Pierre Bourdieu

Pierre Bourdieu was born on August 1st, 1930 in France. He died on January 23, 2002. He studied philosophy and later went on to do ethnographic research in Algeria during the civil war there. His research focused on relationships in social life and the social positioning of people and it's affect on them. He was a poststructuralist who believed that thought processes were a result of ones society, and not necessarily universal (Briggs and Meyer).

Graeber uses Bourdieu's writings on economic value and gift giving in the Kabyle culture. It is in the section "the return of economic man," which is elaborating the path away from structuralism mostly through an analysis of grift giving. Most of the examples given by Bourdieu are related back through social relations, which are his main points of study. In the end, Bourdieu concludes that every act of generosity (and any act in general) is ultimately done for the self, and not the other person.

Briggs, Rachel and Meyer, Janelle. "Structuralism." The Department of Anthropology: University of Alabama, 2009. Web. 23 September, 2012. http://anthropology.ua.edu/cultures/cultures.php?culture=Structuralism

Slave Burial Site at Sweet Briar

I went to the burial ground expecting it to be a little spooky. Everyone told me it was really creepy, but I didn't find it so. I thought it was very beautiful and peaceful. I felt uncomfortable walking around the burial site since I knew I was walking on people's graves, I would have been content to just stand at the entrance and observe. The depressions in the ground where the bodies had been were disconcerting, and I thought the grave markers would be more uniformed. Still, I thought it was a beautiful place for a burial ground.

Historical Features of the Sweet Briar Landscape

The staircase in Grey Hall. Grey was built in 1906 and was originally a residence hall.

The Nature Center, which was originally the water treatment plant. The college used to get all of its water from the lake.

The pathway behind the Presidents House. You can still see some of the ruts from the carts they used back in the 1800s and early 1900s.

The boathouse. Well... it looks pretty old! I'm not sure of the history, though.

The sales building. 

The Sweet Briar House. The original farm house was built around 1800. In 1850s, the house was renovated to look like an Italian villa. The front part of the house was destroyed in a fire in the 1920s, and was rebuilt.

The slave cabin behind Sweet Briar House. 

The dam at lower lake.

An old, stone fire place along the banks of lower lake.

The bell tower of Grey. 

A Sweet Briar rose, for which the college is named.

Another part of the old water treatment plant. This one is particularly interesting because if you look inside you can still see some of the large pipes.

The Sweet Briar Flower Currency

This is a drawing of one of the daisies that would be used for currency.

Flowers as Currency

Flowers play important roles in many traditions at Sweet Briar. For example, daisies are carried up to monument hill to be placed on Daisy William’s grave, nature sanctuaries house a large number of flora, and the school is named after a type of rose. Therefore, I propose that Sweet Briar start using a new type of currency, one unique to Sweet Briar and relevant to her traditions. This currency would be created from species of flowers that grow on the Sweet Briar campus. Since flowers are already of some worth to the students, faculty, and staff from traditions, and the beauty of nature is also valued by most here, this will be a suitable currency.

            The flowers used will be grown on campus. They will be of the rose, daisy, and buttercup species. The types of roses used will be the multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), the pasture rose (Rosa carolina), and the sweet brier rose (Rosa eglanteria). The ox-eyed daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum) and the hooked buttercup (Ranunculus recurvatus) will be the other flowers used.

In order for the flowers to last as currency, they will be pressed dry and placed between two square pieces of wax paper. The roses will be in wax paper that is two-and-a-half inches by two-and-a-half inches. The daisy will be in paper two inches by two inches, and the buttercup will be in paper an inch by an inch.

To make them truly Sweet Briar currency, a small piece of paper with the Sweet Briar emblem on it will be placed between the wax paper to the left of the flower. The Sweet Briar emblem itself recognizes the important families in the college’s history with the Fletcher and Amherst coats of arms, and it also presents the school motto. The motto mentions earning roses, another sign that the rose bears value, or at least symbolizes value, at Sweet Briar.

The values of the roses as currency are derived from several factors. The main factor is where the rose can be found on campus. The multiflora rose is found on at least 13 spots on campus, most of which are close to main campus. These spots include Guion Woods, Carry Nature Sanctuary, Williams Creek Sanctuary, and Monument Hill, along with growing in cleared areas such as fields and pastures. Because of its abundance and proximity to campus, the multiflora rose has the least value out of all the flowers. It also has little relevance to Sweet Briar traditions. One multiflora rose would be about equivalent to one dollar.

The daisy, however, plays important roles in Sweet Briar traditions, so even though it is also found in over 12 places on campus—mostly in the same places as the multiflora rose, it is valued more than the multiflora rose. Parents give their first-year daisies and daisies are carried up to Daisy’s grave, not to mention that Daisy is the ghost that haunts Sweet Briar. One daisy would be equivalent to five dollars.

The flower with the next value is the pasture rose, as it grows at 10 different places on campus, and is also more aesthetically pleasing than the multiflora rose. The pasture rose is bright pink as opposed to the white multiflora rose. In order to avoid confusion, it is important to note that the pasture rose is a darker pink than the Sweet Brier rose, which is a light pink. One pasture rose would be equivalent to ten dollars.

The second highest valued flower is the hooked buttercup, a flower that only grows in six spots on campus including Kentucky Ridge, Paul Mountain, and Williams Creek Sanctuary. These places are at the very edges of campus property and are far away from main campus. One buttercup would be relative to twenty dollars.

Lastly, the Sweet Brier rose holds the greatest value because it is both rare— growing in only three spots—and is also the namesake of the college. This particular rose is the college’s namesake because it was of value to Elijah Fletcher’s wife, Maria. One sweet brier rose would be equivalent to one hundred dollars.

A dinner at Prothro might be bought with one daisy; books would have to be purchased with a number of sweet brier roses; a parking ticket might have to be paid with a pasture rose or buttercup, depending on the severity. Of course, this entails the use of a huge number of these flowers, which may endanger them. That’s why the administration of Sweet Briar would be in charge of circulating the flowers, and would only create new currency during the late spring or early summer when the flowers were available. Care would have to be taken to make sure not too many flowers were cut from the plants, or, a green house could be provided for the purpose of growing these flowers. However, that takes away some of their value, which is partially derived from their location on campus.

The use of flowers as currency will probably not cause a huge differences between social and economic classes, although, the wealthier students may get to have more decorated wallets. Maybe the flowers will also be used as decoration when they are not being used for monetary transaction. If that is the case, then richer students will be able to do more decorating. A sign of wealth could be the use of the flower currency as bookmarks and dorm decorations.

Works Cited

Edwards, Ernest P. and Edwards, Mabel T. “An Annotated List of the Wild Vascular Plants of the Sweet Briar College Property.” Sweet Briar College Natural History Series. June 28, 1991. Web. September 9, 2012. <http://nature.sbc.edu/EdwardsEdwards1991_SBCPlantList.pdf>

Favorite Piece of Art

This portrait of Martha Lucas caught my eye the first time I walked into the library when I visited Sweet Briar. It is so different from all of the other rather stuffy portraits of the other school presidents. For one thing, the colors are pastel and summer-y, making the painting stand out. Also, The whole painting feels casual, Martha Lucas looks relaxed and the painting style isn't as strict looking as the more formal paintings.. Plus, her dog is super cute! One of the things I like most about this painting is how it makes me curious about Martha Lucas. I want to know more about her and why her portrait is so different from all of the others. These are some questions I am going to ask once I find someone who knows. Perhaps a librarian?