Structure

In order to have a clearer picture of something as a whole, a person has to look at it deconstructed into parts. In the first half of this course I have looked at the city and writing in scattered playful components.

When we first went into the city, we road in by the Septa and saw the outside environment change from suburban, to a bit urban, and then underground as the train deposited us under the city. We emerged from Suburban Station to see some the city’s biggest landmarks within walking distance. We were given maps with landmarks and streets that we eventually attached physical memories to. These memories were not only made up of the landmarks and streets, but also of the homeless population and other demographics in Center City. By the end of the trip we had a clearer idea of Center City; and in later trips we gained a greater understand of some of the neighborhoods that branch off from there. We built up a clearer picture of Philadelphia by looking at its components of buildings, streets, and people.

Quiet volume deconstructed the way we think about words by playing with how we comprehend letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs. Visiting the mosaics in the Magic Gardens provided a platform for us to dismantle the way we view the city and ourselves, and the two interacting together. Then when writing, we were given room to recollect our raw and deconstructed thoughts.

I recounted my scattered impressions of the city. This writing format helped me to playfully get my ideas and impressions of the city on paper, and have grammar and structure come second. Overall this layout of writing gave me incite into my thought process in the city. After writing those dismembered thoughts down, I became more aware of my overall thinking in the city.

In the first half of the semester I have had a chance to think of what makes up a city and my writing, in the second half of the course I hope to explore ways of expressing those concepts in clearer structure. Fitting those scattered ideas that are embedded in a city and my thoughts into a written structure. I am excited to explore the city more and to gain a clearer picture of what it is.