thesis must go beyond stereotypical statements H u m a n i t i e s

Essay 3: The Psychogeography Project

In Essays 1 and 2, we examined how

texts can help us better understand our

sense of “place” by asserting or

challenging dominant narratives, and

by representing a certain

neighborhood, culture, or community

through music.

After reading Thompson’s “Corporate

Sociability,” our task is to conduct our

own study of a particular neighborhood

in Los Angeles. You will research

independently in order to create a

scholarly essay that analyzes the effects of the geographical environment

(built or natural) on the emotions and behaviors of the individuals who live

or visit there.

Choose a neighborhood somewhere in Los Angeles County and analyze the

effects of the geographical environment (built or natural) on the emotions

and behaviors of the individuals who live or visit there.

The geographical environment may involve the landscape, architecture,

types of stores or restaurants, language on signs, presence of freeways or

public transportation, or other elements that give us a sense of “place” or

the personality of a neighborhood. In

essence, you are studying the

psychogeography or “psychic space”

of your chosen neighborhood.

The Thompson article is an example of a psychogeography study of

consumer spaces and how IKEA, the Apple Store, and Starbucks designed

their stores to have particular effects on the customer. You can use this

Psychogeography

studies the effect of

the geographical environment on the

emotions and behavior of individuals.

For example

: What do the palm trees on

this street tell you about the neighborhood?

What about lawns or lack of lawns? What

would a view of the Hollywood sign or

downtown communicate? Graffiti? Chain

stores? The number of cars? Are there any

physical indications or reminders of the

social or economic history of this street?

article as a model of how to write a psychogeography essay focused around

a main claim or idea. Your essay will also be focused around a complex

claim (your thesis) that offers an original idea or theory about the

personality of your neighborhood. Your task, as a writer/scholar, is to move

readers into a deeper understanding of the elements that characterize place

and how those elements affect us.

Choosing a Neighborhood

Start by considering a neighborhood that you

find interesting or unique, or one that you want

to learn more about. This might be a

neighborhood that you are already somewhat

familiar with or a neighborhood that is entirely

new to you. Remember that your goal is to add

original insights to a conversation about this

place, so even if you choose a neighborhood you

are familiar with, you will need to dig beneath a

surface understanding and deepen your

examination with thorough research.

The Catalyst

This essay project will build on writing moves and strategies that we’ve

used in Essays 1 and 2. Your job as a writer/scholar is to lead readers

through an analytical and well-researched examination of your

neighborhood. You may set up this essay as either a deductive or inductive

argument. In either case, you will continue working with selecting and

using strong evidence, developing logical analysis, conducting research,

introducing and concluding the essay, using transitions, and citing sources.

Getting Started

Start by choosing a neighborhood that you find interesting or unique, or one

that you want to learn more about. This might be a neighborhood that you

are already somewhat familiar with or a neighborhood that is entirely new

to you. Remember that your goal is to add original insights to a

conversation about this place, so even if you choose a neighborhood you are

familiar with, you will need to dig beneath a surface understanding and

deepen your examination of the geographical environment with thorough

research.

Tip

: Before you say, “That’s

easy! I’ll choose my own

neighborhood!” remember that

it can be very difficult to set

aside our ideas about a

familiar place and view it

through a new lens. For that

reason, it may be a good idea

to consider a place that you

are not intimately familiar with.

Keep in mind that the geographical environment may involve the landscape,

architecture, types of stores or restaurants, language spoken and/or on

signs, presence of freeways or public transportation, or other elements that

give us a sense of “place” or the personality of a neighborhood. In essence,

you are studying the psychogeography or “psychic space” of your chosen

neighborhood.

Your analysis of this geographical environment may be focused through a

specific lens; for instance, you may want to analyze the neighborhood

through the lens of economics, architecture, psychology, social justice,

history, science, etc. Do not try to use too many lenses through which to

view your neighborhood. Remember that a strong essay maintains a clear

and specific focus throughout, so it will be your job to narrow your focus

and use a lens that offers the strongest or most original commentary on

your neighborhood.

Getting a Visual

Because this essay will analyze visual elements of a place, it is essential to

capture your visual text for the reader. Therefore, this essay will include a

visual component. This may be in the form of photographs that you have

taken of the location, a map you have created, or an infographic. The visual

should be relevant and serve to enhance the reader’s understanding.

The Research

In Essays 1 and 2, you conducted basic research in order to write about

your chosen narratives and songs. In this essay, you will build on those

research skills by conducting in-depth independent research. Your research

will likely take a variety of forms, which may be primary and/or secondary

sources:



Primary Sources include direct first-hand accounts, observations, and

evidence about an event, object, person, place, or work of art. This

document involves information that was created during the time that

is being studied and serves as an original source of information about

a topic. Primary sources may include:

o Historical firsthand accounts of important events

o Fieldwork, which may be: interviews with people who live in or are

knowledgeable about

the neighborhood, data such as building codes and demographics, and

personal observations/evidence from a visit to the neighborhood



Secondary Sources include scholarly books and articles relating or

discussing information originally presented elsewhere, information

about events that were not directly experienced, or analysis of works

created by others. Secondary sources may include:

o Scholarly articles analyzing your neighborhood (look in library

databases) o Historical research not written during the time period

being discussed

Keep in mind that your essay is not simply a summary of facts about a

place or an historical overview. Instead, you will use the ideas that

you find in your research to develop your original analysis of the

neighborhood. Wikipedia may not be used as a source.

The Writing

Evolving Thesis:

In this essay, you’ll want to set up a thesis early on in your paper. This

thesis should be a complex claim that offers an original idea or theory about

your neighborhood. For a deductive essay, you will state this complex claim

in the introduction, support it throughout the essay using evidence and

analysis, and return to your evolved/developed thesis in the conclusion. For

an inductive essay, you will begin with a hunch, idea, or question in the

introduction that you explore, develop, or answer throughout the essay

using evidence and analysis, and you will arrive at an evolved complex

thesis in the conclusion.

Evidence:

As you lead readers through your discussion, you’ll need to provide a

variety of evidence used throughout the essay, in the form of primary and

secondary sources. Avoid bringing in a source only to briefly mention it

once. Consider how you can use your sources multiple times, in different

ways, throughout the essay.

Analysis

Your original ideas and insights will be a fundamental part of this essay.

Instead of merely repeating what others have said, your analysis should

discuss the deeper meanings of your evidence, and what it tells us about the

neighborhood. Ask yourself,

“So what?” Doing so will help you develop an argument about how your

evidence offers a unique understanding of this neighborhood.

The Requirements



Your essay should be a minimum of 8 full double-spaced pages with 1”

side margins, 1” header and footer margins, Times New Roman, 12 pt

font.



Your essay should attempt to engage in analysis that goes beyond a

superficial understanding of your neighborhood. While stereotypes

may be discussed, your essay should not rely on stereotypes in place

of analysis, and your thesis must go beyond stereotypical statements.

Analysis should be driven by your research findings and your own

insights about your neighborhood.



Early on in your draft, you should form a working thesis to give your

readers a main complex claim or theory that explains how elements of

the neighborhood lead to certain attitudes, emotions, or behaviors.



Your essay must integrate and cite at least five credible sources from

your research. For your readers, you must accurately summarize the

ideas, theories, terms, or concepts you are using from your source

(making sure your summary is understandable to a reader who is not

familiar with the source you’re introducing, but that summarizing

does not take over your essay).



Use your sources as a springboard for your own claims, questions and

analysis. You cannot just incorporate sources to just add “facts” to

your essay. For this essay assignment, you must add to and help

develop the ideas from the source you bring in to offer your own

thinking about the neighborhood you are writing about.



Cite all sources in MLA format (in text), in addition to a Works Cited

page. Use Purdue OWL (linked on Canvas) to look up proper MLA in-

text citations and Works Cited formatting.



Proofread for mistakes and edit for clarity. Consider paragraph

organization and appropriate transitions to lead your reader through

your discussion.