Week Seven Outing: London Transport Museum

Our last class outing was to the London Transport Museum- an outing we decided upon as the original planned outing was another duplicate from my other classes.

The museum itself was very over-stimulating and crammed and crowded with displays and replicas and interactive exhibits. I found myself struggling to engage with the material being presented, as I was constantly being distracted by audio tracks from various displays or too much information being  thrown at me at once.

As neither of us had been there before, it was to be expected that we were going to have to play it by ear more than usual and just explore and see what we would come across in terms of relatable information to our course material. Overall, I don't feel that the displays were particularly relevant, as they very much focused on means of transportation in London and beyond throughout time from several centuries ago up to the present. There was plenty of interesting information about how the underground network was created and how the tube and buses and trains have evolved, and I particularly liked seeing the design of posters from tube stations from throughout the decades as they were so uniquely and creatively designed.

What I found to be especially meaningful about the last class time and outing, however, were our conversations reflecting on the course as whole and on the overall experience of a class with just a student and a professor.

I have absolutely loved this class. The course itself was extremely relevant to my interests in terms of the subject matter, and the adaptations we made to make it even more directed at things I am interested in (such as writing this blog after the weekly outings), were an added benefit of being the only student that I was not expecting. The way in which the lecture revolved around discussion while taking notes on a giant notepad that I was able to take away and add to my own notes was an entirely new method for me, and I found it to be very helpful as well as an effective way for me to follow along and be able to voice my thoughts without being distracted by trying to take notes constantly.

It was definitely challenging adapting to a class so centered around discussion and dialogue where I was the only student- I didn't have other classmates to answer the questions or speak up instead. It intimidated me during our first class session, when I realized how much more effort and concentration and thorough understanding it took for me to be able to really engage and make the most of our time together, but I quickly grew to absolutely cherish those conversations. It was so much more stimulating and interesting to absorb the lecture and then have to respond to questions and contribute my thoughts immediately after, and it definitely kept me engaged and attentive in entirely new ways. I had to be a much more active student, and I truly enjoyed it.

The format of the class also pushed me to challenge myself in terms of my understanding of the weekly assigned reading material, and in terms of how I was able to interpret and apply the theories and concepts to writing in the public sphere as a broad theory in itself, as well as to apply it to my own personal writings.

Our weekly outings were always extremely relevant to the topics we had discussed in class, and I loved seeing the theories and our discussions come to life in the various walks we took and museums we visited and places we explored each week. I enjoyed having time to wander and soak everything in on my own, and also being able to learn from the knowledge and wisdom of Nina as she pointed out important things or shared information with me about what we were seeing. I left every outing feeling much more enlightened and aware of the history and culture of London and of how the public sphere really functions in the real world, and not just on paper.

I learned more from this class than I have from any other class in my education until this point, and I am so grateful for the experience. It was more challenging, and more rewarding, than I was ever expecting. I read articles that were dense and very academic and about theories and beliefs I had never been aware of, but I feel that I was able to grasp the concepts well and explain them in our conversations, which was very gratifying. I came to see the public sphere in an entirely new light and to understand it more fully as it has changed and evolved since the days when Habermas first analyzed it to today in a world consumed by social media.

As a result of reading and studying these well-written and complex articles and excerpts, I feel that my personal writing consequently improved. Writing my weekly blog posts gave me a chance to thoughtfully analyze and process the outings in terms of their connection to the material we had studied in a more casual and informal way, and the midterm and final essays have given me the opportunity to find where my voice is in the larger scheme of the material and solidly present my personal arguments in a more formal way.

These past eight weeks have given me a complete new understanding of and perspective on the way that the public sphere functions today in contrast to how it functioned before new media technologies, and an increased awareness in my abilities as a student and what I'm capable of doing. Thank you, Nina, for everything this summer! I'll always remember this class and all of our time together fondly.

Week Six Outing: Foundling Museum

This week's outing was to the Foundling Museum- a museum focused on the work of Thomas Coram and the creation of the Foundling Hospital several centuries ago as a home for babies who could not be taken care of by their mothers.

There was an extensive exhibit on the Foundling Hospital that included many poignant displays of information and narratives, but I found that the temporary exhibition that focused on England's pleasure gardens was more relatable to our class discussions.

The exhibition was entitled "The Triumph of Pleasure- Vauxhall Gardens- 1729-1786." Pleasure gardens were something I was minimally aware of, and I was very curious as to what the history of them was in the context of our class discussions mostly in terms of the use of public and private spaces.

These gardens were open to the public in the late 1600s and they were extremely popular among Londoners seeking to escape the chaos and clamor of city life. They were places of pleasure and entertainment, and not typical gardens of flowers and plants that I had originally pictured. The goal was to create a feeling of a whole other world for visitors- a paradise that was totally unique from London life, and an oasis from reality.

This goal was achieved through creating a dramatic experience for the visitor- entering the gardens through dark tunnels and then emerging into a well-lit, energetic, bustling garden full of entertainers, musicians, dramatic architecture and trees, where everyone was dressed in costume. Musicians and bands would be playing from an outdoor bandstand, and it all truly led the visitors to feel as if they were in a whole new world.

We commented during the tour of the exhibition that this concept is strikingly similar to popular teen stores in malls such as Hollister or Abercrombie. These stores keep the lights very dim, the music very loud, and the smell of their popular cologne wafts outside and carries far beyond the shop's entrance. The entrance is usually adorned with pictures of scantily-clad models, or even mannequins or employees that are very rarely fully clothed. Shopping there isn't like a regular shopping trip- it's meant to feel like a unique, dramatic experience and like you are being transported to a whole other world beyond the rest of the mall.

These places are public (or at least semi-public) spaces, yet their function and purpose is one that is slightly dangerous and definitely controversial. They aren't spaces that families could attend with young children, or places where the elderly would feel safe and at peace. They're dramatic, they're scandalous, and they focus on pleasure all while in a relatively public space.

These pleasure gardens tended to get out of hand at night, with tempers flaring perhaps as a result of alcohol, music increasing in volume, etc. Perhaps the way people acted late at night in these pleasure gardens determined the present-day closings of gardens and squares and parks at nightfall, to keep trouble down and keep society behaving well even in the dark. I would say that it seems a logical conclusion to draw. Pleasure gardens might not still be around today in the same way that they were several hundred years ago, but public spaces that are a place of tranquility and serenity in the middle of a bustling city still are. They live on in the squares and parks that are so frequent among London, and they live on in a much more subdued and less dramatic and thrilling manner, as much more open spaces to all of the public equally and freely.

Week Five Outing: Fleet Street and St. Brides Church

This week's outing was to Fleet Street, ending at St. Brides Church. I had gone to both with another class, but hadn't fully understood their significance, so I was looking forward to going back and learning more about the history and relevance of both places.

Fleet Street used to be the home of many London newspapers, and although the buildings are no longer used in the same way, they are still there and are still as architecturally impressive. After having discussed so much about the influence of newspapers in the public sphere, seeing where they used to be housed was very interesting. Seeing that they no longer are located there also spoke volumes about how the world of newspapers has changed and evolved over time. No longer are huge buildings as necessary, as staffs are smaller and more is done online than in person.

Fleet Street had many other interesting places to see as well- the Royal Courts of Justice where much of the Leveson Inquiry is taking place, a Twinings tea shop located in the original home of Toms Coffee House (a famous coffeehouse bought in the 1700s to become the Twinings shop- extremely relevant to all of our discussions about London's coffeehouses as places of debate and discussion and where newspapers were birthed), and a Lutyens restaurant in the building where Reuters (a global news giant similar to the Associated Press) used to be located.

There is so much more to Fleet Street than I had realized before, and seeing it in the perspective of the changes that have occurred in the public sphere was so interesting and exciting.

We ended at St. Brides Church- a church that has been evolving for many centuries, with many changes coming to it architecturally as a result of time and damages from war. From the outside, it isn't as dramatic and impressive as it's neighbor St. Paul's Cathedral, but it has so much historical significance in terms of journalism throughout the centuries. It is known as "the journalist's church" and has memorials and plaques for numerous journalists throughout the body of the church. Many have died in reporting for wars, and it was humbling to see their names presented in the church. It's easy to lose sight of the risks that journalists take when reporting overseas or during wartime, and seeing their names presented was a simple and moving way to remind visitors of the weight and significance that comes with the stories we take for granted.

The downstairs of the church was a museum and a crypt that was uncovered during the war when bombs fell and exposed it. It was a creepy area, but very cool to see the headstones and uncovered stones from centuries ago. The museum area went in chronological order and had artifacts from all the centuries accompanied by maps that showed the floor plan of the church as it was in its original state up to the present.

It was incredible to me to realize that this building has been standing in some form or another since the days of the Romans. Nothing in America has that sort of significance and history attached to it, and I absolutely love visiting places that come with so much more of a story. I am one of hundreds of thousands of people to stand in that church, and it is so awesome to consider all the other people that walked the same steps I did and paid homage to the journalists recognized there as well as worshipped in the same church.

The connection of St. Brides to Fleet Street was explained thoroughly in the museum as well, as the printing press was housed in the church in the 1500s.

I found it extremely interesting to see another church that is so strongly associated with a particular group of people in society- this being the journalists church, and St. Paul's Church in Covent Garden being the actors church, etc. In America, churches are always associated with a religious denomination, and never with a people group based on career or trade, and I have found it to be an interesting difference.

It made me consider the church as a whole, and wonder if the focus is as much on God as the center of worship of the attendees of the church, or if the focus is more on the journalists and their memorials. The purpose of our outing was focused on the journalists, and not on worship, and I wonder if that is true of most people who step through the doors into St. Brides Church. Regardless of one's intention when visiting the church, it was a beautiful place of history and relevance to the public sphere as a home to journalism and the press, and it was a wonderful outing to a place I had yet to fully discover on my own.

Week Four Outing: Poetry Library

Our outing this week was to the Poetry Library at Southampton Centre.

While at the library, I browsed through a variety of poetry magazines and books with the purpose of thinking of the role of poetry in the public sphere.

Overall, I feel that poetry plays a relatively minimal role in the public sphere. Because poetry generally is more abstract and not concrete and straightforward in the message it presents, I don't feel that poetry is a powerful force in stimulating public debate and discussion. I do feel that poetry is something more removed from every day life, which does make it more intimidating to most people.

The Poetry Library itself was set up like other libraries would, but I still was more hesitant to open up magazines and books than I would be in a regular library. When I did open up a magazine, I felt more that I was opening up a personal diary of a stranger than a piece of material that was available to me to read and absorb. The words written on those pages seemed more to be the private, inner thoughts of the authors than they seemed to be public written works.

Some poetry did discuss topics that are relevant to the public sphere as a whole, such as "F*** It All" found in Essence- Issue 5 Culture (part 1) that focused on a lesbian couple's interactions in a public tube station, and "Fat Girls" by Lyn Lifshin which discussed society's views of female beauty. Again, though, these poems seemed to be more of personal interpretation of the issues than stimulation of public debate and discussion.

Some poetry magazines seemed very applicable to the concept of a public sphere, such as Coverland which was about "progressive culture since 1954" and focused on global issues about Australia and Brazil, such as race and financial issues),  The Coffee House with its title hearkening back to the coffeehouse days of London that thrived on public discussion, exiled ink that was written "because of media representation of certain countries and of Muslims' beliefs and civilisation" and included work by writers from demonised countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Yemen.

While poetry does, at times, include messages relevant to public debate and discussion, because of the more personal and abstract style of writing that poetry embodies, it is much more removed from the public sphere and more found in private places of personal reflection.

Week Three Outing: Museum of London Docklands

Our outing this week was to the London, Sugar, and Slavery gallery at the Museum of London Docklands in the East End of London.

In class, we had discussed Nancy Fraser’s article “Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy,” a critique of the original Habermas article we discussed as the foundation of the class. 

Fraser wrote thoroughly about the idea of counter-publics- smaller groups within the general population that create their own sort of public sphere circles within the whole, broad public sphere (such as womens groups, faith groups, etc).

On the way to the museum, I had a handout to read to set the stage for the outing (source: Toolkit, London, Sugar, and Slavery Website, http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Docklands/Whats-on/Galleries/LSS/), and it included these quotes about the museum, discussing a Consultative Group of direct descendants of enslaved Africans who were included in the process of creating the exhibit.

“We learned that communities were not homogenous static groups with stereotyped ideas, feelings, and interpretations of history. There is a diversity of perspectives within so-called ethnic groups.”

“Then one of them took the plunge and began to explain the problem. It was the narrative voice. The voice was that of the museum curator, not the voice of the community it addressed. Despite all our care in dealing with a whole raft of difficult issues, we had overlooked something so fundamental, we were stunned.”

My mission for the outing was to observe and note elements throughout the exhibit that reflected the involvement of counter-publics in creating the exhibit.

There were less extremely obvious examples of counter-public involvement throughout the exhibit, and much more so subtle examples that one might not necessarily notice if not made aware of the change in writing style beforehand.

I noticed and was struck by the inclusion of artifacts of African culture and art at the beginning of the exhibit. I found this particularly powerful, as it put me in the mindset of remembering that these people who became enslaved at the hands of Europeans and also Americans were first people who had a beautiful and exquisite culture of their own. They were not savages or barbarians like some history has made them out to be, and I thought the inclusion of these masks and handmade artifacts was an excellent and simple show of that, as well as something that the counter-publics knew more directly and personally than a museum curator would have.

There were many quotes from those affected and from their descendants throughout the exhibit, and they were a simple and powerful way of making the voices heard and rounding out the display to include the historical facts as well as the personal connections and experiences.

One section that I found particularly interesting and novel discussed the terminology that was used throughout the gallery. It explained terms typically used to describe those involved in slavery and how they were viewed as offensive by different people groups, and then explained the more politically correct as well as humane terms used in their place. An example of this is the derogatory term “slave” and the term used instead, “enslaved African” that didn’t strip those included of their humanity. This was something I had never seriously considered, but sincerely appreciated learning, and most definitely something that would have come from a counter-public that is more aware of the feelings of their culture and what would offend them.

During a brief light and sound show presentation in the gallery, quotes and text were read by a distinctly white European voice, which one would come to expect, as they were the slave owners of the time, but then an African voice was included in contrast, to share the opposite perspective. Lines that I remember from the show were along the lines of “You will not have a voice/Our voices were not heard. You shall not make your own music/You didn’t hear our music. Etc) This was both moving and powerful, as you really were able to experience the contrast of the two groups and feel the emotion on both sides equally.

One display case included ceramic bowls and plates from the abolition time period that depicted an enslaved African in chains, kneeling down, as the main image in the center. It was explained that this image portrayed the enslaved Africans as a very passive people. Members of today’s local community were involved in recreating the designs to speak more boldly about the issue and to counteract the passive view that was so commonly associated with the enslaved Africans.  This was extremely significant and empowering, I’m sure, to the community involved, as it finally gave them a voice in a loud and clear way through the use of both art and practical household items.

Overall, the effects of all the involvement of the counter-public groups are powerful and moving and made the experience much more well-rounded and enlightening for me as a visitor. I was very intrigued by the differences in this museum in contrast to what I’ve been taught my whole life in schools, and I was struck by the differences and the lack of knowledge I had on what the perspective was of the enslaved Africans and their descendants. I had been taught a very “white” perspective on the whole issue of slavery, and I was extremely grateful for the museum’s efforts to present a very thorough understanding of the issue from all sides equally and powerfully. More museums should be made aware of the efforts of the Museum of London Docklands to be inclusive of the perspectives and opinions of counter-publics when the exhibits feature their groups and their culture, and more museums should seek their input in establishing their exhibits to enhance and add validity to their information in every way.

Week Two Outing: Covent Garden and Charles Dickens Coffee House

This week's outing was to Covent Garden, a place I had been several times before, but I quickly realized we were seeing much more of it than I had even realized existed.

Covent Garden is overall a predominantly semi-public space, as there are mainly stores and restaurants and even the Actors Church that are open for certain hours of the day, but closed at night. Certain behavior is not explicitly stated, but generally understood, as it is a dignified area where behavior such as violence or lack of clothing or disruption of the general peace and public wouldn't be tolerated by passersby or by those in authority of the establishments.

Trafalgar Square, for example, is a much more public space with much less requirements on behavior. I could go to Trafalgar Square in minimal clothing and nobody would say anything to me about it. When we were there last week, there were men without shirts on and women who were in very little clothing, and nobody said a word about it. If those men had tried to go into a shop at Covent Garden, I'm confident they would have been turned away and asked to leave so as to maintain the proper reputation of the stores. Trafalgar Square doesn't close at certain hours of the night, and a variety of activities can take place there, as there is a less clearly defined purpose of what the space is for, unlike at Covent Garden where the space is clearly primarily for shopping and dining and socializing.

The Actors Church functions as a semi-public space in that it was totally open to the public during the day, and we were able to freely roam about, view the memorials to various actors, sit in the pews, talk, take pictures, etc. My professor even mentioned the last time she visited, a homeless man was sleeping on a pew. The space is open to the public to be enjoyed and appreciated as the memorial that it is to famous and not-so-famous members of the theatre community. The church is closed in the evenings and is only open for a few hours on the weekends, presumably to keep out more of the homeless community and to maintain the cleanliness and purpose of the church as a reverent place of homage and worship.

The second part of our outing was to the Charles Dickens Coffee House. We had discussed the coffee house culture at great lengths during our class time, and I was really intrigued by it. London had thousands of coffee houses back in the day, and they were meeting places for conversation and discussion and people to come together and debate matters of importance and public good. Newspapers were born in these places, too, and were another means of discussion and sharing information. France had salons that met in the homes of people involved, where similar debates and conversations were held. When asked what America had that was similar to these coffee houses and salons, I really couldn't think of an answer.

Yes, America has coffee houses. But when you go to them, you mostly find individuals on their laptops or iPhones, grabbing a quick cup of coffee. You rarely find groups of intellectuals discussing important matters and debating politics and social issues and such. Where do we go to do this? Or has America become so consumed by our individual technologies that we all are lost in our own worlds of the devices in front of us that we are losing the art of conversation and debate?

The Charles Dickens Coffee House is small and quaint, and my professor has established a personal relationship with the Egyptian man who works there. He knew her as soon as we walked in, and was delighted to see us and to meet me and to hear where I was from. It was such a warm welcome, unlike any I would  get at a Starbucks back home. It was so much less about the coffee I was ordering, and more about the relationship between he and I and my professor and Rusty. I loved and appreciated it.

He brought us our drinks downstairs where we were the only people in the musty smelling room downstairs full of tables and chairs. He even brought us a plate of a chocolate dessert, completely on him. When would a Starbucks employee treat you to a dessert because you were a valued customer and familiar friend?

At Starbucks when I go to just catch up with my friends and actually discuss movies we've seen and books we've read, which in essence mimics what the London coffee houses used to be home to, we have always been asked to leave after a good chunk of time goes by. The mentality is get in, buy coffee, get out. We could have stayed for hours at the Charles Dickens Coffee House, talking about everything under the sun. We probably would have been checked up on, perhaps offered more food or drink, and treated as welcome guests, not just consumers that need to leave so other consumers can consume.

At JMU, I love spending time at a place called TDU (Taylor Down Under), where there's a Java City coffee place, pool tables, lots of couches, and tons of tables and chairs scattered around a stage where open mic nights take place, people can play piano if they wish, or put coins in the jukebox to play music, too. There are always people meeting for lunch dates or coffee dates, and there are always tons of conversations going on. It's the closest thing I've experience to the coffee house culture, and I love being there. I spend hours talking with friends about the things I've been reading or studying in my Bible studies, or just catching up on life, or discussing current events and things going on in the world around us, and I always leave feeling invigorated and excited about life.

I think that's the whole point of the coffee house culture- bringing people together, bringing private individuals together to form a public body, creating public opinion and fueling social change and working together for the public good. London's original coffee houses are all gone, but the culture of them still remains in the local coffee shops all around the city and beyond. I love that about being here in London, and I'll continue to seek it out back in the states as well.

Week One Outing: Bloomsbury Walk

Our excursion around Bloomsbury led us to various public, private, and semi-public spaces of different historic and cultural significance. Areas such as Bloomsbury Square, Russell Square, Tavistock Square, and Gordon Square Garden are all examples of semi-public spaces, as most of them are open to anyone for most hours of the day, but close at night and are then gated until morning. These areas are very well used by the public, especially during the gorgeous sunny weather we had yesterday, with many people gathered both in groups and alone doing a variety of activities such as eating, reading, socializing, and just relaxing.

I have noticed much more green space here in London than at home, as there are squares and parks and gardens every few blocks that are quite large in size and very well maintained. These spaces are simply just green space, and there isn't any forced uses on the public that chooses to enjoy them- they are open and free and can be used in almost any way the public chooses. At home on JMU's campus, there is a large lawn area surrounded by classroom buildings and dorms, and it's the most similar comparison to the squares here. When it's nice at JMU, the Quad is full of students doing exactly the same things people did in the squares on nice days here in London. Our big cities, however, have green space, but much less of it and in much smaller and less public ways.

People mostly get around London on foot or by bicycle and much less by car. Public modes of transportation such as the underground and buses are always very heavily populated and used by all sorts of people, which cuts down on the amount of cars being driven in the city. Taxis are also much more common, and I feel like I've seen much more of them than actual personal cars. Because so many more people are on foot, the parks are much more popular, because they are easily accessible and free and so easy to find in any area of the city.

We ended our walk at the Wellcome Museum- a free museum. I had walked past this museum before, and was excited about the fact that it was free, simply because I want to see as much as I can in this city, and my money is limited. I think I expected it to be less impressive and smaller and not as interesting as museums I would pay a fee to enter and enjoy, but I was very wrong. This museum had very impressive and thorough exhibits, complete with audio guides and brochures, things to touch and feel, cabinets and drawers to open that were full of information and additional items on display, an extensive amount of articles and artifacts and items to view, etc. There was so much to see and it was very well organized and presented. After seeing the museum and both the temporary and permament exhibits, I feel like I could have paid a significant amount of money for the experience, which made it even more exciting that it had been free to attend. There were many ways that the museum engaged people- audio guides and brochures helped me to stay engaged, as I was given a steady stream of information that explained what I was seeing; the hands-on exhibits throughout were very good at giving me something to do that helped make it fun along the way too. The signage outside the museum was very simple but visually interesting and caught my attention yesterday when I first saw the museum and definitely made me want to visit.

"In the US, urbanisation is slowly succeeding. We've been a suburban culture for a long time and, broadly speaking, there's been a rediscovery of the virtues of urban living. What's exotic now is the city." -Alex Kriefer, Harvard professor of urban planning and design


I mostly agree with this statement. Especially from the perspective of my own life growing up in American suburbia, the city has always been a place that seemed unique and exciting and definitely exotic in so many ways. It's a completely different way of life and I think many young adults look to the city as a place for an independent adventure where they can find themselves. The city provides a constant stream of life and activity that I think a lot of young people, including myself, find very attractive.

From the walk around Bloomsbury as well as all my other excursions around the city of London, public spaces are frequent, well-kept, and inviting, and mixed in among private residences and business and educational institutions as well as semi-public spaces, they truly create a rich and diverse culture and atmosphere.