Introduction

Hello! This page is a collection of my three Correspondence assignments I completed for the term, using a website called Storymap JS.

Storymap JS is a website used to create presentations that incorporate maps. In our ANSO 341 class, we used it as a tool to map out where we tend to go and what experiences we have in each of the locations.

• Each slide for the presentation has a pin attached to a map, and allows you to set a location.
• As you add slides, Storymap JS connects each location to form a route.
• You can also add pictures and text to explain the place you pinned further.

Feel free to explore any or all of the Storymap – I’m proud of how they came out, and I think it shows a down-to-earth version of life as a Knox College student.

Making Sense of the Ways and Places We Study Best

The first Storymap, titled “Making Sense of the Ways and Places We Study Best”, lists places that my friend and I study on campus.

• I have a relatively small number of places I study at, and I take breaks in the same places that I study.
• My friend has many places for different purposes, and they study and take breaks at different locations.
• This one was fun to do, as I walked around the library with my friend to talk about the quality of the chairs.

A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time

The second Storymap, titled “A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time” is about what a typical Tuesday looks like for me, then the differences between that and how an actual Tuesday went.

• I found out that no day is completely typical, as what is typical is decided from a collection of past days that are similar. 
• Every day has something different from a typical day, no matter how small.
• This Storymap made me pay attention to all of the small things about a day I might miss otherwise, and it was nice to be able to recognize them again, even if it was just for a day.

Embodiment and Body techniques

The third Storymap, titled “Embodiment and Body techniques”, is about my observations of one practice meeting of Enharmonic Fire, a choir I am a part of.

• I found it interesting that the power dynamic between the director and the students is shown in the layout of the room when we practice.
• The director higher up on stage while the students are in the audience.
• The people and actions I see every time during practice felt fresh as I recorded my data in a notebook, even when it felt a bit overwhelming to balance singing and taking notes in between.

Connections Between Storymaps

All of the Storymaps are points of data that show slices from my time as a student at Knox. The first one focuses on an activity, studying, the second one focuses on a particular day, and the third one focuses on a recurring event.

Here are a few connections between each of the Storymaps:

• Even though all public buildings on campus are accessible to me, I only routinely access a few, such as my house, the Seymour Library, the cafeteria, GDH, and CFA.
• This relates to which subjects I am taking, such as Anthropology, Sociology, and music, but it also relates to which places I am familiar with. 
• They are now part of my habits, and going any place that is outside of that feels outside of the norm. 
• All of the places shown are much more than mere points on a map, as they contain meanings that I and others make of them (Ex. the Seymour Library as a place to study and work). 
• This connects to a book by Edward Casey, called Getting Back into Place: Towards a Renewed Understanding of the Place-World, in a section called “How to Get from Space to Place in a Fairly Short Stretch of Time.” In it, he describes how places are more than just their physical locations, and that the meanings people attach to them, among other factors, create what makes that place unique.

Bonus: Learning Goal

Our class picked learning goals at the beginning of the term, and mine was to learn how to knit a beanie. I didn’t complete the project, but I made progress, especially in terms of learning the skills necessary.