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I have taken an in-depth peek into the construction and destruction of gyms on campus throughout Davidson College’s history to form an argument stating that the increase in importance of physical fitness as well as the increase in the college’s financial capabilities resulted in more fitness centers existing on campus. Heganoo, which we decided was great for events and the life of a subject, proved to be effective at depicting my narrative. Seth Long, in Digital Maps and Social Data addresses that maps (such as poverty maps) are “a mashup of spatial and non-spatial data”. His point resonates in my Heganoo exhibit because my narrative would be much weaker if it lacked images and description as well as the interactive aspect. As the map maker, I can ensure that the reader has an understanding of my argument since I can accompany the map with non-traditional map features such as text and pictures.
Furthermore, in Mobile Stories, Farman states in “Site-Specificity, Pervasive Computing, and the Reading Interface” that ““Stories tend to offer the illusion that they present the events in their entirety (and if they leave out anything, the omitted portions are simply not relevant)” (Farman, 9). With Heganoo, I was able to shape an argument with all relevant information because of the tools that I had in hand. As a viewer of maps, it is helpful to see change in location accompanied by dates, explanations, and images that can further educate the user.
The college’s history involves the ‘birth and death’ of buildings; some ‘die’ faster than others, and the ‘birth rate’ for certain types of buildings is higher than other types. For example, as expected, academic buildings typically outlast and are more frequent than athletic buildings. Until, 2001, only two workout facilities (not places where teams compete, but places where students can workout) ever existed on campus at the same time. Previously, the need for more dorms or academic buildings took priority over athletic facilities (rather appropriately), which is evident by the demolishing of the first two gyms on campus. The reason for one type of building taking priority over another can be explained by Lefebvre when he mentions in the Production of Space that “(Social) space is a (social) product” (Lefebvre, 27). For Davidson College, at one point in time, there wasn’t enough need for workout facilities to be a top priority for campus updates, but as the social structure of Davidson changed so did the structure of space. The increase of fitness centers is a result of necessity, capability, and social change on campus; as time goes on Davidson College is more capable and aware of providing students with fitness centers (and this could apply to other types of buildings as well).