Domestic Control Center

One thing that Upton kept referring back to in the article about Monticello and the American home was the notion of a house reflecting control.  Jefferson's layout included the "South Square Room" from where his daughter could run the day-to-day activities of the household, while still not far from his suite.  As the household maintenance moves from a role for servants to a role for the woman of the house, the kitchen evolves into the new domestic control center for Beecher and Stowe as well as for Frank Lloyd Wright.  Looking at my own house in Chicago, I think there is definitely validity to this focus on the kitchen.  My kitchen contains one of only two TV's in my house, my family's address book, a calendar, and on the counter whichever loose items someone in my family happened to be carrying as they walked by.  It sits between the dining room and the back porch, requiring anyone on the way out to pass through it.  And it is one of the first places I check if I'm curious to see who in my family is home.  It is no coincidence that my dog, who loves sitting places where someone will stumble upon her and give her attention, tends to situate herself in our kitchen.  But then again, she also loves food.

Limestone

One thing that struck me from class today was the revelation that limestone is not quite the foundation (pun intended) of our campus as it is made out to be.  The red bricks of Old Main, Steensland, old Ytterboe, and the old gym building were once as common as the Limestone of just about everything else I didn't just mention.  Yet I used to be under the impression that limestone is as intertwined in St. Olaf's history as Norway itself, but it seems that the limestone doesn't go as far back as we might think.  Granted, I don't mean to underestimate limestone's importance to our campus today; these days it's everywhere; I just think it's interesting that limestone gets misrepresented as an ancient part of campus when its actually relatively recent.  It's omnipresence today still makes it an important part of the campus's character.

The New Face of Writing

During my appointment with Matt last Friday one thing he told me was that I sometimes struggled to sustain an idea throughout an entire paper, but that this problem was not tangible in my blog posts. I was not terribly suprised to hear this, because I had heard before in my Media Studies class that this is a common issue among the our generation. To test this out I am writing this post from my phone. I think there is some truth in the claim that texting etc. has shortened the general length that we process information in. Oh well, je maintiedrai. Also, my thumbs hurt.

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Two Peoples Separated by a Common Language

In the reading about the Writing Style of the Declaration, the author emphasizes the importance of Jefferson's claim that the British and the Americans were two separate peoples, weakening Britain's claim to sovereignty and legitimizing the Revolution as more than just insurrection.  And frankly, I would have to agree with this assertion as I have often wondered what really set the American Revolution apart from any number of similar revolts, including even the Confederacy's revolt sparking the Civil War.  Going back to the original point, it is clear today that the British and the Americans are different, but does this difference really run deeply enough to separate two different peoples?  Is it no coincidence that for more than a century Anglo-American international relationships have been very amiable?  My gut reaction is no, and I think it is something more complicated than that.  I think Americans really are fundamentally different from the British, but with some very significant underlying connections.

Some Harsh Rhetoric

One little connection I thought I'd make: In the Declaration readings we learned about one particularly absurd paragraph that Jefferson wrote where he claims, among other things, that the English king forced slaves upon the colonies so that he could incite them against their masters later.  Such an example of harsh, almost irrational rhetoric would surely not be tolerated in that day any more than it is today, right? Oh wait, ha ha! The Tea Party! There are always loud goofballs near the extremes, but the Tea Party tends to get more attention from the mainstream media than your average extremists.  I'm glad that our Founding Fathers cut out Jefferson's fiery words, and I hope that our nation will see bombast for what it is again.

Cities: Then and Now

In today's reading, Carp talks to great extent about the role and style of colonial cities.  The question that comes to my mind is, "Are American cities like the colonial cities?"  Carp stresses the closeness and the activity of the cities, but one big difference today is urban sprawl.  Without the same sort of population density of colonial cities (and cities outside of America in general), the people aren't as involved with each other, and interest in the community wanes.  That is why the same kind of movement that energized the people of Boston is unlikely today, even for a less arduous cause.  Moving people apart disconnects them.  Of course the colonies didn't have the internet...

Tea

Ever since we started devoting so much of our class to tea talk, I've found myself drinking more and more tea.  I am not unaccustomed to this beverage; to drink coffee is to be part of a minority in my family.  But nobody in my family drinks tea regularly or in the morning; for us it is an evening beverage that follows dinner and accompanies dessert at family get-togethers.  Considering that the members of my family who started this tradition are all either first or second generation Americans, I wonder to what extent the colonial tea culture is responsible for how my family drinks tea.