Feb 25 summary

It was Postmodern week! In class we worked in our reading groups to breakdown our readings according to three areas: body, technology, and empire. My group's readings were as follows:
--Werbel's essay about the Foley Food Mill focused on how the food mill represented women's social and cultural role as nurturers. The body was represented by a mother's role in nurturing her children's bodies. Technology appeared through scientific studies on nutrition, and the social concept of women as nurturers served as empire.
--Leone and Little's essay about the Maryland State House and Peale's images of the Natural History Museum placed the individual in the role of empire, with the job of watching the state. The individual was also important to the body in that the positioning of the state house required individuals to view the house from many different roads. The state building and the use of excavation techniques by Peale served as examples of technology.
--Poster's article placed identity as a central concept. The virtual world (virtual reality and the Internet) serves in the role of empire due to the power it has over individual identities. As new technologies form (i.e., the Internet) we create new identities (think Facebook). Technology also affects the body by creating interfaces, opportunities to communicate face-to-face without sharing the same space.