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Midtown Butcher Shoppe

butchershop

A plethora of stores have fronts or backs along the Beltline, and, like the Beltline itself, they take advantage of art to mix practicality and aesthetic, in this situation for advertisement. The Midtown Butcher Shoppe, pictured above, is one of these. The back of the store, lined along the walking path, features a red hare, representing the brewing company, preparing to cut up meat. On the left side, the store has painted a mini-menu of stand-out words that advertise what the store offers: Prime meats, prepared meals, fine wines, craft beers, growlers, and catering. Also like many stores, they have put a door in the middle of the back for easy Beltline access.

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Bee Mural

beemural

Underneath a bridge, two parallel walls each feature a mural. The above picture features one of them. In the center, an enormous black and dark yellow bee emerges from a similarly sized and colored flower. Several smaller bees, also the same black and yellow, spiral out from the center, surrounding the largest bee and flower. Chinese letters flank the bees on either side. Closest to the bees, the letters are bigger and change along a spectrum vertically: the highest row is a very bright yellow, nearly white, followed by two rows a standard yellow then darker yellow below, and ended with a shade that resembles a dark red. Outside of these letters are smaller and scattered black letters. On the leftward side out of the picture’s range, the artist has signed his or her name.

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Skater Sculpture on the Beltine

skatesculpt

Quickly after entering the Beltline, I found my first piece of art (and would later be stunned by the quantity present): a sculpture, in the image above. In short, the sculpture shows a skateboarder, standing several feet taller than the people passing by. Both the skateboard and skateboarder are constructed out of typical piping, red for the rider and blue for the board, with skateboard wheels that look like little car tires.

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Annotated Bibliography Draft

Fausset, Richard. “A Glorified Sidewalk, and the Path to Transform Atlanta.” The New York Times, September 11, 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/12/us/atlanta-beltline.html.
In The New York Times article “A Glorified Sidewalk, and the Path to Transform Atlanta,” Richard Fausset describes the impact and potential of the Beltline project taking place in Atlanta. Fausset looks at the reputation of Atlanta’s past being “the epitome of urban sprawl” and proceeds to examine how the Beltline promises to transform that notion and even how it already has. The author also compares it to similar projects already done in New York and Chicago, mentioning that the scope of the Atlanta project surpasses past projects. He also looks at how the existing product of the Beltline has already yielded benefits for Atlanta, including more affordable housing and expansion of business opportunities. As a whole, the article serves as a solid introduction to the idea of the Beltline for someone unfamiliar with the project, particularly those living outside of Atlanta.
For research on the Beltline, this article shows a non-Atlantan view of the project, and even the city, through people who do not live there, for people who do not live there, and, from my quick search online, is the first instance of a major, non-Georgian media entity reporting on the Beltline. However, some Georgian writers have quickly criticized the article’s title as being condescending or dismissive. Nevertheless, the article helps an Atlantan researcher understand the perceptions and expectations of the city’s project from a different view that he or she has likely not been acquainted with. To an Atlantan, the article may not do justice, but Atlantans do need to see through the eyes of others when writing about this project.
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First Draft of Bibliography Annotation

Campanella, Richard. “Shotgun Geography: The History behind the Famous New Orleans Elongated House.” NOLA.com, February 12, 2014. http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2014/02/shotgun_geography_new_orleans.html.
The article “Shotgun Geography: The History Behind the Famous New Orleans Elongated House” appeared in the New Orleans-based newspaper The Times-Picayune on Febuarary 12, 2014. The article was posted in the Cityscapes column that accounts the evolution and history of News Orleans urban planning and architecture, written by Richard Campanella, a geographer and author who works at the Tulane School of Architecture. As the name implies, the article accounts the history and theory beyond the popularization of shotgun houses in New Orleans, and the South in general. Campanella mainly focuses on a theory that speculates that shotgun houses came from Haiti with escapee slaves recently removed from Africa who then built houses akin to ones that they, or their ancestors, lived in back in Africa. The citizens of New Orleans progressively began to adopt the style as well because of city policies that made land compact and taxes based on frontage and not square footage.
I found this source because when I read “Parting Ways” by James Deetz, I saw that he regarded the shotgun house as an African phenomenon, but I knew them from the South and especially New Orleans, where my sister lives. I searched for information on the topic and found an article that explains exactly what I had wanted to know about how an African architectural style became a Southern staple. Further, the author being a professor of architecture and a published author of several books about the field made Campanella a reliable source, to me.
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Reflection on Initial Experiences with Atlanta and the Built Environment

I must admit that, when I began this course, I found the concept of an entire class, a language arts class at that, about something called the built environment a peculiar course to start college; however, the cluster classes working together to emphasize the artificial geography where and how we live has quickly made me much more interested in the subject. Although I have always loved history, my preference for words over pictures led my self-education to be driven away from hands-on work and instead remain insulated with books. Through both the articles and books that I have read and the walking that I have done in Atlanta both in class and personally has demonstrated to me both the importance and potential of using archaeology and the built environment to understand the past and find greater insight into history. We can best learn through the combination of various sources such as written and architectural instead of focusing solely on one. Especially now that I know about sources like the archives, I am excited to begin incorporating visuals into my written and investigating and learning about architecture and using it in historical analysis. Further, as I was reading Where We Want to Live last night for our seminar, I saw extremely vividly how the built environment plays a huge role that I want to be a part of in my future. I want to work on improving and building living conditions in both the United States and developing countries, and this book helped open my mind to how the structure and transportation patterns influence, even determine, the ways that people live and build cities. Beginning this class, I was neither excited nor interested in the subject matter nor the work that we will have to do, but that has quickly been reversed. I am learning so much now in class and even out of class through reading and listening to podcasts. There is a lot that the built environment of Atlanta, and anywhere really, can teach me about how to live every day, to improve the work that I want to be part of, to increase my awareness and appreciation of my surroundings, and to be more versatile and adaptable in the modes that I can learn and teach with.

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Bibliography for Reading Annotations 1 Using Zotero

“$61.82 in 1792 – Inflation Calculator.” Accessed September 6, 2016. http://www.in2013dollars.com/1792-dollars-in-2016?amount=61.82.
“44-1-10.pdf.” Accessed September 7, 2016. http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/NP/44-1-10.pdf.
Campanella, Richard. “Shotgun Geography: The History behind the Famous New Orleans Elongated House.” NOLA.com, February 12, 2014. http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2014/02/shotgun_geography_new_orleans.html.
“Federal Pension and Bounty-Land Acts for American Revolution.” Accessed September 6, 2016. http://revwarapps.org/revwar-pension-acts.htm.
“Homeownership at 50-Year Low — So What?” The New York Times. Accessed September 7, 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/08/02/homeownership-at-50-year-low-so-what/homeownership-drop-is-bad-news-but-not-for-the-reason-you-think.
“James Deetz, 70, Chronicler of America´s Colonial Past.” The New York Times, November 28, 2000, sec. National. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/28/national/28DEET.html.
“Maps of New Guinea Settlement from 1823-Present | Parting Ways.” Accessed September 7, 2016. http://partingways.org/cms/learn/parting_ways/documents.
“The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We Are at War.” Accessed September 6, 2016. https://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/42bunker/42bunker.htm.
“TPQ.pdf.” Accessed September 7, 2016. http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/comic/activity/pdf/TPQ.pdf.
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Syllabus Quiz

Questions:

What are the major projects? In a bulleted list, provide links to the project descriptions for each of them.

How will your final grade be calculated?

Points are earned through assignments, projects, and extra credit. Points are gained rather than lost.

What is the “submission form” and how do you use it? Embed the form below your answer (hint: Google “embed Google form” to find out how).

The submission form is the area of the website where we can submit all digital assignments. It can be used by going to the website and choosing submission form under the projects tab.

Embed the course calendar and weekly overview below this question.

Where on the course website can you find an overview of what’s due and the readings for each unit?

Select Unit Overview under the Calendar tab

What is the best way to see an overview of what’s due each week?

Select Weekly Overview under the Calendar tab

What is the attendance policy?

Students earn ten points for attending class  and lose ten points for unexcused absences.

What are the two ways you can lose points?

Unexcused absences and not submitting class preparation assignments.

What are my office hours, and how do you make an appointment to see me outside of  class?

Office hours are from 9-11 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and email, Skype, or Google Hangouts can be used to schedule and facilitate appointments.

How do you earn participation credit? Provide a link to the instructions/guidelines for participation.

Participation points can be earned by attending class, participating in class, and completing assignments on time, plus other options that include using of technology and other optional activities.

How many points can you earn by participating in or organizing a study group session?

Up to 25

How can you be assured of earning an “A” in this course?

Complete all major projects, miss no more than four classes, and earning 2,800 points.

What are the minimum requirements for earning a passing grade of “C”?

Missing only four classes, completing major projects, and earning 1,675 points.

What do you do if you’re not sure how to document your participation in order to earn points?

Ask Dr. Wharton during office hours or before or after class.

What are the Unit 1 readings and which one would you like to annotate for Reading Annotation 1?

Thomas Carter and Elizabeth Collins Cromley, “Introduction,” from Invitation to Vernacular Architecture

James Deetz, “Parting Ways,” from In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life

Stephanie Fitzgerald, “The Cultural Work of a Mohegan Painted Basket,” from Early Native Literacies in New England: A Documentary and Critical Anthology