Exploratory #2: Virtual Reconstructions
Part I (Analysis and Conceptual Reconstruction) due to Canvas by 2/2 (beginning of class)
Part II (Critical Blog Post Reflection) due on course blog by 2/4 (3:35 p.m.)
For your second Exploratory, I will ask you to again work in small teams. This time, however, your team will examine some virtual archaeology projects for their affordances and limitations in representing cultural rhetorics such as those outlined by Brandenburg and Gries, before proposing a virtual reconstruction of your own.
In other words, if you were asked to present a conceptual project plan for the virtual reconstruction of either Gries’ or Brandenburg’s cultural rhetorical sites, how would you map it out? What components would you include? What factors would you need to keep in mind in order to achieve the appropriate "excavation" or "unveiling" of the rhetorical practices therein (depending on what you think are Gries’ or Brandenburg’s principal motives)? Of the literacy practices therein? How/when should "authenticity" become a factor in this kind of historical recovery? What difference could projects like these make for global rhetorical work? And, what questions would be raised for you in the process about methodology or epistemology? What problems or cautions might ensue?
I will arbitrarily suggest the following work teams:
- Andrew, Travis
- Sean, Stephanie
- Ashley, Meghan, Mikaela
Projects to Examine that Might Inform Your Own
- Rome Reborn -- I recommend viewing Versions 1.0, 2.0, and 2.2 (the most recent version) to observe some of the changes made by the project’s curators over time. What do you notice about each version? What do you see/not see? What surprises you overall?
- Ordinary Tavern Project -- Although this is only a soft-launch, feel free to browse around, following links to their FB and Pinterest pages to see some exhibits of their images.
- Link3D -- You can start by clicking under "Topics" in the left navigation bar, or go straight to their "3D Visualization" page for photo-realistic visualizations.
- Crytek Off the Map Project -- Digital reproduction of 17th-century London before the Great Fire (and some brief critical commentary, if you are interested).
- Pompeii 3D Project -- This is only the trailer, but it reveals some aspects of the project’s rendering.
- Victoria's Lost Pavilion Project -- Most image links are embedded, so feel free to browse featured posts and follow links.
- You have no doubt come across others -- if so, please share their links!
Allow yourselves plenty of time to discuss the projects that you examine, and to share or stockpile notes. All of these projects are rich, but they are also deserving of critique, and they may not reflect the cultural rhetorics being analyzed by Brandenburg and Gries. Thus, it is generally the case that your discussions about some of the problems these projects face will lead to a clearer vision for how you might propose your own virtual reconstruction of their specific sites.
Mode and/or Form
Note that I am asking you to propose a virtual reconstruction (not to complete one!). You may present your proposed reconstruction to the class in any form (physical, digital, moving or static), but please be sure that it is well explained and shows evidence of your analysis of these other virtual archaeological projects. Practically speaking, this means that Exploratory 2 might feature a bit more text than Exploratory 1. Your plan need not be flashy, but it should be well thought-through, responding to the considerations mentioned above.
Critical Blog Post
For your follow-up critical blog post (which you will do individually), please reflect on the virtual reconstruction assignment and how some aspect of the task illumined/complicated/addressed/extended your reading of our texts for this week. Because Part I of the assignment involves analysis, I am expecting that this blog post will be especially robust (i.e., you will likely have a lot of observations that did not themselves make it into Part I, and this is the perfect place to share them).
As a reminder, the critical blog post is somewhat formal, not merely an individual reflection. It should be a minimum of 2-3 well developed paragraphs in length (a couple of screens), and my great desire is to see you engage expertly with both task and texts, at times speaking through or alongside what we read, and speaking with some insight about what we read (citing where necessary and embedding links where relevant). Since your post will be intertextual, I’ll ask you to use MLA or Chicago-style parenthetical citations where needed, and to be clear that we know which articles/authors you are referencing.
As always, please take time to define terms and unpack assumptions for us, using your posts as occasions to teach, and titling them creatively (or insightfully). Feel free to compose your post as a response to someone else’s, if you see an interesting conversation starting on the blog.
Try to have fun with it!
-Dr. Graban
