Reading Summary 3

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The time we are currently living in, is one of both political and social upheaval.  We currently experiencing the end of establishment political party control in our elections with the rise of presidential candidates such as Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.  Their is a current backlash in many American’s mind withe the perceived “political correctness” of society combined with the silencing of differing view and opinions. Socially, many marginalized groups are protesting the actions society has enforced for generations. Last year, was a major social wave with the Supreme Court ruling that state bans on the marriage between to persons of the same sex, was unconstitutional and gay marriage was allowed in all 50 U.S states. Currently a new battle is being waged  for more inclusion of many newly franchised trans gendered people into the American workplace and culture. One current battle is explained in Suzanne Tick’s , “His and Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society”,  as she explains the growing number of businesses and organizations in this country who are making many bathrooms gender-neutral instead being set and designed for one gender. From the beginning to the very end, she explains the changing ideologue of many Americans and the importance of  making society more inclusive and beneficial for once oppressed groups.

In the beginning of the article, Tick reflects the current view in American society. Many of the traditional roles that society has placed on opposite sexes are starting to come to an end. Boys are now starting to play with girl dolls and girls are now exploring different sports that were once seen as too “boyish” for delicate girls.  Both sexes are starting to wear different clothes that was once intended for the other. This has caused many designers employers to take in account the diversifying of their consumer base. One of the major problems is that employees of these companies are homogeneous. Even though we are starting to open the doors of opportunities to different groups, Tick explains “…the world of technology and web design is also a very male-dominated field, with 85 percent of tech workers at the top companies being male”(Tick), who may not be able to relate to the views and experiences of these groups. With the inclusion of women into the leadership roles of different companies, their is a new emphasis on adding more color and texture to the workplace to make it become more inviting.

In contrast to architecture, fashion has ironically been very traditional to what sexes are viewed to wear what clothes and accessories. Tick explains how some coats designed by artists are given more of a military look to be worn by men whereas other are given brighter colors and are designed for women. In order to become of the more progressive society, fashion companies are seeking to make their workplaces more inviting. Recently  corporations are starting to make gender-neutral bathrooms were both sexes can use it and aren’t forced to pick one chosen for them.  Tick explains how we must not continue the mistake of such actions such as the Americans Disability Act, where many handicapped individuals are still not able to enter certain locations because of ignored architectural restrictions.  In a new America, it is the responsibility of the government as well as the people themselves, to ensure that all people are all able to be a part of the American fabric and are given the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.

Tick,Suzanne “Her and Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society” http://www.metropolismag.com/March-2015/His-or-Hers-Designing-for-a-Post-Gender-Society/

https://www.tumblr.com/search/Gender-neutral-bathrooms

Midterm Reflection: The Road Ahead

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During the beginning of the new semester, I knew that English 1102 would be a far more rigorous course than 1101. Majority of the time in 1101, my class were working on essays and research papers. Now however, I know realize that this is not a traditional English course. From the very beginning, this class has focused more on technology then actual written work. Only recently am I now receiving grades to know what skills that I need to improve on. One of my biggest faults that I’ve always had as a writer is that I’m a bit of a scatter brain. When I start writing, the ideas from my head begin to flow out through the pencil. The problem however, is that it never comes out on congruently and a lot of my work contains run-on sentences. This caused my work to lose points on careless mistakes. I hope by the time this course, my writing skills would have drastically improved.  With this class being graded on a point system, I am given many opportunities to different assignments to boost my grade point pool. Have completed many different online quizes,  that are on the Guide to First-Year Writing Book as well as turned in the major projects in on time. If I continue what I’m doing now, I am guaranteed to finish this course with an A. The project that I enjoyed the most was the built-environment assignment I did on Downtown Decatur. I had a great time taking pictures and documenting what I saw while I was there and felt it was a very important way for me to be apart of the Atlanta Community. With my continued sucess in the class, I am very impressed by the amount of effort that I have put into the course. Since making an A in English 1002, I knew I had to continue this trend into the new

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“It’s greater in Decatur.”

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When my and my roommate decided to made our journey from the campus dorms to Decatur, I was highly anticipating what I would see. I had heard stories from my friends how the city was an economic and tourist hub and how everyone loved being there. From a city with its inception in the 1800’s, I wanted to see how modernized the city has truly become. When first walking around, I entered the park behind the city’s courthouse. I saw passing families on a Saturday stroll as well as independently owned restaurants across the street. This mixture of nature and commerce showed the importance that this bond had on the very culture of the city.  Continuing our walk through the city on the paved sidewalks mixed in with rocky pathways, I was captivated by the smells of different bakeries as well as the scent of flowers and trees. For a moment had almost completely forgotten I was in a place no more than 20 minutes away from the Downtown Atlanta Area.  We then ate at a local restaurant whose owner my roommate was friends with and I was very impressed by the friendliness of its residents. These people weren’t the typical “city”type, and they seemed to show an affection to new people and visitors. Continuing our walk through downtown, I was able to see the styles and wear of many of it’s younger residents. Many of their clothes looked straight out of a Goodwill, but that was their true intention. In a town where wealth seems to be apparent, many of these people choose the abandon the typical image of upper class. They choose instead to shop and eat at simple mom and pop restaurants instead of the luxurious restaurant chains. Even the newer restaurants and shopping vendors were vibrant with colors as well as murals created by probably local artists in tow.  Walking around I was taken aback by the town’s devotion to its culture and heritage with many of it’s early structures still in tact. Almost every structure had a plaques commemorating its importance to the identity of the city and how it is still being used today.  After spending a majority of a day int the city, I didn’t want to leave. The sheer accepting culture of the structures and the people showed why this town was truly a tourist town.  I cant wait to return to this town in the future.

 

Digital Record of Downtown Decatur #5

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My final destination was the shopping center of the Downtown Decatur area. This picture shows the mixture of shopping and urban living that is starting to spread in many recently urbanized areas. On the bottom floor, there are different vendors such as Taziki;’s, a Medditeranean restaurant and Fro-yo, a yogurt vending company. On top of these already existing stores are leasing offices as well as lofts for new residents of the town. This reflects the  new trend of city ‘s starting to expand up instead of expanding out where there is barely any room to use. Across the street, there can be found many different ethnic restaurants such as a Jamaican Restaurant that mirrors that growing demographic changes of area’s around and in Atlanta. Overall, this is a shining image of the increased economic expansion that Atlanta is currently going through and how it has an effect on its neighboring counties.

Digital Record Downtown Decatur #4

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Continuing the walk through Downtown, I was immediately drawn to this mural on the side Decatur CD record store. The record store itself is a reflection of the young “indie” culture of the residents of the town because of the many vinyls sold there. The mural on the wall shows a person, either male or female, laying on their side. The colors of the mural are very colorful, almost rainbow-like. The actual face of the mural is very haunting and can be open to interpretation. One of the eyes is closed while the other eye is purely white. The mouth of the person is wide open as though they are about to talk or are screaming in pain. This picture could either be a person who is just awaking from a very long rest, or a person who is under some sort of  pain from  sickness or some sort of drug. This subtle image that is on the side of a building shows as an image into the mind and expressiveness of the young residents of the  town.

Digital Record of Downtown Decatur #3

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The Decatur Presbyterian Church serves as one of the religious centers of the Downtown Decatur community. The actual structure of the Church is a mixture of the old gothic style of Medieval European Church mixed with modern neoclassical architecture. On the outside there can be large glass windows with a cross as well as characters from stories in the bible. The entrance contains two large brown wooden doors.  Upon reading the ceremonial plate on its wall, the date reads 1839. This means that this may have been one of the very first structures constructed in the town. This can also be assumed by seeing the surrounding grocery and convenience stores that surround the church indicating how the city may have expanded from a central point in the town.  The Church also serves to be a meeting place for many different groups around the Decatur region, in fact while I was taking pictures a wedding was starting.

Record of Downtown Decatur #2

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Walking past the town’s courthouse, one is exposed to this piece of 3-D graffiti.  Once entering the immediate downtown of Decatur, the city’s culture truly comes out. There are many small businesses that seem t cater to the youth of the town and this structure is a reflection of its mood. From a frontal view, their is an illusion that this is just a very large wall where someone has vandalized it however from the side its true intention is seen. The structure serves as a bench for many of the passing residents of the town as the walk to the nearby park. The very fact that this is a city mandated structure shows the importance the city has for “urban and hip” culture. Even though though the actual word that is spelled out cant be seen, the sheer colors and unorthodox structures on the graffiti bench are very inviting and I was happy to take a break from taking pictures to take a seat.

Digital Record of Downtown Decatur #1

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The Dekalb County Courthouse serves as the legal center of the town of Decatur as well as representing its fascinating history. When walking in front of the steps of the courthouse, one is taken back by the sheer size of the structure. Looking in closer, one there are many engravings of historical figures on the sides of the walls as well as shining white Greek columns holding the front of the structure. The very name is written in a Latin-esque font with the u’s written as v’s/  On the sides of the Courthouse, there is  a beautiful garden and park to give a more inviting feel of  the courthouse. The importance that is placed on the Courthouse shows the importance of law and order that held by many of the residents of the Decatur as well as the continued importance of maintain and preserving historical objects and places. I was really amazed by the structure and truly hope to see it again.

Annotated Bibliography One

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GUSTAFSON, SETH. “Displacement And The Racial State In Olympic Atlanta 1990-1996.” Southeastern Geographer 53.2 (2013): 198. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.

In the article, “Displacement and the Racial State in Olympic Atlanta”, author, Seth Gustafon, explains the event leading up to and the  long term demographic effects that the 1996 Olympics had on the City of Atlanta. Throughout the article, there are many decisions that those in government made to displace many black residents from their homes in order to create room for Olympic structures.  With the onset of the 1990’s the government decided that many of the inner city residents, such as those living in the Techwood Homes, wouldn’t be beneficial to the image of the city with the coming Olympic games. This would cause much controversy since families were now being forced to leave homes who had been there for  generations.  Further on throughout the article, instances such as racial bias are explained. Instances such as tourist maps only showing Northern Atlanta and do not enter signs placed  in Southwest Atlanta gave the image that city was trying to dissuade international tourists from entering poorer, majority-black parts of time. Since I’m researching Downtown Decatur, which received an economic and population boom from the Olympics,  it would be a reliable source and can be acquired at the Georgia State University Library.

Von Drehle, David, et al. “The Roots Of A Riot. (Cover Story).” Time 185.17 (2015): 34. MAS Ultra – School Edition. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.

In the article, “The Roots of a Riot”, author, Von Drehle, explains the reasons and origins for the 2015 Baltimore and the long term solutions that could be instilled.  The article is a mixture of black and white photos of the riots as well as facts and statistic explaining its cause. Even though the death of Freddie Gray appeared to be the match, there had been generations of gasoline building up.  With the onset of white flight to the suburbs,  Baltimore went from an Economic Hub of America’s East Coast, the the poster child of inner city neglect. From the 1960-2015, majority of Baltimore’s white residents moved to the northern Prince George County.  This caused a large portion of the city’s economic wealth to vanish. This has caused large scale poverty in the inner city communities of the city, with more than 16,000 houses being simply abandoned and never torn down.  In order to solidify its separation from Baltimore , Prince George County created its own municipality so it would never be under the jurisdiction of the city. This article explains the effects of racial and demographic effect that can be seen in many parts of Southern Atlanta. It also shows elements of racial separation that is similar to that of Northern and Southern Atlanta.

Middleton, Michael K. “Housing, Not Handcuffs: Homeless Misrecognition And ‘ Safeground Sacramento’s’ Homeless Activism.” Communication, Culture & Critique 7.3 (2014): 320-337. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.

In the article, “Housing, Not Handcuffs: Homeless Misrecognition and “SafeGround Sacramento’s” Homeless Activism”, is an analysis of activism of many groups in the Sacramento area to assist those that are living in homeless makeshift areas. Different cities in California are explained to have passed legislation that criminalizes the presence of individuals in an area that the owner might believe are homeless. This has caused the arrest of many homeless for trespassing on private party.  In order to help the homeless, many activist groups such as Safeground Sacramento, have decided to to assist in building makeshift buildings as well as paying for hotel fees to give them a place to live. The reason I chose this articles is because it shows many similarities to the same experiences the homeless of Atlanta feel. Contrary to structural segregation of the homeless, the city of Sacramento and others have now passed legislation to uphold the separation of the populace and homeless individuals. If things persist with the increase of residents to downtown Atlanta, legislation may be passed here to create restrictions on homeless rights.  This could also be a reliable source to use since it can be found in the Georgia State University Library.