Bill Bryson is an American author who has written many of books in his time. He has spent most of his time living in England, and his books cover the topics of travel, science, and the english language.
The origin of Bryson's project entitled At Home, comes from when Bryson found a small passage way in his attic that led to a small patio that overlooked a small town in England with many churches. He then fastforwards to when he is with a friend of his who is an archeologist and Bryson begins questioning him about all the churches in the area. His friend began to point out to him many different things that Bryson had never noticed before, even though he lived there for many years. I believe this made Bryson consider all of the ordinary things in his home that he didn't know much about and took for granted. Like why are salt and pepper found in nearly everyones household instead of all the other thousands of spices there are available to us. This led Bryson to go room to room in his house and write a history of the world without leaving his house.
I believe this definitely represents inquiry on his part. He mentions that whatever happens in the world somehow ends up in our home, from every piece of furniture, to the pipes in our floors and walls. I feel that we overlook just about everything that we use on a day to day basis because we are so used to our own personal routine. Every item has come from someone's idea in the past and has evolved into what it is today.
How, though, do you think Bryson's chapter represents "inquiry"? Do you think it's because he offers us a portrait of "just about everything that we use" every day? Does inquiry mean, to you, looking into these everyday or routinized aspects of our lives?
ReplyDeleteI would like to hear more of your ideas in class!