observations (my draft commented by my group)

7/28/2019 Observations (My Draft Commented by My Group)

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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 workdone 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


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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 schoolschedules 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 theatmosphere 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)


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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 Nighters

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)


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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 I m 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.

observations (my draft commented by my group)

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