Richie Cardillo Mrs. Walden Eng.

1102 11 February 2013 Assignment One The figured world we have chosen to observe is the library. We wanted to be more specific when choosing our figured world, so we made the third floor of the library our main focus. In a library there are usually places for people to study solo in private desks or large desks for groups to get together. Libraries are typically very quiet and smell of old paperback books. The rules and conventions of the library are fairly well understood by everyone who visits. Talking should always be to a minimum and running or yelling is unacceptable. It is usually rude to carry on a phone conversation in the library and music should never be played without headphones. In a library it is possible to do almost anything as long as you are quiet and not causing any distractions. The reason almost anything goes in a library is because the library serves so many purposes. People use libraries for such a vast number of things that any given person could be studying, playing videogames, reading, facebooking, socializing, holding business meetings, or just simply passing time. The possibilities of activities that a library could contain are endless. There are many artifacts that are acceptable for use including, but not limited to laptops, writing utensils, headphones, books, backpacks, and snacks. All of these somewhat conservative rules are to maintain a distraction free environment. The ultimate goal of the library is to provide a place that is auspicious to learning and education. During different times of the day the discourse communities change although the purpose of the library rarely changes. Observation Notes Third floor of library Saturday 10 AM: The library is very quiet and empty on this hour and day. Many literacy practices are occurring. These literacy practices are mainly quiet studying among very small groups or students sitting alone. At this time and day it seems that the library is serving its true purpose. This is because it is actually quiet and being used for studying. There is a lot of reading and writing going on among students. This makes books, paper, and writing utensils the main artifacts. Computers and headphones for music or research are being used among many of the students studying. These objects are also artifacts and contribute to the quiet atmosphere since it keeps the students quiet and busy. At 10:15 AM I noticed that more actors were entering the library. These actors automatically adhere to the rules of the figured world as soon as they enter the library. From the interview I recorded, I assume stress is another major artifact among the students here. Interview with actor in figured world, 10:30 AM Kaitlyn: What brings you to the library on a Saturday morning?

I have two huge tests next week that I am very stressed about and needed to quit procrastinating. I forced myself to spend a lot of time in the library this weekend. What activities do you typically take part in while at the third floor of the library? Well I plan on studying, but usually just spend a lot of time on facebook and talking to my friends. Why do you choose the third floor instead of other areas of the library? All of my friends and I usually study up here together, but today I just came here because I am just used to sitting at this table. All of the students on the third floor are actors in this figured world and right now they are contributing to the quiet atmosphere. The items that are important to them are the artifacts in the figured world. Sunday 2 PM: Today is much more crowded and lively on the third floor. I assume the time of day is a major factor. Since it is a Sunday, many people are rushing to catch up and get ready for the workweek ahead. I notice there are many more groups working together and socializing. It is much louder because of all the chatter and it is more rare to see people studying alone. The third floor seems to be home to much of the Greek life because many of the Fraternities and Sororities are studying together. They are very noticeable because they tend to sit in larger groups and use their Greek letters to represent their organization. The literacy practices are almost the same as Saturday morning, except there is more talking and less reading/studying. At 2:08 PM I see a guy with a box of pizza coming up the stairs and sitting down to feed his whole table. Although this time of the afternoon is typically used for lunch, it isnt exactly courteous to the other actors in the figured world. At 2:15 PM the library smells of greasy pizza instead of old paper back books. Neither of these smells are my favorite, but the actors in the library keep on doing whatever they came to accomplish. At 2:17 PM I see an entire group of actors at a table watching videos online of girls dancing inappropriately. They were obviously male actors who were using the library to pass time rather than accomplish anything of substance. The artifacts have not changed since the last observation even though the time, day, and amount of people has changed. The actors in this figured world are creating a social atmosphere that is not very conducive to studying except in remote back corners. At 2:20 PM in the remote back corners of the third floor the atmosphere seems much more studious and many students are studying alone. The solo desks are packed with students reading or working silently. It is almost a different world in this back corner compared to the front of the third floor. Monday 7 PM: This time and day is very similar to Sunday afternoon. It seems like everyone is being more productive than on Sunday afternoon. There is not quite as much socializing and the study groups are smaller. Although the groups are smaller, there are still about the same amount of actors. The literacy practices are very similar to the other days, except at 7:06 PM I noticed a few people playing computer games. Surprisingly the people who were playing video games seemed to be more focused than anyone in the library. At 7:08 PM I realized that races and genders tend to sit together. These groups

are all discourse communities and every group uses a different lingo or has a different style. It seems prejudice to view the library through these lenses, but races and genders very commonly form discourse communities. Males do not typically greet women the same way they do other males. People of the same ethnicity commonly speak the same language to each other because it is just comfortable to them. The artifacts seen today are almost identical to the other days besides the fact that at 7:15 PM I noticed a janitor pushing a trashcan. It is very common to see janitorial services being performed because they make sure the library stays in good condition. Since the only things that change on the third floor of the library are the actors, it tells me that the library is a figured world that serves a wide range of purposes. Since the artifacts and the literacy practices tend to stay relatively constant it means that the actors and discourse communities come to the library for very similar reasons.