Q Flâneur Journal (Extra Credit) Enlarge Image + Loui Jover, Night Rain, n.d. This fun task used to be a graded assignment, but I made it optional for extra credit instead; I also extended the due date to the end of Module 13. This should allow you enough time to take a nice hour-long walk when you have a good opportunity. While you roam the streets, be sure to take mental notes of everything you witness, and then write a creative narrative about your experiences when you get home. What did you see and hear? What were you thinking about? What types of human behavior did you notice? Etc. Be sure to include some pictures of your journey! Some students in the past have been very creative and have included sketches, videos (that they took), have written poems, etc. The extra credit points are significant since they are added to your final grade. A lackluster posting will only earn 1 point, but an excellent posting can earn 3 points (which could be enough, for instance, to turn a B+ turn into an A- on the final grade). Instructions: Go outside (preferably the downtown area of the city or town where you live) and walk around for an hour as a flâneur. Describe your experiences (what you saw, heard, thought, etc.) in a few paragraphs, and provide a few photos taken during your journey. Attention At your instructor's discretion, you can earn extra credit points (e.g., as much as three) towards your final grade for completing this exercise. Before you begin: • Read the page in Module 1 titled "The Flâneur." • Watch the supplemental videos "Tales of the Flâneur" and "To a Passerby." • Remember that the role of the flâneur is not only just people watching; try to be a detached-yet-contemplative observer with no particular agenda or destination. Wander the city (or your town) and experience the environment using all of your senses. To be free of distractions, you will need to be by yourself, not wear headphones, and use your phone only for photos (you have to have the self-discipline to resist temptations to text or use social media). • You will likely experience many things that are generally unnoticed by most people. A flâneur not only uses the sensory experience to explore the urban environment, but also reflects philosophically on what is witnessed. Why are things the way they are? How long has such-and-such been here? Why are people behaving the way they do? Etc. • Some people use an amusing method of going in the direction that street lights take them in. If the light is red, they cross the intersection at the pedestrian crosswalk and head in that direction. They then keep walking until they have to turn again. Whatever you decide, the idea is to wander the city with no other purpose but to observe and experience whatever you may come across. Purpose Observing city life and documenting it with photos is good sociological research practice for the upcoming projects. Moreover, learning to be a flâneur will open up an exciting new world of exploration and discovery, even in places that are already familiar. Tools • camera or smartphone • comfortable shoes Due Date Your instructor will keep this thread active over the next few modules to give you time to fit this task into your schedule. Please post your description and some photos before it closes. Submission Directions Please post your written description and images directly in the posting area. Start a New Thread