Thick Description

First off, way to go on the Music Mosaic assignment. So many of you really nailed it. It makes me really excited to work with you all during our mutual time here at BYU.

Next, here's the link to  Walt Whitman's "Life in a New York Market." (You may have to log in to your HBLL account to access it.) Be sure to read it along with the assigned readings from the textbook.

Because this is the first time I've assigned the Thick Description assignment, I don't have a previous student's work to provide as an example. But based on your impressive performance on the first assignment, I anticipate that you'll be able to successfully pioneer this project as well. The Whitman reading is a great example of one way that you could realize this project, but it's definitely not the only way. So, re-read the assignment description in the syllabus, and here are a few additional comments that may prove helpful:

• Pick a place that you know. Don't pick a place you've never been. Don't pick a place that you will not be able to visit (at least a couple of times) in the next week. And don't pick your bedroom. That's lame.
• This place, like the home described in the Clifton poem from class, can be more metaphorical, but it still must have some clear correspondence to some physical space. When Clifton provides details like the 'scent of dough rising' and 'splintered floorboards,' her poetic representation of home is grounded in some concrete sensory experiences.
• While many of the places we discussed in class we have fond relationships with, you are not obligated to choose a place you love. The Chinese factory from the Manufactured Landscapes clip is an interesting place precisely because of our complicated relationship with it. Just be sure to acknowledge your experience of that place--the tension between you and it--in your notes and your final essay.
• Pay attention to the aspects of place that we discussed in class. How does this place function as a stage on which human action and interaction takes place? How might this place be understood as a subject or character itself? What sensory experiences do you have in this place? What emotions do you experience? What thoughts do you have? How does this place relate to your understanding of community? How does this place encourage an understanding of deity? Your final essay doesn't have to address all of these questions, but you should at least attempt to explore them in your initial observations and notes.
• Bring your notes/sketches/etc. from the place to class Thursday to workshop your idea. And then be prepared to visit your place at least one more time before you write your essay. Your final essay can be more literal or metaphorical, can have a autobiographical or more 'objective' perspective, can be poetic or journalistic. Just make sure that it has some attention to detail and depth of feeling.