Making use of the Situationist tactic of the dérive, or drifting, this assignment addresses psychological responses to (sub)urban space. In order to complete the assignment effectively, you must have a working understanding of Guy Debord’s essay “Theory of the Dérive.” It is up to you to make sure that you understand this assignment. If you do not understand any part of it, ask for clarification before handing it in.
There are three main components to this assignment:
1) The first part should describe and reflect on your typical experience of space including the places you typically go on a daily basis: the neighborhood in which you live, where you go for leisure, work, class, lunch, to study, etc. Think here of the sociological study by Paul-Henry Chombart de Lauwe, which Debord discusses. Your own writing here may build off of the writing you have done for Assignments 1 and 2 as relevant. This section should be 2-3 pages.
2) Walking, biking, driving, and/or taking public transportation, “drift” through the campus or city while observing how space is zoned, what is blocked or obscured, how signage, illumination, pavements, etc. encourage or discourage you to flow through that space, and note how this depends on the chosen mode of movement. Your starting point, and the time of day should be determined in advance, but your itinerary should not be, although you may choose to limit your journey to a predetermined area. This is a research assignment, so while you are drifting take detailed notes. The notes should work to defamiliarized the space (see Shklovsky). Your notes may include writings, sketched illustrations, photographs, audio recordings, etc. There should be at least 3 individual notational documents included in your final project along with a map that shows where you went. You may choose to drift alone, or with friends and/or classmates, although it is recommend that you complete this part of the exercise with at least one companion who is interested in the process. Your drift should last a minimum of 3 hours.
3) Describe and analyze your drift, evaluating the psychogeography of the space you explored. In doing so, include relevant passages and/or references to Debord and/or de Certeau. Cite these passages using footnotes formatted following the Chicago Manual of Style guidelines: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html. This section should be 3-4 pages.
The style of the paper should be formal. Although here it is appropriate to use personal pronouns such as “I” and “you,” refrain from using contractions such as “don’t,” “it’s,” and “aren’t.” Also, please be attentive to singular/plural agreement, as well as general rules of grammar. As with assignments 2 and 3, this one should be double-spaced, in 12pt. Times New Roman font.
This paper—including whatever illustrations, photographs, URLs, etc you may produce—should be submitted as a .doc, .docx, or .txt file to the d2l drop box by 9pm. If there is a component of your work that cannot be submitted to the drop box, drop it off in my box in Kresge Art Center 113 (the AAHD department office) by 5pm.