Kaneko Library

I thought this library was awesome, it was really soothing and stimulated a lot of ideas. I was almost overwhelmed with all of the creative energy that surrounded me. One particular book that caught my eye was a book entitled, The Descent of Woman: The Classic Study of Evolution by Elaine Morgan. The book was published in 1972 caused considerable controversy. I am a bit of a feminist and have a great interest in anthropology. This book examined the various male-centered biases found in the study of evolution. I would have really liked to use this book in my essay, but I could not, for the life of me, think of what other object I could use to relate to it. Looking back, I think that this task would not have been as difficult as it first seemed. The book is all about the impact of women on evolution, and well, that basically lays the foundation for humanity's relationship to nature, and vise versa. This would have been my textual artifact.

I enjoy the fact that this book challenges the predominant view of evolution, in that it gives more power to women. Throughout much of the research on evolution the role of man has been prominent, while the impact of women has been ignored or even neglected to be mentioned. The book, in hindsight, could have been a very lucrative cultural artifact, enabling me to touch upon and investigate a wide range of materials about woman's relationship to nature. I think this would have been made my paper/thesis more defined in that it would open me up to looking at humanity's relationship to nature through one perspective, the female one.

Also I liked the layout of the library. It was open, but I did not feel distracted. Even though, I have to admit that my eye frequently wandered to the three plasma screens which showcased a clay-mation film about people eating all of the objects in the room, until they ended up eating one another, and another which was some sort of stop-animation, I am guessing, (even though it looked like intricate black silhouette cut outs of the characters) that was the story of a genie, told in German with English subtitles. The German was what inticed me, but the animation was what mesmerized me into watching for several minutes. The library was sort of an oxymorn, in that it was equally tranquil yet, stimulating.