Colwell 1 Matthew Colwell English 1102 2/11/13 Mrs.

Walden Observations

The figured world I will be observing will be the library here at UNCC. The reason I am doing this is because I feel as though it will be the most diverse place to observe when it comes to figured worlds on campus. There are plenty different kinds of people in the library, such as librarians, janitors or students. I plan to take a look at groups in the library in the morning, afternoon and at night. In the morning you will have the more quite groups trying to get work done before class, and the same with afternoon. At night you will have more of a social time with friends just trying to do work with each other and joking around at the same time. These are all assumptions I am making about the types of groups of people and how they act at certain times. The rules for this area are being quite, obviously. And maybe not appropriate to the library as a whole but to the individuals being diligent in their work to finish an assignment might be appropriate to them. It's a very diverse place in terms of behavior and that is why it is so interesting. Being loud and obnoxious is the only behavior that I would consider not appropriate in this figured world. The discourse communities I expect to see are the quite individuals who are working really hard, the more social people just passing the time by in the library while trying to do work and maybe people in between. I am looking forward to this experience and am hoping to learn something new. Definitions: Figured World: This is a place that has many different discourse communities, actors and artifacts. Discourse Community: These are certain groups that have their own jargon, their own actions that make them unique to the figured world. These communities are what make up a figured world. Actors: These are the people in the discourse communities of the figured world. They are just people playing the part in a certain discourse community. Without them, there would really be no figured world. Artifacts: These are items in a certain discourse community that help describe the community. Observations:

Comment [M1]: I agree! Go into detail on why it can be so diverse. (RGC)

Comment [M2]: That is very true, night time is social time on the third floor. (RGC)

Comment [M3]: This is worded kind of awkwardly, Id suggest changing how this is said. Maybe something like The rules for this area or something else M J M

Colwell 2

Before I begin my observations throughout the day, there are a few artifacts that are the same all day. These include wooden table and chairs. Plenty of colorful books with so much information in each, it seems endless. The books are held together by big black book shelves. There are computers that are owned by the school, most are windows and others are Apple computers. There are big lights that hang over mostly each table, creating a somewhat bright area for students to read and write. Observation 1: Going to the library on a Thursday morning I took note of a lot of things. First off, I noticed that the atmosphere was a lot quieter than I am accustomed too since I normally go at night. The smell of coffee is all around. There are a few discourse communities here. You have the people that have been up all night; I just call them All Nighters. You also have the people that just woke up and ran to the library to hurry and finish an assignment before it is due in class. These people are commonly known as Procrastinators. The actors and artifacts in the All Nighters discourse community are the ones drinking coffee, flipping through their notebooks intensely studying what is on each page. They have greasy hair and are wearing comfortable clothes such as sweatpants and things like that. The actors and artifacts in the Procrastinators community are people running up the stairs, all sweaty and tired with a frustrated look in their eyes. You can hear the loud typing on a laptop from a person trying to turn an assignment in before it is due. These people are dressed in khaki pants, jeans, or cargo shorts with a tee shirt or button down to look decent for class. You can tell some of them are in a rush because their hair is all over the place because of running to the library. Observation 2: In the afternoon, right around two oclock; I noticed a big difference of change in this figured world. The third floor is a lot noisier, even though it is a Friday. In my eyes, it seems as though a lot of people here have already been done with class and are beginning to start on assignments that are due the next day. There is no rush for them. I like to call this discourse community, The Good Students. I call them this because a lot of them have their school schedules out, checking off things they have already done and writing new assignments in there. The actors here are a lot more laid back and just hanging out, talking about the day so far with friends. I smell a Bojangles chicken biscuit with its tasty smell of southern cooked food, it makes me hungry. Artifacts in this community that I have not seen before are things like lunch food, sandwiches and what not. I can hear cell phones vibrating against the wooden tables. You still have the quite people studying working on papers, or studying for tests. There is also a new community that came to my attention. This discourse community is the Greek Community. The actors that make this community up are people that are more social which creates a louder atmosphere. They do not seem too worried about assignments, and a lot more interested what is going on around them. Artifacts that make up this community are things such as Greek shirts or laptops with fraternity or sorority letters on them. Fraternity guys are wearing collared shirts, duck boots, sunglass around their necks, things like that. Sorority girls have their handbags with their letters on them. They seem to be a lot better dressed than the people that just come in sweatpants to study in the mornings.

Comment [M4]: I like the comparison about the atmosphere of the morning to the atmosphere you are generally accustomed to. (RGC) Comment [M5]: Nice job including smell in your description of the floor, it gives the reader a much better picture of the area. M J M

Comment [M6]: Give a time frame and date. When describing the events that are transpiring make sure you add the time that it occurred. (RGC)

Colwell 3

Observation 3: My last observation at the library is at ten o clock at night on a Saturday. Night life at the library is possibly the most diverse time when it comes to a discourse community. The reason I say this is because you have a lot of past discourse communities, like the All Nigh ters just beginning their night of endless study. You have the Greek Community casually socializing with one another. I noticed something new though, I saw two cops walk by. The police become a discourse community in the figured world that is the library. I did not plan on seeing that coming. Actors are obviously the cops. With artifacts such as their badges and navy uniforms with a black utility belt filled with all different kinds of things. They confidently patrol the third floor for some reason. I could not figure that out. The Greek Community introduced a new artifact, a can of tobacco. With its awful smell I see a few of the fraternity guys put some in their lips. There is also a new type of discourse community introduced in the night scene of the library. I am talking about the Janitors. You have actors such as the people that clean the bathrooms and people that vacuum. I know there are probably more actors to this community, but this is all I saw of the community. The bathroom cleans, with a disappointed look in their eyes go into the restroom to begin their job. Artifacts that make up them are yellow gloves and their outfits with nametags on them. There are also the people that clean up the floors of the library where students are studying. Artifacts are things like gloves, outfits, and vacuums. I found the vacuums interesting. I say this because they are obnoxiously loud and I can see people who are intense study stare at the loud machines with an angry look as if they want to break it into pieces. I thought it was kind of funny because the janitors come and vacuum right where people are studying. Theyll put the vacuum right underneath the legs of studying students. That was weird to me because I thought the rules of the library were to be quite. I feel like that applies specifically to the people that work there, but I guess the rules are a little different at night.
Interviews: For my interviews I asked three questions to two different students studying at the library. Interview 1: Killian Steer Before I show the questions I asked, I will provide a little bit of information about Killian. He is under the category of the Greek Community. He is an engineer major and is always consumed with work. I interviewed him on Saturday night. Killian, how often do you come to the library and why? I usually have to come once a day, usually with a minimum of two hours. The reason I come is because I know I cant get any work done in my room due to all the distractions. My major comes with a lot of overwhelming work and the best place to get it done is the library. Killian, why do you come to the third floor?

Comment [M7]: Why is the night life the most diverse time? Describe the events, type of people, and overall feel of atmosphere compared to the other days. (RGC)

Colwell 4 I choose the third floor because even though its the nosiest floor, I find it myself to be most productive here. I say this because Im not too into my work to over think things when Im writing something. I have friends to talk to if I need to take a break. Where do you normally like to sit on the third floor? By yourself or at a table with others? I like to sit at a big table so that some of my fraternity brothers can come and sit with me. This goes back to the second question you asked me, it helps me keep a balance so Im not working too hard. Interview 2: Evan Hodges Evan Hodges is a business major who would belong in the Procrastinators discourse community of the library. I interviewed him on Thursday morning. Evan, what brings you to the library at such an early hour? Well, I have a class in an hour and I need to print out an assignment to be prepared for the class. Do you normally come to the library to do homework right before its due for class? I hate to say it but yes. I need to stop slacking in my classes but I just forget about the assignments until the day they are due. Its an awful habit.