SENSE OF PLACE - Orientations (Notes by Nancy Chaney, Assistant)

Presenter: Alex Kuo

2:30 Assemble

2:40 Intro remarks about program by Mary and Kenton

3:00 Personal introductions among participants

3:30 Kenton: Overview of Palouse prep, seminar, & follow-up

3:35 Rodney: Schitsu’umsh (Cd’A) overview

3:40 Kenton: Silver Valley overview (Esp. transition from logging & mining to recreation & tourism. Consider changing date to last weekend in March or having optional one-day on-site follow-up. Seminar to include photography, geography, architecture, sovereignty/autonomy, political relationships, music as expression of occupation.)

3:45 Mary: Columbia/Seattle overview (Neighborhood. Discussed $ compromises, budget)

3:50 Q&A

3:55 Mary: On-campus events (Considering performance of "The Glittering Hill" about Butte & possibility of a Fall ’04 Prichard Gallery exhibit on Sense of Place.)

4:00 Alex Kuo, WSU Writer-in-Residence, whose most recent book, Lipstick, received this year’s American Book Award. His presentation was entitled, "Maps, Addresses, and Place." Citing the artificiality of political and ethnic boundaries, Kuo described maps as enduring subjectinve documents that "construct reality…(and) go beyond our lifespans." Kuo went on to remark that, "maps construct the world" and in that they are subjective, they may be fictional and not representative of reality. He also remarked on the relative anonymity of cartographers (not accountable). He noted that on maps, houses & other structures are identified as permanent features, but fields are not. Kuo provided written examples of the distinction between place and space, what is personal vs. public, the validity of insider vs. outsider perspectives, and offered a reading of his own.

We adjourned in good time, and vacated the building at the stroke of 6:00.