Rhetorical Analysis #5 By Kwesi Billups In Chapter 8 of his City of Rhetoric, David Fleming defines the terms by which he believes the reductive societal pictures of suburbia, home, and ghetto can be discarded and replaced by doctrines that seek to erase discrimination, violence, and isolation from the subtext of housing planning and, thus, public […]
DC
Sociospatial Dialect: The Future of Discourse
Reading Analysis #4 By Kwesi Billups In Chapter 3 of his City of Rhetoric, David Fleming makes use of theories of proxemics, linguistics, and chronemics to present a framework by which a revitalization of public discourse can come forth. Fleming’s proposal of the urban sphere as the tool by which groups can better communicate and restructure the public […]
Mapping Commonplaces: Replanting The Mayflower
By Kwesi Billups Introduction Throughout the course of the semester, students in my College Writing Seminar have embarked on a semester-long journey to investigate the rhetorical situations of various locations around the nation’s capital, Washington D.C. Some students chose to work with street intersections, while others chose more historically documented and culturally relevant locations such as […]
All the Good Men in Jail
“If a person goes to a country and finds their newspapers filled with nothing but good news, there are good men in jail.” –Daniel P. Moynihan, U.S. Senator The quote above has been pulled from the top of a display in Washington’s famous Newseum. The Newseum undertakes the mission of relaying how important information, and […]
Digital Archive: Historical/Cultural- Posh Posse
By Kwesi Billups The Mayflower Hotel hosts carefully curated businesses, housing a Thomas Pink store to appeal to wealthy customers of the high end clothier, and an EDGAR Bar and Kitchen which has served as a central social fixture to the hotel that has been the center of various political events and scandals over time. […]
Digital Archive: Historical/Cultural- Culture of Isolation
By Kwesi Billups During my visit to the area, I encountered four homeless individuals in what could not have been more than a 200 foot walk from the metro station to the front door of the hotel, but that fact was lost on me after entering the palace known as The Mayflower Hotel. Furthermore, there […]
Digital Archive: Historical/Cultural- Built for Excellence
By Kwesi Billups The Mayflower Hotel is located on Connecticut Avenue at the Farragut North metro station- a relatively affluent part of Downtown DC. The building itself is architecturally classic and gaudy. Frankly, I was initially concerned that I wouldn’t be allowed into the hotel, or, at the very least, that I would need to have […]
Digital Archive: Historical/Cultural- FRE$H
By Kwesi Billups Donned with intricate detailing and alluring artwork, the promenade and main hall of The Mayflower lend to it’s traditionalist feel, an amenity that has no doubt contributed to the hotel’s role as a hub in political culture in D.C. The Versailles-esque hall of mirrors was simply marvelous and almost unfitting considering the metallic atmosphere […]
Digital Archives: Historical/Cultural- An Air of Extravagance
By Kwesi Billups Set on creating the perfect environment for professionals, socialites, and politicians to engage in their respective pursuits, The Mayflower Hotel has hosted countless dinners and events to feed its image of high-class living to those with the means to pay for it. The interior of The Mayflower Hotel astoundingly reflects the cultural […]
Digital Archive: Historical/Political- Fatal Attraction
By Kwesi Billups The Mayflower’s vision for political presence, with the measured allure of sophistication and lust, has set it apart from it’s counterparts in the city, and especially from it’s immediately neighboring surroundings. The Mayflower Hotel has worked beyond the mission of typical hotels to cement its position as as much of a cultural actor […]