Photo Essay (Physical)

For my exploration of a physical space, I chose to focus on Manhattanville’s campus. The campus is a second home to me as I spent 2 years living in the dorms and spent a lot of time enjoying the space. As we know, Manhattanville is a small, private liberal arts college that has a diverse student body. For the purposes of this photo essay, I have decided to focus on a few locations around campus, such as the quad, the castle, and Brownson Hall. 

The quad is a large grassy area in the middle of the campus. From the quad, you can sit and enjoy the beauty of the campus. When the weather is nice, you can see other college students sitting out with their friends, doing schoolwork, or simply relaxing. Occasionally you will see classes being held on the quad which helps bring education beyond the traditional classroom environment. The quad is one of the many grassy areas around the campus that allows students to enjoy the suburban area that the campus resides in. 

The castle is the centerpiece of the campus and serves many purposes. Reid Castle contains many administrative offices for students to access when they need to. For example, the office of admissions, the registrar, student accounts, faculty offices, the center for career development and more are all located within the castle. The castle is a wonderful resource for students to get their questions answered as well as take care of their finances. In addition, events and activities will take place within the castle. Currently, there is a movie being filmed in the castle, but there will also be academic presentations and parties that take place there too. Therefore, the interior of the castle serves both the college community as well as the local community. 

Additionally, the castle brings so much beauty to the campus and it is the aspect of campus that I have taken countless photographs of because of how beautiful it looks in various seasons and at different parts of the day. The architecture from the 1800s reminds the students of the history of the campus. 

Lastly, Brownson Hall is the main academic building on campus and it is where most classes are held. As you walk through the halls, you see classroom after classroom filled with chairs and desks to allow students to learn about what they are interested in. The room sizes are mostly small except for the few lecture halls. The small room sizes accommodate the small class sizes that promote engagement and discussion. 

I chose to focus on Manhattanville College as my physical place as it serves as both a classroom for educational purposes and it provides a community beyond the classroom. I am interested in learning more about the history of this campus and expanding my knowledge on the resources available for the community.