I.D. (valid driver's license, state-issued identification, or passport). In-class writing: in every space that we pass through, write something as response.

Week 11:
Mon 11/10
Discussion on Federal Courthouse: Layout, writing responses--describe process for responding. Overview of course reader. Reading assignment: Graffiti piece (?) and Alain deBotton TBA
Describe Friday Volunteer Park field trip and plan itinerary on WEDNESDAY. Students to research and bring list. For this trip, I'd like to try a different format: instead of me leading/framing the experience, I'd like YOU to design what we should be taking from this experience, and examining aspects of the park that interest you, and maybe all of us.

What I'm proposing is this:
We meet at Kerry Hall, and depart (as a group) from there. You (and from here on out, I'll be referring to a collective "you") decide how we get to the park-- bus? walking? carpool?
Bring enough money for bus fare, museum entrance, other costs?

Once we arrive there, my suggestion is we sculpt a scavenger hunt, of sorts, with everyone contributing some places we should see while we're there. In part, this is to frame some of the ways I'd like us to move through the city next semester, but it also reflects the breadth of experiences available at Volunteer Park. Haven't been to Volunteer Park before? An introduction is here.

Wed 11/12
Parks: visit REI, Cascade Park, writing in comparison
Reading assignment (for Friday): TBA

Fri 11/14
Field work: Volunteer Park, as above.

Week 12
Mon 11/17
TBA, draft version below
Update this, but hold as general model: Shared class with Kim Mackay's group-- my class shares drafts of their writings on Volunteer Park with Kim's class, who act as mentors to my group-- providing analysis and feedback on the writing. The suggestions from Kim's class will be utilized in the next version, due Monday 11/24. For this version (keeping in mind that we will continue to work with this paper), please also consider the writings from the Course Reader II, and look for ways to synthesize your views with the views of Pierce Lewis, J.B. Jackson, Nicholson Baker, and Alain de Botton. For example, how does your view of the urban park differ from Jackson's?

Wed 11/19
DUE Draft #2/Synthesis paper on Volunteer Park/Course Reader II (parks). This writing should include your responses to writings by J.B. Jackson, located in the course reader. Discussion and analysis of Synthesis paper (from Kim's class) IN-CLASS. Discuss peer feedback from last week.

Fri 11/21
Columbia Tower, City Hall, Pioneer Square (time permitting).
Audio descriptions-- what did you hear during the journey?

Week 13
Mon, 11/24
Discussion on Fri 11/21 field work

Writing workshop in small groups, discuss assigned readings from Course Reader
Reading assignment:
Wed, 11/26 NO CLASS, THANKSGIVING

Fri, 11/28 NO CLASS, THANKSGIVING

Week 14
Discuss final portfolio design (see recent post, handout in class), in-class writing samples.

Mon, 12/1
IS Evaluation discussion

Wed 12/3
Writing workshop, *speed dating-style*, responding to each other's papers, in small groups

Fri 12/5
Meet at MCC

Portfolio workshop, bring draft version of your assembled portfolio

Week 15
Mon, 12/8
Portfolios DUE

FINAL CONFERENCES, GROUP 1 (WE'LL CHOOSE IN CLASS)
PORTFOLIOS DUE, with self-reflective writing introduction
Course evaluation, discussion, overview of Proposed Land Use Action, proposals for Spring 08 projects, Post-portfolio writing project, begin conferences

Wed, 12/10
FINAL CONFERENCES, GROUP 1 (WE'LL CHOOSE IN CLASS)
Course evaluation, discussion, overview of Proposed Land Use Action, proposals for Spring 08 projects, Post-portfolio writing project, begin conferences

Fri, 12/12 Cluster meeting, view The Cruise, Streetwise, Hype? Suggestions?

Recon

2008-07-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

This is the building on the corner of Terry and Howell, slated for demolition at some point. These images are from a class field trip (reconnaissance of the exterior) on February 11, 2008.

Coming Fall 2008

2008-05-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

Friday, May 2

2008-04-27T15:59:00.000-07:00

Meet at MCC 107 at 1:30

We'll be viewing Hype! and discussing the history of grunge in Seattle.
Dress Grunge!
Bring grunge-food!
Pie will be provided!

FRIDAY, APRIL 25

2008-04-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

CLASS MEETING IN LOBBY OF KERRY HALL AT 1:30 PM

In writing

2008-04-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, even though we've gone through it a few times in class, here's the breakdown of everything to be included in your Final Portfolio, DUE THIS FRIDAY, April 25th:

1.
A self-reflective introduction, assessing your progress in the class. While it may be a concise document, this piece of writing would ideally give the reader a sense of both your progression through the coursework as well as sense of how to progress through the writings that follow. In effect, this is a road map (of sorts) to your portfolio.

2.
All of the prompted/assigned writings done either in class or outside of class, most from the first half of the semester. These should be typed, and do not necessarily need to be clean copies (they can have the comments from you or I or both of us). Although I'm not providing a list of these writings, you can find everything we've done in the Spring 2008 calendar link (at right on your screen).

3.
Abstract to your research project. Again, if you have questions on the content or form of this document, check out my previous posting here

4.
Your research project, self-directed. As we discussed, this may take multiple/hybrid forms, incorporating any number of writing approaches we've discussed or read this semester, so it is difficult to say what the "required amount" is going to be for any given person. As a GUIDELINE ONLY, the requirement for this writing is that it be substantial-- exhibiting your depth and knowledge into a site, or subject that extends from your research into that site. In line with this, when you were given the writing prompt to go to another person's location and respond to the experience of being toured, that writing was designed to function (for the person touring ) as a vital element in their process. If you have not done so already, it may be helpful to provide them with a copy of that writing to be included with their works.

5.
Bibliography, annotated (as needed). Looking at this pragmatically, we collectively explored a HUGE range of writings this semester (from handouts, online resources, and the Course Reader to all of the writings that you used in your own research)-- ALL OF THIS SHOULD be included in your bibliography. In the interest of time management, it most likely does not serve you to write up annotated entries on all of these sources, however certain pieces that you found notable or particularly useful should be discussed here, even briefly.

Again, if you have any questions at all during your assembly, please do not hesitate to email me, or post a comment (for the group to see) on this posting. Thanks again.

Not Bullitt

2008-04-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

C'était un rendez-vous

Here is the wikipedia info
and

Here is the YouTube version

Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD)

2008-04-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

I'll add their link on the right, but Tonya Lockyer just directed me to the work of the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD),

From their website,

Los Angeles Poverty Department was founded in 1985 by director, actor, activist, and writer John Malpede. At its inception, LAPD was the first performance group in the nation made up principally of homeless people. LAPD is dedicated to building community on Skid Row, Los Angeles. Since 1985, the company has offered performance workshops that are free and open to the Skid Row community— partnering with numerous social service and advocacy groups, including SRO Housing, Inc.; LA Community Action Network; The Downtown Women’s Action Coalition; St.Vincent DePaul Center; The Salvation Army’s Women’s and Men’s drug recovery programs; and the Inner City Law Center.A theater-without-walls for people living in Los Angeles’ inner city, LAPD has also partnered with communities and arts organizations across the United States to create powerful original works that speak to a range of political issues. Extended residencies have been held in Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, San Francisco, Houston, and Minneapolis, among other cities.

My thesis is

2008-03-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

As a comment on this posting, please include either your thesis topic, or questions (likes the ones we shared in class last week) that you will likely be pursuing in your research. For Wednesday, please come prepared with both your thesis (the topic you plan to pursue) and an rough draft of the abstract for your project. Typically, the abstract accompanies your research, and is written after the fact (although it is meant to be read before the research document and frequently contains numerous keywords). For our purposes (and given the time constraints on your project development), you will be writing your abstract alongside your research paper. It will function as both informative and descriptive of your research packet.

HERE is a link to an article from Philip Koopman (from Carnegie-Mellon, 1997), entitled (you guessed it) "How to Write an Abstract". Also,

HERE is a link to similar information from George Mason University (but the blue band in the middle of the online document kinda makes it annoying to read).

Experimental Prototype

2008-03-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to the wikipedia page on EPCOT, with a description consistent with our overview in class today. Also, for updates on coursework, please click on the SPRING 2008 Calendar link at right (I've been updating it for the coming weeks)

And the Florida city I was trying to recall is Celebration, with some background (again, special thanks to wikipedia) here

Proposed Land Use Action Tour 2008

2008-03-13T11:07:00.001-07:00

I've been compiling images of Alex playing every time we go somewhere, and plan on revising this posting every time we go somewhere new. Alex, if you have scores or audio for any of the music you're playing in these images let me know and I'll try to link some audio/mp3 so people could hear what you're playing

Mid-term conference schedule REVISED

2008-03-03T13:49:00.001-08:00

Unless otherwise noted, individual conferences will run approximately 15 minutes. These meetings are designed to be informal conversations-- a chance for us to sit down and discuss you progress and work in the course. If there are specific readings, writings, or discussion topics you would like to focus on, please email me ahead of time, so that I can prepare.
For those of you not in class on Monday, your scheduled conferences are obviously tentative, and need to be confirmed. If you are unable to make your scheduled appointment, please let me know and I'll be happy to sit down with you outside of class. Thanks,

Wednesday, 3/5
4:15 Ryan
4:30 Corey
4:45 Robert
5:00 Graham
5:15 Lindsay TBA
5:30 Nick
5:45 Kati
6:00 Kelly

Friday, 3/7
1:30 Cara
1:45 Julian
2:00 Maia
2:15 Amanda
2:30 Alex
2:45 Jason
3:00 Taylor TBA
3:15 Akasha TBA
3:30 Katherine TBA
3:45 Jake TBA

Urban Archives

2008-03-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to the work being done at University of Washington. Special thanks to Gabrielle Dean who located this and passed it along.

The Rez As I Saw It

2008-02-19T22:36:00.000-08:00

is the title of the new play by Caleb Penn--

IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET

I'll have copies of the play available all morning. I'm in the Foundations classroom (room 603, I think) from 8-12. Copies are also available in the library on reserve, and we'll have some available during IS class.
Thanks,

Writing projects, with due dates

2008-02-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

All of these writings (along with your notes from class and observations from the field) will be submitted periodically throughout the semester, along with an annotated bibiliography

Writing 1, DUE Monday, January 28

Roughly 3 pages introducing your chosen site to your audience--

Where is it?
Why are you drawn to it and how did you first encounter it?
What processes are you finding helpful (or difficult) in researching and translating your experiences into writing?

Specifically, spend some time describing your process (perhaps this could be collected notes that accompany the deeper writing), explaining how and where you are locating information. Are you spending time in the library? Photographing on location? Interviewing? Drawing? Moving in space? Listening to music?

What types of writing are you finding to be most useful in describing or explaining your attraction to this location? Then, in line with these questions, spend some time writing about questions that you may have for both a reader as well as a potential collaborator (remember, we'll be passing these collections around to other members of the class once we get a little deeper into the writing).

Writing 2, DUE Wednesday, February 6

Roughly 3-5 pages, describing a location (a building or site) that no longer exists. Explain your experiences there, giving your audience a sense of why this site resonates with you. What, specifically, do you recall about the location? When were you there? Why is the memory of this space important to you?

Writing 3, DUE Wednesday, February 13

Focus on the context of your chosen PROPOSED LAND USE ACTION location. What is the neighborhood, and who participates in the community? What buildings, resources, parks, amenities are in the vicinity? What are the boundaries of the environment and how does it intersect with other areas in our city?

Writing 4, DUE Wednesday, February 20

Looking back into the past, what historical facts emerge around your site? What events and people were crucial? FIRST DRAFT DUE

Writing 5, DUE Monday, February 25
PORTFOLIO WITH ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
Looking back into the past, what historical facts emerge around your site? What events and people were crucial? SECOND DRAFT DUE

SPRING BREAK HERE

THE FOLLOWING PROMPTS ARE DRAFT VERSIONS ONLY
FOR CURRENT WRITING PROJECTS, PLEASE VIEW THE SPRING 2008 CALENDAR

Explore writing about your chosen location in a different voice Say, for example, that you are utilizing historical documents in your research--how do those documents frame their arguments? What is distinct about the voice(s) of the writers? How does a document written by Cornish from 1920 differ from one written this afternoon?

Return, revisit. Spend some time walking around your location IN PAIRS What are you noticing about the area as it undergoes changes? How are other people responding to these changes? Construction workers? Neighbors? Developers? Historians? Artists? This writing may be a word list, poem, short story, hybrid form...

Projection-- what will this site look like in the future? Taking your cues from the signage, the neighborhood, and your own observations, produce a portrait of your location and the city it will join.

Course Reader bibliography

2008-02-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna edit this further, but here's a preview of some of the sources cited in the new reader

Burgin, Victor. Some Cities. London: Reaktion Books, 1996.

Brand, Stewart. How Buildings Learn: What happens after they're built. New York: Penguin Books, 1994.

Mumford, Lewis (Jeanne M. Davern, ed.). Architecture as a Home for Man: Essays for the Architectural Record. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975.

Walker, Lester. American Shelter: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Home. Woodstock: The Overlook Press, 1981.

Geist, Johann Friedrich. Arcades: The History of a Building Type. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1983.

Boomtown 1890, Boomtown 1990

2008-01-26T20:59:00.001-08:00

These just seemed to go together after our discussion. MOHAI Rules.

Where Is It?

2008-01-23T15:02:00.001-08:00

Please post the physical description of your site as a comment here (a link to Google Maps would be helpful, but is not required).

Also, please see the calendar below (or linked at right) for a fuller explanation of the initial writings due Monday. And for those of you new to navigating the blog, if you click on the "Spring 2008" calendar link, it will open a new window to that link only. To return to the main blog page, simple click on the header ("Notice of Proposed Land Use Action" title) and you will return to the main blog page.

Dubailyon

2008-01-20T11:57:00.000-08:00

I just came across this on Artforum's website, and well, it seems like something we might want to discuss...

DUBAI PLANS TO BUILD COPY OF LYON

In a move that recalls Abu Dhabi's plans to open its own branch of the Louvre, the neighboring Dubai has announced plans to build its own version of the French city of Lyon in the desert. As Le Monde's Sophe Landrin reports, the architectural replica will consist of a thousand-acre miniature based on "the spirit" of Lyon and will include municipal cultural and educational attractions, including the fabric museum, the university, the Lumière Institute, the institute of the chef Paul Bocuse, and even the soccer club Olympique Lyonnais.

The ambitious project—to be completed in four years—is the brainchild of Buti Saeed Al Ghandi, the chairman of the Emivest, Dubai's biggest investor. According to Landrin, Al Ghandi is said to have "fallen in love" with Lyon, the former capital of Gaul. An initial agreement was signed last week between Al Ghandi, the city, and the various institutions involved. While the inspiration has been found, it's not yet clear on what castles of sand Lyon-Dubai will be built.

Proposed Land Use Action CALENDAR

2008-01-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

Week 1
Mon, 1/14: introduction, syllabus overview
Wed, 1/16: field trip, Consolidated Works
Fri, 1/18: Tour Paramount Theatre, 2 pm

Week 2
Mon, 1/21: NO CLASS, MLK JR. DAY

Wed, 1/23:
*Writing assignment DUE MONDAY, 1/28:
Roughly 3 pages introducing your chosen site to your audience--

Where is it?
Why are you drawn to it and how did you first encounter it?
What processes are you finding helpful (or difficult) in researching and translating your experiences into writing?

Specifically, spend some time describing your process (perhaps this could be collected notes that accompany the deeper writing), explaining how and where you are locating information. Are you spending time in the library? Photographing on location? Interviewing? Drawing? Moving in space? Listening to music?

What types of writing are you finding to be most useful in describing or explaining your attraction to this location? Then, in line with these questions, spend some time writing about questions that you may have for both a reader as well as a potential collaborator (remember, we'll be passing these collections around to other members of the class once we get a little deeper into the writing).

*Reading for Monday: CLUI, excerpts from Overlook (handout in class)

Fri, 1/25: MOHAI (see link at right)-- Meet at MOHAI at 2 pm

Week 3
Mon, 1/28: WRITINGS DUE (SEE ABOVE)
Debriefing on Paramount Theatre, discuss articles/handouts: Susan Mitchell's "Notes on Scaffolding" and article from New Yorker, look at writings on chosen sites
Reading: Jane Jacobs for Friday
Wed, 1/30: Continue discussion on readings, targeting links to writings (scaffolding)
Fri, 2/1: Seattle Central Library TBA

Week 4
Mon, 2/4: Research overview with Heather Shepherd
Wed, 2/6: Writing 2 due (see recent posting)
Design research model, meeting in MC 1
Reading discussion: OMA/LMN Process Book
COURSE READER AVAILABLE WEDNESDAY
Fri, 2/8: Class meeting in Cornish Library

Week 5
Mon, 2/11: Class discussion on Rugoff, Coolidge
Wed, 2/13: Writing 3 due, see recent post
Fri, 2/15: Seattle Underground Tour, meet at 2pm, $8.00 per person

Week 6
Mon, 2/18: NO CLASS, PRESIDENT'S DAY
Wed, 2/20: Writing 4 due, see list
read from student papers/peer review of paper on "context", discuss portfolio/annotated bibliography development
Caleb Penn's play at Freehold, 7:30 pm
Fri, 2/22:
Proposed Land Use Action site-- use Amanda's site
Cluster meeting at 2:30, reading of Mallery's play

Week 7
Mon, 2/25: Class discussion, Writing 5 due
Wed, 2/27: Cluster meeting with Caleb Penn
Fri, 2/29: Bring Portfolio with annotated bibliography, peer evaluation of works

Week 8
Mon, 3/3: Discuss articles in Reader-- "How Buildings Learn", ch.1, ch. 2
Wed, 3/5: Individual meetings, see list in class
Fri, 3/7: Individual meetings, see list

Week 9
NO CLASS, SPRING BREAK!

Week 10
Mon, 3/17
Discussion with in-class writing:
1. List of questions for potential thesis (due at beginning of class Wednesday)
2. Types of writing for the main research component
3. Mid-term assessment
Reading assignment: Jane Jacobs, "Sidewalks" (course reader), to discuss Wednesday

Wed, 3/19
WRITING DUE: Describe the sidewalk that we utilized on Monday to get to the AVA & Camlin. How did we navigate it? Who used it along with us? What do we pass? How is the path maintained? What does it tell us about the neighborhood? At least one long, powerful paragraph describing the area and explaining your experiences there
Discussion:
1. Jacobs reading, as above
2. Peer response to writings, synthesizing Jacobs reading!

Fri, 3/21
Research in teams, going to one of your locations-- one person leads, one person gets the tour, both of you write a response to the experience, history of the location may be integrated here, in multiple ways...
Reading assignment for Monday: Victor Burgin, from Some Cities

Week 11
Mon, 3/24 Discussion
1. Field research from last week, what was the experience of guiding/being guided?
2. Thesis development, list of possible topics to pursue (more developed)
IN-CLASS WRITING-- Responding to the Burgin excerpt, write about a city that you thought of or imagined during the reading, discussing the links of your city to the Burgin descriptions
Reading assignment for Wednesday: Peter Marin, "Helping and Hating the Homeless"

Wed, 3/26
Discussion:
1. Thesis-- What unites all of the writings you've done on your site/neighborhood/history/region/personal experiences? What tone are you setting for a reader with the organization and progression of the works?
2. Marin reading, and homeless community in relation to your sites, as possible
Reading assignment: Lewis Mumford, from "The Disappearing City"

Fri, 3/28
Research in teams, going to one of your locations (the other one)-- one person leads, one person gets the tour, both of you write a response to the experience

Week 12
Mon 3/31
Discussion
1. Field research from last week, what was the experience of guiding/being guided?
2. Mumford reading
Reading assignment: Kevin Lynch, from "The Image of the City"

Wed 4/2
Writing due (Thesis, with abstract DRAFT VERSION)
Discussion:
1.
2. How to utilize the library for this project; what do you need to do to scaffold the experience this Friday?

Fri, 4/4 Cluster meeting at Seattle Central Library, specifics to follow

Week 13
Mon 4/7
Discussion:
1. Lynch reading from course reader)
View DVD: Vertigo
Write a response both to the film, as well as Victor Burgin's notes (handout in class)

Wed, 4/9:
Discussion: compare Burgin, Vertigo
View DVD: Vertigo
Discussion of film, reading papers

Fri, 4/11:
Look at portfolio development
Field work, time permitting

Week 14
Mon, 4/14:
Writing due, In-class writing workshop
Discuss abstracts (read aloud), bibliography,

Wed, 4/16:
Cluster meeting with Tonya Lockyer TBA
CLASS MEETING AT KERRY HALL ROOM 305
Reading assignment, Kevin Lynch, Image of the City (excerpt)

Fri, 4/18:
Discuss Kevin Lynch
In-class reading: Waiting for Godot

Week 15
Mon, 4/21: Organize portfolios, with peer evaluations/suggestions
In-class reading: Waiting for Godot

Wed, 4/23:
Field work: Pioneer Square, UPS park, King Street Building, Tashiro Kaplan

Fri, 4/25: PORTFOLIO DUE, include Self-evaluation (as introduction)
Discuss portfolios, and design schedule for focus group meetings on Monday and Wednesday of next week
COURSE AND PROGRAM EVALUATIONS

Week 16
Mon, 4/28: FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION, SEE LIST

Wed, 4/30: FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION, SEE LIST

Fri, 5/2: Cluster meeting. BRING FOOD!

2008-01-04T17:02:00.001-08:00

School picture day

2007-12-06T14:16:00.001-08:00

Alex Performing at PONCHO

2007-12-04T13:26:00.000-08:00

Don't forget! Alex Wilkins is performing tomorrow afternoon at 4 pm as part of Scores of Sound at PONCHO (Kerry Hall). Here is the schedule for the entire week

Scores of Sound - Student Music Festival

Fall 2007

Tuesday, Dec. 4^th – Friday, Dec. 7^th

PONCHO Concert Hall - 710 E. Roy St.

Cornish College of the Arts

Free and open to the public.

Tuesday, December 4^th

1pm Rhythm Section

2pm Vocal Jazz Standards II, III and IV with Beth Winter

3-3:30pm Snack Break

3:30pm Composer-Performer Ensemble with Linda Waterfall

4:30pm Classical Voice Studios I

5:30pm African Drumming Ensemble with Kofi Anang

6:30-8pm Dinner Break

8pm Latin Ensemble with Jovino Santos Neto

9pm Vocal Jazz Standards II, III, and IV with Randy Halberstadt

Wednesday, December 5^th

11am-12pm Classical Voice Studios II

12pm Lunch Break

1pm Jazz Ensemble II with Chuck Deardorf

2pm Jazz Composition Class with Jim Knapp

3-3:30pm Snack Break

3:30-4pm Art Songs with Bern Herbolsheimer

4pm Chamber Music Ensembles I

5pm Acting for Singers with Natalie Lerch

6-7:30pm Dinner Break

7:30-8pm Bachianas Brasilieras by Villalobos with Natalie Lerch and Eight Cellists

8-9:30pm Seattle Chamber Players perform Composition Seminar Works

Thursday, December 6^th

11am Jazz Ensemble I with Chuck Deardorf

12pm Lunch Break

1pm Jazz Composers Ensemble with Jim Knapp

2pm Vocal Jazz Standards I with Beth Winter

3-5pm Composition Studios

5-5:30pm Snack Break

5:30pm Gamelan Ensemble with Jarrad Powell

6:30-8pm Dinner Break

8pm Classical Instrumental Studios I

9pm Chamber Music Ensembles II

Friday, December 7^th

10:30am-12pm Electronic Music with John Burrow

12-1:30pm Lunch Break

1:30pm Jazz Ensemble II with Randy Halberstadt

2:30pm Jazz Arranging with Jovino Santos Neto

3:30-4pm Snack Break

4pm Composer-Performer Ensemble with Jovino Santos Neto

5pm Chorus with Roger Nelson

6pm Classical Instrumental Studios II

7pm Dinner Break

8pm Jazz Ensemble IV with Denney Goodhew

9pm Blue Ensemble with Denney Goodhew

THE LIST

2007-12-02T18:20:00.000-08:00

By request, here's the list of writings that, in some form or another, should be included in your final portfolio. All works are listed chronologically, with annotation where it may be helpful. For blog entries, either provide an annotated citation/bibliographic entry, or print a copy of your response. For each of the field work studies listed, length of your document may vary, although 2-3 pages is a recommended length to begin.

Think rich. Look Poor. Blog entry, Monday, September 10, 2007.

Charette casebook, multiple elements (again, see related list on blog archive). Page content will vary in these works, but please consider that your writing contributions here represent the bulk of your work this semester, in both content and length.

Field work: Westlake Park, City Hall Park, and Seattle City Hall (via bus tunnel)

Kerry Hall Songs. Blog entry.

Music of Kerry Hall, revision of blog entry, may also include audio and mapping elements.

Field work: Tashkent Park & Cal Anderson Park

Field work: Federal Courthouse, REI greenspace, and Cascade People's Center (for these, please cite any references you make to the GSA book provided at the Courthouse, or any research you use from either CPC or REI. For your convenience, weblinks to both these places are provided in the alphabetical list on the right)

Volunteer Park. Blog entry. As of today, only Brittany and Akasha have commented on this posting. Even though it is retroactive, please provide helpful links to either things you saw at the park, or reference guides you may have used in writing your responses to the site.

Field work: Volunteer Park, 1st draft. This writing should address (even if in passing) all of the sites we visited: reservoir, koi pond, playground, Bruce Lee's grave, conservatory, and water tower.

Field work: Volunteer Park, 2nd draft, with revisions from Kim's class and synthesis of Course Reader writings. How have other writers responded to issues concerning parks?

Field work: Columbia Center, Westlake Park revisited

Reflective introduction to portfolio, see posting below for more information

Final portfolio DRAFT VERSION

2007-11-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

Writing has been the primary means of presenting your research this semester, and the portfolio is an opportunity (for both you and I) to see your production assembled, providing us a shared space to look for patterns in your work, and assess your writing at this time. It is a chance for you to consider your writing as an integral part of your discipline, of your practice, of your output, and of your work. Integrated Studies is a writing-based course, developed to support you as an artist who writes.

During the semester you have been investigating sites ranging from physical locations (parks, offices, libraries, schools, a bus tunnel, and City Hall) to more conceptual spaces (Calvino’s text “Invisble Cities” and your own proposed charrette spaces). For the final writing exploration of this semester, you’ll be investigating your own body of writings as sites of inquiry.

By the time the portfolio is submitted, you will have had exposure to a broad range of writing opportunities (journal sketches, revised drafts, self-reflective essays, proposal/charrette briefs, presentations, revisions, synthesis of resources, and blog entries, among others). Is your writing moving in directions that are helpful to you as an artist? In what ways can you improve upon this process?

For your portfolio (and this list in consistent within all the Integrated Studies courses), please include the following elements:

1. A compilation/portfolio of all your writings from the semester-- this should include EVERYTHING* you have written (a chronological list of your submitted works is included at the bottom of this page, but this packet may also include any notes, research, or mix tapes you have found relevant in your process). All works (wherever possible) should be three-hole punched and submitted in a three-ring binder, labeled with your name and the course title.

2. From these works, you will select and foreground three (3) pieces of your writing from this semester which will be the basis of a self-reflective writing introducing the portfolio (see #3 below). These three papers should be clearly separated from the other works in your binder. They may be any three pieces you’ve written (they could be three distinct works, multiple revisions of a single work, or a combination of these things).

3. An introduction/self-reflective piece introducing your portfolio. For length, consider a writing at least two pages, although you may want to explore this writing; I'll read as much as you write (it takes me awhile, but yes, really), and it's a great opportunity to really unpack your work this semester and take some time with your output. What worked? What sucked? Ideally, this paper will include your responses to both the coursework and your own writings. What role does writing fulfill in your studio practice? How are you taking steps to develop your work? What direction would you like the writing aspect of the course take in the future? Are you seeing your writing process grow? What are your hopes for writing in the coming semester, or coming years at Cornish?

In conversation Monday, we looked deeply at a synthesis paper from one of Kim's earlier classes, considering ways of responding to works from other students. This exercise was designed to complement the experience of receiving feedback from Kim's group (prior to Thanksgiving), and pave the way for your own critical assessment of your writing process, while laying groundwork in peer responses for future papers.

In this self-reflective, introductory (to the portfolio) writing please also describe your process of selecting three pieces from the semester. Why are they vital to you now? What links the works together? Is your process of research the same from one piece to the next? Are there common elements in the writings? How are these writings exemplary of your progress this semester?

All works for this writing portfolio are due Monday, December 10, 2007.

Everything* should include--if you choose-- a fair selection of your notes or preliminary writings. You don't need to extract or copy all of the pages from your journal, but if there are specific writings or notes or diagrams you've taken that have helped you go to someplace new in your writing, then yes, by all means, include them here.

List of writings (the basis of the portfolio):

Synthesis

2007-11-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

So I've amended the calendar (link to the right) with the information below, but it seems helpful to clarify some of what I'm asking you to do in class today as well as over the break:

Today (Monday, 11/19) Kim's class will be joining us with the intention of having them mentor you through a process of writing analysis. Using a paper from one of Kim's prior classes (and I'll be providing you with a copy of this) as a model, they have been working to develop methods for offering feedback and creating a reflexive writing practice. My hope is that they will be sharing this process with you, allowing you to synthesize their practice with your own.

To support this work, I'm asking you to do a couple of things for Monday, 11/26:

First, read through the paper from Kim's class (entitled "Synthesis Paper, or How the Theory of Derive, Conversations with Imaginary Friends and Shouting in the Park Got Me a New Old Pair of Shoes") and make notes on it (literally, mark it up-- use it, amend it, question it, edit it). We'll begin next class by going through this together and seeing what trends emerge. How does the writer lead you to a topic? How are different sources integrated into the text?

Second, extending from the assistance you receive today (11/19), develop a NEW draft of your experience with Volunteer Park. This new draft should *do* two things: First, it should attempt to bring in/discuss/analyze some of the feedback you got from Kim's class, and second, it should attempt to synthesize some (or most) of the readings we've done on parks (from the Course Reader and in-class).

As I wrote on the calendar post:

The suggestions from Kim's class will be utilized in the next version, due Monday 11/26. For this version (keeping in mind that we will continue to work with this paper), please also consider the writings from the Course Reader II, and look for ways to synthesize your views with the views of Pierce Lewis, J.B. Jackson, Nicholson Baker, Alain de Botton and Francis Ponge (On Water was a hand-out in class). For example, how does your view of the urban park differ from Jackson's? How do you describe water distinct from Ponge, and what are those distinctions?

If you have any questions on the writing process we're adopting here (and it's a progression from the descriptions/experiences you've written thus far), please, please write them as comments on this post, and I'll respond to them as quickly as I can. The act of synthesizing new works into a text (drawing on different viewpoints, arguments, and topics)-- into your text-- is a crucial element in your work as a writer, and my hope is that we will be discussing the opportunities and difficulties frequently and deeply.

Go team.

Volunteer Park

2007-11-14T13:56:00.000-08:00

Please post all of your suggestions, research, and links as comments to this post.

We will be leaving Kerry Hall for Volunteer Park at 1:30 pm on Friday.

Course reader and this week (Marc's class)

2007-11-12T18:33:00.000-08:00

First off, Happy Veteran's Day to everyone checking in today. It was nice to sleep in and wake up to the Ellen Degeneres show this morning. The Chris Brown performance was awesome. Here's some Youtube of Ellen dancing to Chris, from an earlier appearance--

Okay, to work:
For this Wednesday, please come prepared with the Course Reader II (again, this one is available from Perfect Copy, located at the intersection of John and Broadway). They are doing an initial run of 13, so if you're #14+ that day, you may have to wait. If you would like to call ahead, their number is here

and for class, I'd like to discuss these first two articles--

Tosches, Nick. “Review of Gately’s Café”. The Nick Tosches Reader. New York: Da Capo Press, 2000, pp. 44-45. I can't believe they forgot this in the reader

and

De Botton, Alain. Excerpts from The Architecture of Happiness. New York: Pantheon Books, 2006.

also, skipping around a bit, please read this for Friday as well

Baker, Nicholson. Excerpt from The Mezzanine. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1990.

(the excerpt from de Botton is a bit of a departure from our current research into the "nature" of parks, but it provides a few frames that should be helpful as we move towards other spaces; the Tosches is waaay outside of our work, but his approach to writing on music/spaces seems really interesting to pursue)

Also, it may be helpful to look at the writings in relation to the field work we did last week at REI, Cascade People's Center, and the Federal Courthouse (links to REI and the CPC are located on the right), and discuss the writings/descriptions in the book we received from the GSA.

And, let's think about ways to conclude our readings/discussions of Calvino's Invisible Cities. What can we take from this work as we move forward?

Lastly (and yes, this post is gettin' real long), we'll discuss our field work for this coming Friday and next Monday. Go team.

New post

2007-11-05T14:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm still a bit under the weather (my weekend included something like twenty hours in bed watching South Park episodes and sleeping), but I've gone back and updated the calendar with the events/timeline we discussed on Friday. To recap,

Each week for the rest of the semester will, for the most part, follow the same format:

Mondays will be discussion days in the classroom, looking at (in parallel ways) the readings and our field work from the previous week. What are the links you're noticing, and in what ways can those links be made visible in your writings? This week for example, we'll look at Calvino and Ponge (again), in the context of our time spent in Cal Anderson and Tashkent Parks.

Wednesdays will most likely be field work of some sort, providing the framework for that week's writings. This week, we'll meet at MCC, then out to some nearby greenspaces.

Fridays (and keep in mind this is all a pretty delicate balancing act) will most likely be spent both in the field AND the classroom. It's a long enough span for us to discuss some texts, be outside the classroom, and look at developing your works as writers! Although this week we meet at MCC, then go to the Federal Courthouse, meeting with the GSA representative at 2pm.

The calendar is your friend.

Conference schedule

2007-10-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Remember, these are approximate times, please try and make it a few minutes early, to keep things rolling.

Wed 10/24

4:15 Brittany
4:30 Lindsay
4:45 Ryan
5:00 Kelly
5:15 Akasha
5:30 Jason
5:45 Kati

Fri, 10/26

1:30 Shane
1:45 Jake
2:00 Cara
2:15 Corey
2:30 Amanda
2:45 Alex
3:00 Patrick
3:15 Katherine
3:30 Maia
3:45 Taylor
4:00 Graham

Comments on Kerry Hall/Music, Here

2007-10-15T22:20:00.001-07:00

As requested here's a post that can take comments. I'll move all of the previous post/comments tomorrow (I hope) and have everything assembled here for easy reference. And thanks again for all of the feedback and conversation today.

h and s class music blog

2007-10-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

well i havent been by a computer for the whole entire weekend so i figured i would blog about the music i hear around kerry hall about now. when i would walk around kerry hall, i could hear the drum sets, the african drums, the jazz, and all sorts of classical music as well. it was really cool to just walk and pick up any type of music or sounds you could. you could also have music in your head as you were walking. for some reason, i started to think about the brandenburg concertos when i was walking down the hallways! who knows, this school gives off all sorts of wicked vibes. thats all for now i guess. peace .alex.

Kerry Hall Songs

2007-10-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Basement computer lab: "Love Machine" because of all the computers/machines

Basement kitchen: "Nobody Loves Me" worm song because when I looked out the tiny window I felt very small

First floor copy room: "Sweet Dreams" by La Bouche because the copy machines make this snoring noise

Second floor hallway: "Let Go" by Frou Frou because it was so quiet and empty and reminded me of Garden State

Second floor bathroom: "Far Away" by Carol King because it's a tiny place and seems far away

Kerry Hall Songs

2007-10-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

3rd Floor Hallway-
Classic piano music. Specifically, songs that are typically used when at the barre.

Elevator-
The Greys Anatomy soundtrack. Anybody who watches the show will understand.

Digital Lab (Basement)-
"Turning Japanese" by The Vapors
I was overwhelmed by the abundance of computer technology.

Lounge-
"Brick House" by The Commodores
Simply because the first thing I noticed when I walked in was the brick wall. :P

Rm 114-
I don't know specifically what song I was thinking of, but in general this room made me think of Buddy Holly. The reason for this is that the teacher who had just finished up class really wanted to help me find inspiration in this room and proceded to show me the various instruments in there, one of which happened to be a harpischord, which I know Buddy Holly used in some of his songs. I think probably if I had to pick just one song I would pick "Rave On" because thats the song I immediately think of when I think of Buddy Holly...but I don't even know if that actually uses the harpischord or not.

-Kelly Middleton

Kerry Hall Songs

2007-10-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

Our Classroom: I heard "London Beckoned Songs about Money Written by Machines" by Panic! at the Disco because there are lyrics in there that remind me of all the discussions we have in there. The lyrics that remind me go:

Boy you better put that pen to paper and charm your way out.
If you talk you better walk you better back your shit up

Hallway outside Classroom: I heard "Goodbye Love" from the Rent soundtrack for some reason. It just looked like a lonely hallway, one that you would say goodbye to someone there. And whenever I walk down the hallway in that direction, I'm usually saying goodbye to someone from class.

Basement: I heard the song "Crazy" by Gnarles Barkley because the white halls and clean feeling made me feel like I was in the ICU. I hate that feeling and so I rarely go down there.

Basement hallway: I heard "In My Own Little Corner" from Cinderella because it has this very lonely feeling to it. It's so long and I just felt like I was the only person in the hallway.

First Floor: As soon as I stepped out of the elevator onto the first floor, I could hear "A Elbereth Gilthoniel" from Lord of the Rings. This song makes me feel so peaceful and that's how the first floor always makes me feel, like I'm at home.

First Floor Hallway: When I walked down the first floor hallway, I could hear the song "Lacrymosa" from Mozart's Requiem. I think I could hear this since I have choir on the first floor very close to that hallway. Whenever I go to choir, Mozart's Requiem always goes through me head.

(Sorry this wasn't turned in earlier, I wasn't sure where to post it too!)
Brittany Williams

Kerry Hall Songs - Taylor

2007-10-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

Elevator - 1st Floor
I couldn't help but think of the song Workhorse by Mastodon as a single student loaded the elevator full of musical equipment including an entire drum set, a stand, and an amplifier. The student was obviously the "Workhorse" for the day.

2nd Floor
Near the drum room I heard some faint sounds of drums being put away. The noises from the drums made me think about Day of Baphomets by The Mars Volta since it has an epic drum/bongo solo in it.

Front Door
I was looking out at the empty street from the front door of Kerry hall and i couldn't help but feel lonely since the street was completely empty and there was no movement other than trees swaying in the wind. This reminded me of one of the loneliest sounding songs I know Leap Your Bar by John Frusciante.

from Shane Small

2007-10-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

3rd floor
In our class room the song was Julia by the Beatles. I think the class had a real warm ambiance to it and this is why this song was in my head. When I walked in to the hallway outside of our class another Beatles song came to mind, this time it was she said. I feel that there was a lot of innocents and love in the hall way with parents and children feeling the hall.
2nd floor
This floor had a completely different vibe to it for me as I walked down the stair well I felt an emptiness and silence that brought about the song lateralus by tool and when I entered the lounge area the song heart shaped box blared in my ear and when I stared down one of the empty hall ways the song hurt came into my head by nin.
1st floor
By this time the darker side of my imagination took over and I as entered the first floor lobby the song ghost by Tupac was in my head. I then stared down the hallway with the exit and the song the nine-year tide came to my mind from twelve tribes.

The Lay of the Land TENTATIVE calendar

2007-10-11T12:33:00.001-07:00

At long last, here's an overview of what we'll be up to during the next few weeks. In part, I've been slow to deliver this framework, as so much new information came out of the charrette that will likely influence the trajectory of our projects over the next year. Also, please be aware that as cluster opportunities (for collaborative work) arise, I'll be editing this posting, revising locations and dates as needed; this is just a guideline.

Reading assignment for Mon, 10/15: Anne Lamont, “Bird by Bird” , also purchase Invisible Cities (see prior post for info): we will be utilizing this as our primary text for the next few weeks, followed by a course reader for the last few weeks of the course.

Writing assignment (post on blog) due Fri, 10/12: “Maps”/Kerry Hall sound/music map-- listing spaces, the music they conjure, and brief descriptions of how the spaces & sounds go together. Please consider this as a draft, a document we will build and change throughout the next couple of weeks.

Fri, 10/12: Cluster meeting in MCC 303, viewing Streetwise

Week 7
Reading assignment: Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

M 10/15
Schedule Mid-term conferences, to take place during Week 8
Discussion on Lamont (above), In-class reading/writing on “In Praise of the Humble Comma”, Course evaluation for mid-term discussion during the next week, schedule reading timeline for Calvino, also reading Lars Eighner "On Dumpster Diving"

W 10/17
Class to meet at Cornish Library MCC
Library orientation,

F 10/19
Class to meet at MCC
Fieldwork: Bus tunnel & two parks (Westlake and greenspace adjacent to Taschiro Kaplan)—interview, photograph, physical descriptions of spaces, personal experiences (develop into 2+ page exploration-- more to follow).
Alumni visit to be arranged?

Week 8
Reading assignment: Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities (continued)

Kerry Hall/Capitol Hill focus. Building off of the sound exploration of Kerry Hall (and responding to Invisible Cities), we will be making multiple excursions (physically as well as written) into the building, examining scents, lighting, cinema, etc.

M 10/22
Discussion on Mid-term check-in forms (Charette, readings, course format)

Writing project: As we will not be meeting as a class on either Wednesday or Friday, you will be working independently on a writing piece that will be due next Monday, October 29th. Using the draft that you wrote for the blog (on the sounds triggered by specific areas of Kerry Hall) as a point of departure, you will be developing that work into a fuller piece. Your writing should include the research/music/spaces you've already addressed, but should expand on those in some way. For example, you may be inclined to add locations and music, mapping a route you take through the building and the sounds you hear along the way. Or perhaps you may choose to move outside the building (I wouldn't blame you at all, the weather has been really nice lately), using the first places you visited/wrote about/picked music for as starting points-- where do they lead you in the city? How far can your route go and how does the music/sounds of the city follow along? In writing this piece (and I'm not going to suggest an appropriate length that it has to be, but rather ask that you consider it as a work that you will develop over the course of a week), consider both how the physical route you take is mapped as well as how the sounds/music are related to that route and to one another. Could your writing be similar to liner notes for a cd? Or more precisely, perhaps a soundtrack for the city?

W 10/24
Mid-term conferences SEE SCHEDULE, Writing projects, as above.

F 10/26
Mid-term conferences SEE SCHEDULE, Writing projects, as above.

Week 9

M 10/29
Discussion on Invisible Cities,
Writing project due (see above)

W 10/31
View film with Kim's class: 'The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces" is available from the Cornish library on DVD. For those REALLY interested, there is an accompanying text.

Fri 11/2
Field work: Cal Anderson Park, Tashkent Park-- write response/description/reaction, due Monday 11/5
Reading (in-class) Francis Ponge, "On Water"

Mon 11/5
Writings due.
Continue discussion on Invisible Cities (sections 1-4). Discuss parks from last class. In-class writing on "Invisible Cities": From memory, describe one of the cities Marco Polo discusses with Khan, and compare to a city you know.

Wed 11/7
Parks (continued): Meet at MCC, tour Cascade P-Patch and REI greenspaces

Fri 11/9
Class meeting at Federal Courthouse 2pm. Please remember -- no cameras, food, or drink. Also, you must present a picture I.D. (valid driver's license, state-issued identification, or passport)

Week 11:
PURCHASE COURSE READER FROM PERFECT COPY, BRING TO CLASS WED, 11/14. For Wednesday's class, please read excerpts (the first two articles) from Alain de Botton. Specifics are provided in a more recent post

Mon 11/12 NO CLASS, VETERAN'S DAY

Wed 11/14
Writings due, discuss Federal Courthouse, REI, CPC
Reading assignment (for Friday):
Pierce Lewis, "The Monument and the Bungalow", J.B. Jackson, from A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time, web-based research: Center for Land Use Interpretation, Seattle Parks & Recreation, REI, History Link, others.

Fri 11/16
Field work: Volunteer Park. For this trip, I'd like to try a different format: instead of me leading/framing the experience, I'd like YOU to design what we should be taking from this experience, and examining aspects of the park that interest you, and maybe all of us.

What I'm proposing is this:
We meet at Kerry Hall, and depart (as a group) from there. You (and from here on out, I'll be referring to a collective "you") decide how we get to the park-- bus? walking? carpool?
Bring enough money for bus fare, museum entrance, other costs?

Once we arrive there, my suggestion is we sculpt a scavenger hunt, of sorts, with everyone contributing some places we should see while we're there. In part, this is to frame some of the ways I'd like us to move through the city next semester, but it also reflects the breadth of experiences available at Volunteer Park. Haven't been to Volunteer Park before? An introduction is here.

Week 12:
Mon 11/19
Shared class with Kim Mackay's group-- my class shares drafts of their writings on Volunteer Park with Kim's class, who act as mentors to my group-- providing analysis and feedback on the writing. The suggestions from Kim's class will be utilized in the next version, due Monday 11/26. For this version (keeping in mind that we will continue to work with this paper), please also consider the writings from the Course Reader II, and look for ways to synthesize your views with the views of Pierce Lewis, J.B. Jackson, Nicholson Baker, and Alain de Botton. For example, how does your view of the urban park differ from Jackson's?

Wed 11/21 NO CLASS, THANKSGIVING

Fri 11/23 NO CLASS, THANKSGIVING

Week 13:
Mon, 11/26
DUE Draft #2/Synthesis paper on Volunteer Park/Course Reader II (parks). This writing should include your responses to writings by Alain de Botton, J.B. Jackson, and Peirce Lewis, all located in the course reader. Additionally, it may also discuss the film we viewed, and the Ponge poems we discussed.

Discussion and analysis of Synthesis paper (from Kim's class) IN-CLASS. Discuss peer feedback from last week.

Reading assignment in the Course Reader II: Nicholson Baker (excerpts from The Mezzanine) and Louise Mozingo, "Campus, Estate, Park: Lawn Culture Comes to the Corporation".

Wed, 11/28
Discuss final portfolio design (see recent post, handout in class), in-class writing samples.

Fri, 11/30
Class meeting at MCC: Office field work, 4th & Cherry.

And this is real ambitious, but Offices: 4th & Cherry, City Hall, MCC, others Libraries: SPL, Capitol Hill Branch, Braille Library, others Community-based initiatives (see Department of Neighborhoods), schedule final conferences

Week 14:
Mon, 12/3
DUE Writing on offices: Describe an office you've been to, synthesizing your memories with our experiences in the Columbia Tower and the writings on office spaces/culture from the Course Reader.
Reading assignment for Wednesday, "Generica" (course reader) , "Post-It City" (handout)

Wed 12/5
Portfolio workshop-- bring everything you've written to date, to be organized/assembled
Reading assignment for Friday,
Fri 12/7 To Be confirmed
class meets at MCC
Seattle Central Library, overview, introduction

Week 15:
Mon, 12/10
FINAL CONFERENCES, GROUP 1 (WE'LL CHOOSE IN CLASS)
PORTFOLIOS DUE, with self-reflective writing introduction
Course evaluation, discussion, overview of Proposed Land Use Action, proposals for Spring 08 projects, Post-portfolio writing project, begin conferences

Wed, 12/12
FINAL CONFERENCES, GROUP 1 (WE'LL CHOOSE IN CLASS)
PORTFOLIOS DUE, with self-reflective writing introduction
Course evaluation, discussion, overview of Proposed Land Use Action, proposals for Spring 08 projects, Post-portfolio writing project, begin conferences

Fri, 12/14 cluster meeting, view "The Cruise"

Support CPC

2007-10-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

Keep Cascade People's Center open in 2008!

YOU ARE INVITED

to a community walk and rally to the Seattle City Council Public Hearings on
the Mayor's 2008 Proposed Budget.

Wednesday October 10th, 2007

330pm: Gathering outside Cascade People's Center
400pm: Begin walking downtown together with signs, flags, banners and CPC tshirts!
445pm: Arrive at City Hall
515pm: Head to the meeting, sign up to speak, make some noise!

It's essential that we continue to communicate with the City Council the
importance of Cascade People's Center and the work we do in this community.
It is possible that as a group we'll only have 5 minutes to speak, so if you're interested,
please call CPC and we'll put you on the list. Please check out the attached "fact sheet".
If you are unable to attend, but would still like to support our efforts, please see the
attached flyer with information about calling and emailing the City
Council prior to the meeting. We are asking for first, the City Council
to increase the Human Services Department's Budget to provide funding
for Cascade People's Center.

Feel free to join us at any point in the process. Many folks are meeting
us at 430/5pm downtown after work.

The address of the meeting:

City Hall, City Council Chambers, 2nd Floor
600 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98124

Please let me know if you have any questions!
Myla Becker
Program Manager
Cascade People's Center
309 Pontius Ave N
Seattle WA 98109
206.587.0320

Dandole poder a las familias y comunidades para que crezcan fuertes y
estables.
Empowering people to grow strong, sustainable families and communities.

Dia De Los Muertos
Sunday October 28th 2-6pm
Join us for a traditional Day of the Dead Celebration
Altars, Tapete, Music, Pande Muerto and Chocolate!

Please call 206.587.0320 for more information.

OMA/LMN A-OK

2007-10-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA, with Rem Koolhaas) concept book that they assembled for the Seattle Public Library proposal. Hard copies are also available through the library. LMN is the architecture firm (based in Seattle) who worked to facilitate the project locally.

Parks of the future, parks of the past

2007-10-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Kim for locating "Why parks are important", by Chris Hume.

Olympic Sculpture Park!

Monday & Invisible Cities

2007-09-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder to my class, but we will not be convening as an entire class on Monday, 10/1 or Wednesday, 10/3. I will be meeting with charrette groups to discuss progress and prepare materials for the presentations and casebooks. Remember, everything you will need to accomplish is laid out on the time line (see previous post). During these class days, I will be available in the library (schedule permitting) or in Nellie's cafe (more likely).

Also, as we discussed, our next text will be Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. We'll begin working with this immediately after the charrette concludes. Used & new copies are available at numerous local and online retailers, please click on the link above for information.

And thanks again to everyone for all of your work on the projects, we're looking forward to the presentations on Friday.

Charette Log (Marc's class, but pretty much the same text as Gabrielle and Kim)

2007-09-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a guide/timeline for the components that you'll need to include in your Project Log, please let us know if anything requires more description/explanation. Also, you may want to print this list out, or better yet, use it on the blog (here's where I wish this was a wiki), possibly adding comments?

Cornish Community Charrette Project Log

Project Title:

Group Members:

W 9/26
General goals:
1) understand presentation goals and possibilities,
2) understand case-book components,
3) decide on specific shape of project,
4) decide on specific research tasks needed thru 10/3,
5) decide on tasks to complete before 9/28,
6) meet in class today to schedule appointments for this Friday, 9/28 in Cornish Library MCC

Specific goals and group whereabouts:

F 9/28
General goals:
1) conduct interviews if needed,
2) gather research materials from the library or visit Seattle Public Library if needed,
3) site project location if needed,
4) begin physical design of project if needed,
5) decide on tasks to complete before 10/1,
5) meet with Marc for 15 minutes today in group

Specific goals and group whereabouts:

M 10/1
General goals:
1) write project description and rationale, using and revising language from earlier descriptions,
2) begin designing presentation materials,
3) decide on specific tasks to complete before 10/3

Specific goals and whereabouts:

W 10/3
General goals:
1) finish designing presentation materials,
2) define presentation roles and practice presentation,
3) decide on specific tasks to complete for 10/5

Specific goals and whereabouts:

F 10/5
Charrette presentations. Meet at MCC Room 603 Location to be confirmed.

Presentation checklist (10/5):
O Poster or other large-scale visual aid that contains 1) project title, 2) maps, diagrams, photos or other images that show project scope and why it is needed; 3) a brief description of project and why it is needed.

O Brochure, hand-out or other small-scale visual aid with these same components.

O Group symbolic map, if it is not included on one or the other of the visual aids.

O 1-2 page typed, group-authored project description (what it is) and rationale (why it is needed), along with a bibliography of sources consulted or references to related projects. Bibliographic citations should follow an MLA-format, with information and examples available on the Cornish Library website here

Case-book checklist (10/8):
O A copy of your group’s hot sheet.
O A copy of your group’s project description and rationale.
O A copy of your group symbolic map and the individual maps you created on 9/21.
O Copies of images, diagrams etc. from your group’s poster or brochure.
O Your MCC and Kerry accounts, and your initial write-up of the project from 9/17-24.
O A 2-3 page, typed, double-spaced reflection on the charrette process and your group’s project.

And, although it may be redundant after everything you produce, I'd like to also look at 10/8 as an in-class debriefing, framing the discussion as a look at what was successful with the charette as well as what difficulties you encountered during the process.

Support Cascade People's Center

2007-09-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

As you may know, we've been working with the Cascade People's Center for a few years now on collaborative projects with Integreated Studies. They 've been an amazing resource the faculty and students, and their place in the community is vital. We have a link to their website (on the right hand side of your screen), but this update from their director, Myla Becker is pressing:

From: Myla Becker [mailto:mbecker@lcsnw.org]
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 5:56 PM
Subject: FW: A Call to Action: Support your Center in the heart of our City!

Hey there Cascade People's Center Supporters,In the last few days, we recently found out that the City of Seattle has decided not to fund us starting in 2008 and that the Center will most likely be forcedd to close after December (unless we can lobby and fundraise like crazy!!).

CPC is a beloved space in the Cascade community providing free programs and space for thousands of people throughout Seattle . This tragic news is particularly sad when the Cascade neighborhood is quickly being gentrified and shaped without the voice of long time residents. Also, not to mention that the City is funding $50.5 million to the South Lake Union Streetcar (notoriously know as the SLUT...South Lake Union Trolley) that runs one mile along a route that many buses already run. Funding the Cascade People's Center is a drop in the bucket for the City of Seattle and to other SLU stakeholders. The Cascade People's Center is a truly a place for the people. Ten years ago, community members rallied to save the building from being torn down and to create a community center focused on family support and environmental sustainability, and also to create a p-patch and the Garden of Happiness . Today, we are stronger than ever with over 6,000 Center users and a over 70% of the work done by volunteers. We have an eco-renovation of our building in the works as well as a proposed community compost project, proposed farmer's market, and amazing youth and family programs already flourishing. With the Cascade neighborhood drastically changing among the South Lake Union development, the Center is a place of consistency and familiarity for thousands of low income and transitioning families who are being pushed out of their neighborhood.

Not only are we a family and community support center, but we also stand for social and environmental justice in a neighborhood where the underdogs are constantly being silenced. We need your help in being heard! In the next week we will be strategizing how to keep CPC alive through a community meeting (date TBA), petitioning, a protest at the City of Seattle Office (date TBA) and phoning City Reps and strategizing funding ideas. Please keep your eyes and ears open for upcoming dates and events that we will be organizing! Also, if you have any ideas or time to contribute in how we can keep your Center open, please let me know! As always, thanks so much for your support and involvement! Please spread the word like wildfire! Viva la CPC!!

Wayfinding? Already?

2007-09-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

We'll be spending an amazing amount of time with discussions, writings, and readings on navigational systems over the course of the year and given the field trip today, your recent charting of MCC, your upcoming analysis of Kerry Hall and all routes in between, I wanted to get the ball rolling sooner than later.

So, Here's a link to the article by Annabel Vaughn (writing on improvised signage at the Seattle Central Library) that I mentioned in class. Arcade Journal is also listed in the link list on the right hand of your screen, and the new issue (edited by Lead Pencil Studio) is a fantastic treatise on the overlapping roles of comics, drawing, and innovative architectural practices.

Think rich. Look poor.

2007-09-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, I really enjoyed our discussion on the readings today, and realized that the prelude to it-- our conversation looking for boundaries in the arts--was, by it's very nature, somewhat off-putting and difficult.

The more I consider it (and a bumpy, crowded busride home gives me plenty of time to ruminate), we might want to revisit the topic-- not as a search for boundaries (at least not initially), but rather as identification of your fields (not disciplines, but hopefully something more mutable, as Patrick suggested today). In very concrete ways, it seems that identifying how you spend your time in your area of concentration may help us all understand how we spend our time in our area(s) of concentration. What is your diet like when you are involved in a project? What books do you have to read for your concentration? What types of media are essential? Do you need costumes or a uniform? Special shoes? How much time outside of the classroom do you work in your field? What does a peer group consist of for your projects? What tools are essential to your work? How do you practice? How is your process/product presented to a group, or is it?

Maybe by looking at this topic through everyday practices (and by this, I pretty much mean things you do everyday) we may be able to see (or find) the boundaries more naturally?

Warhol archives

2007-09-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

The Warhol archives are discussed more fully here, and The Warhol Musuem's online project space has this-- Mapping Pittsburgh: Art, Space, and Alternative Culture

Missed opportunity, almost

2007-09-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

Thinking about our cluster meeting yesterday, with a focus on interdisciplinary work, I just realized that we should have included some writings/research/overview of the work done by Bruce Mau Design and their Institute Without Boundaries.

Then I realized that the blog is awesome and I can just link to everything they've ever done.

John Cage reads Silence

2007-09-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

Excerpts from John Cage's Silence (1969) appear in the City Cluster Reader, and the book is available in the Cornish Library (Call number is ML 60 C13 S5 1973, although Kim currently has it checked out).

UBUWEB (see link list, at right) has an amazing archive of his audio work, including interviews and this, where he reads from the book.

hurricane cafe, wiffiti

2007-05-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

Here we can see what people at the Hurricane Cafe are texting to that big screen above the counter.

WEDNESDAY FIELD TRIP

2007-04-03T17:45:00.000-07:00

Marc's Class needs to meet in front of Kerry Hall at the beginning of class. Also, bring $1.50 for the bus...unless you feel like walking up 303 stairs + 15 minutes back to Kerry Hall after class.

-Derek

So...Marc's Class...

2007-03-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

Where are we meeting today?

Jade Pagoda and Visions of the future

2007-03-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

So Marc's class was in kerry hall today, after it got out I went to go catch the 49 going to U-district. It was to be a while before I got there but I turned around and read this article http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/283105_jadepagoda30.html

taped to the inside of a window. to those of you more familiar with broadway than I am, it was the Jade pagoda. Upon reading the article I died a little bit inside, becuase I had one of those true "wish I coulda been around to experience this place when it was alive" kind of feelings, yet I was standing right outside of it, in its current state an empty shell.
it goes along with some discussions I've been having about the paving over of old seattle to create foundations for the new. but on another note. I had a dream last night of cornish. but it was futuristic cornish, possibly a good 50 years out. the interiors have a red and white color scheme and nellie's cafe is way trendy and futuristic. Think 60's interpretation of utopian society mixed with vitra.

Ann's I.D. essay

2007-03-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

here is a little taste of my essay.

Gambling, Violence and the International District
By: Ann Hoyer

The International District of Seattle has a long history of violence, the most extraordinary example of violence happened in 1983, in the alley of Maynard Street in the well known after-hours gambling house called the Wah Mee Club. The Wah Mee Massacre, also known as the Chinatown Massacre took thirteen lives. However long before the Wah Mee Massacre, the International district was not exactly a peaceful melting pot Asian cultures. Violence and crimes such as the murder of Police Officer Charles Legate, in 1922, and even before that with the murder of Guichi Inoue, a Japanese wrestler in 1910, has caused unrest in Chinatown. Evidence shows that this distrust amongst citizens law enforcement in the International District is closely tied-in to the underground gambling industry and the greed that comes with it.

2007-03-21T17:58:00.000-07:00

Hi it's Nathan in Gabrielle's class and this is an excerpt from my recent paper about the ID. Go ahead take a gander. Enjoy:)

Jackson Street Regrade

Seattle is a beautiful city with rolling hills and plenty to do. The city has made its way into the nation by becoming a major stop for many dreamers on their way to mine gold in the Klondike. Since then it has become a key city for coffee, music, Boeing, University of Washington, and the World Fair. A strange thought though is this may have been impossible without the regrades of Seattle.
The Denny Hill Regrade was the largest project in reconstructing Seattle’s landscape. It involved removing Denny Hill, “one of the proverbial seven hills of Seattle” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denny_Regrade). A major question posed by the city however was, where were they going to put all the dirt? Eugene McAllaster, the Denny Regrade Consulting Engineer, had the answer. They were to put the dirt into Elliot Bay, creating a larger city and relieving the city from having to grow north. And then they had another thought the tide flats could be also filled in giving them more useful land.
There was one problem though

Blake & Ellen's essays

2007-03-21T17:51:00.001-07:00

So, in Gabrielle's class, we've been learing all about the International District. When we were given the task of writing an essay involving the International District, Ellen and I chose two different topics.

I, Blake, chose to write about the diversity of Seattle's I.D. If you didn't already know, the diversity of Asian population in Seattle's I.D. is huge compared to, say, San Fran's Chinatown. I had to research the immigration of different Asian groups, finding out numbers and dates of immigration. Once I got into research mode, I found that there was a ton of negative feelings from Seatte's existing population to the new immigrants. In different times during history, the populations of Asians fluctuated because of things like anti-Chinese laws, the Japanese being removed, and the Filipino's immigration being restricted. You can find out more if you want. I'll send you my paper and you can read it in all its glory. Footnotes and all. Haha.

Well, my paper has absolutely nothing to do with Blake's. and, let's face it, his is probably better. I chose to write about how the third generation of Japanese Americans, or sensai, have lost interest in the cultural landmarks of the International District. My paper goes into detail about how several locations, in particular the Panama Hotel and the Nippon Kan theatre, have been slowly on the decline ever since the Japanese Internment in WWII.

Fin.

2007-03-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

Marc's Class

2007-03-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

I need to know if any group in Marc's class will switch field trip days with us. Our's is on April 2nd, but I am out of town that day. We need to switch with someone who has a later one. Please let me know.

-Derek

the mystics

2007-03-07T18:34:00.000-08:00

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/travel/12culture.html

also... http://woodsidebrasethgallery.com

a gallery close to school with a deep history.

Another blog: SEPTAPUS

2007-03-02T00:32:00.000-08:00

Me and Cory's video game blog

CLUI does it again!

2007-02-28T15:55:00.000-08:00

Center for Land Use Interpretation has their newsletter available online here
http://www.clui.org/clui_4_1/lotl/index.html

Their website (see the link list on the right-hand side of the screen) is also a great resource (and you can purchase a copy of "One Hundred Places in Washington").

Who wouldnt want to see work by a person named Alex??

2007-02-26T22:36:00.000-08:00

I mean really, we need this field trip, field excursion? Does that sound too much like a vehicle? Anway look what I found its an amazing peice by Anish Kapoor that I will someday replicate. Promise. it's called Cloud Gate