October 18

Annotation of “The Innovation Campus”

Alexandra Lange writes an article persuading audience on how innovative campus are the ways to a successful future in education. “Where once the campus amenities arms race was waged over luxury dorms and recreation facilities, now colleges and universities are building deluxe structures for the generation of wonderful ideas.”(Lange, p. 1)

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/07/education/07INNOVATION2/07INNOVATION2-superJumbo-v2.jpg

Lange contradicts her argument of innovative campus because she states that not much research have confirmed that the way a building is made effects learning abilities “Though studies have shown that proximity and conversation can produce creative ideas, there’s little research on the designs needed to facilitate the process.” (Lange, p. 4)

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/04/education/07cornell-rendering/07cornell-rendering-master675.jpg

Georgia State University is very different from the campuses Lange describes as innovative. “Staircases and halls are wide and often daylit, encouraging people to dwell between their appointments in hopes of having a creative collision.”(Lange, p.6) Hallways at GSU are often small and compact with students rush trying to get to one place with little to no social interaction between passersby.

 

“No one has a private office at the Bloomberg Center, the primary academic building, and opaque walls are few. The only spaces faculty members can truly call their own are lockable storage cabinets, with carts for equipment.”(Lange, p. 11) I wonder how much space GSU would have without so many offices for every professor; however, I don’t think it is essential to get rid of the offices because one on one with you professor is very beneficial to students.

 

Original article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/education/edlife/innovation-campus-entrepreneurship-engineering-arts.html?_r=0

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October 10

Discovering Sweet Auburn Avenue

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Leveled view of the APEX Museum surrounded by Georgia State dormitories

The APEX Museum can be seen right from my dorm window at the Georgia State University Lofts. It is also surrounded by four other dorm building owned by Georgia State. Even though this is located by so many student residents it was not noticeable to me at first what the building actually is.

The color of the building makes it non-distinctive from some of the other smaller building beside it. It is made of red break that is commonly used in this area. For example, the University Greek  Housing building, which can be seen from the right of the picture, is located to the left of the APEX museum and is of the same rusted brick.

Flyers outside APEX Museum

Flyers outside APEX Museum

The building may not look enticing, but once you read the signs that are placed alongside the building it made me stop and see that this rusted color building isn’t a abandoned building that it is perceived to be from an distance. I’ve learned that inside of this building is a greater insight of the area of the Atlanta area, specifically Auburn Avenue.

 

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Empty case located in the APEX Musem

The APEX museum helped me realize that it is wrong that the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Africa is slavery. This historical building took insight to where African Americans came from. This one exhibit, that is depicted to the left, really made me stop was the empty container that was symbolism for the stolen artifacts from Africa that are now dispersed across America.

 

 

 

*All photos taken by Author

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October 10

APEX Museum

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Entrance of APEX Museum

The APEX Museum (African American Panoramic Experience) is an historic museum that focusing on African American history.

Flyers outside APEX Museum

Flyers outside APEX Museum

It is located on Auburn Avenue and is made of red brick with multiple windows that do not showcase the history inside. Along the right side of the main entrance you see flyers that give a brief insight on what the APEX Museum is.

Replica of the Auburn trolley.

Replica of the Auburn trolley.

Once you enter the APEX Museum there is a five dollar charge for students to enter the tour the museum. They first have you watch two ten minute video to give you on insight on what the museum is about. You site in a room that is made to represent the street trolley that used to go around Auburn Avenue. Behind you is paintings on the walls that represent the businesses you would see along Auburn Avenue as you passed by.

The first video is projected on the wall in front of the trolley and it provides history of Africans before they became slaves. It speaks on history that goes all the way back to 6500 B.C. It discusses the success of Africans before the slave trade and how there was Queens, Pharaohs, and war leaders. Also the wealth of Africa because of the ivory.

The second video is on how African slaves became African Americans, but still faced struggles of segregation; however, they progressed economically and civilly right on Auburn Avenue. For example, blacks started owning their own business in the 1800s, which included, drug stores, news articles, and hotels.

Replica of "The White Lion" slave ship

Replica of “The White Lion” slave ship

After the video was over, you are able to self tour yourself by starting off with the timeline of history discussed in the introductory videos. Then you walk into this chamber that is supposed to give you somewhat of an insight that the Africans had when boarding the slaves ships. Then you step out of the chamber into a different entrance and see the inside of a slave ship. The picture to the left is an replica of the 1767 slave ship that was named “The White Lion”. This replica shows how people were placed tightly in the confined spaces of the ship.

Depiction of an slave auction

Depiction of an slave auction

Then once you leave the viewing of the slave ship replica, there are manikins that represent the African people once they were brought to America. To the right is a photo of the depiction of two African people being auctioned into slavery. Placed behind the manikins are two scrolls of people that were being auctioned and their prices.

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Replica of Yates and Milton Drugstore

Lastly, after witnessing the hardship Africans faced in America, you are able to see the success of them once they became African Americans. The picture to the right is a replica of a black owned business that was located on Auburn Avenue. This is the drug store owned by Lorimer D. Milton and Clayton R. Yates. The history of African Americans continue to grow and are captured here at the APEX Museum.

 

 

*All pictures taken by Author

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October 7

Schindler Summary: Restrictions of Architecture

In Sarah Schindler article Discrimination and Segregation Through Physical Design of the Built Environment her main argument is the “subtle ways that the built environment has been used to keep certain segments of the population”(Schindler). Schindler argues this point by addressing the exclusionary of racial classes through architectural designs that are accepted by laws that don’t prevent this exclusion from happening.

The architectural designs has prevented different racial groups from being apart of other communities. “many communities lack sidewalks and crosswalks, making it difficult to cross the street or walk through a neighborhood.”

Another architectural development that has been used to exclude different racial groups  was the six-foot wall made by “a private developer constructed a six-foot-high wall..to separate an existing black neighborhood from a new white one that was to be constructed.”

 

 

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October 4

Skin Complexion Determining Lethal Force

News Paper cartoon from Washington Post that illustrates police brutality.

Cartoon that reflects the police shooting of African American men in Cleveland.

The authors coloration of the different characters in this cartoon greatly illustrates racial separation.

The two males displayed as officers in this cartoon are of two different shades. The officer to the left of the woman in the photo is lighter in skin tone than the officer by his side. However, both of their skin tones are lighter than the other characters in this cartoon.

The woman standing behind the stroller, who is assumed to be the mother of the child in the stroller, is of a darker shade than both of the male officers. The baby in the stroller holding a rattle is also the same complexion as the woman.

This depiction of the different skin tones illustrated how it doesn’t matter if the officers are Caucasian, Hispanic, mixed race, or other; the officers are still hold an higher position over the woman and the child because of their darker skin tone.

Image from: https://claytoonz.com/tag/cleveland/

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