The Spatial Dimension of Community Formation at MIT

1
The Spatial Dimension of Community Formation at
MIT

• An exploration of how sharing a common office
  space impacts three MIT doctoral students sense
  of belonging to an intellectual community

Annis Whitlow S504 December 7, 2007
2
Research Question

• How do qualities of space impact the formation
  of community identity in the context of a
  doctoral program at the Massachusetts Institute
  of Technology?

3
Research Methods

• Research Subjects
• 3 second year doctoral students with desk-space
  in an area designated for PhD use.
• Method Hour-long interviews focused on
• How students use the space
• How they interact with other students in the
  space and
• How using the space contributes to their sense of
  belonging to an intellectual community.

4
Layout of the PhD Room
Door
5
Community formation through ritual interaction
has a spatial component in the PhD Room.

• Sam Well theres this row of desks right by the
  door... And if youre sitting in one of those
  desks, you sort of by default become the person
  who answers the door because its distracting
  you anyway so you might as wellYou know, the
  third or fourth time you see them, they start
  having a conversation with you because they
  either its because they recognize you or because
  they feel bad that youre always opening the
  door.
• Pat I think a lot of it depends on where you
  are sitting in the common room Im the farthest
  from the door So I, which means that if I dont
  turn around, I wont see somebody thats coming
  in. I mean, I may hear them, but I dont
  necessarily see them.

6
Community formation through ritual interaction
has a spatial component in the PhD Room.

• Sam Well theres this row of desks right by the
  door... And if youre sitting in one of those
  desks, you sort of by default become the person
  who answers the door because its distracting
  you anyway so you might as wellYou know, the
  third or fourth time you see them, they start
  having a conversation with you because they
  either its because they recognize you or because
  they feel bad that youre always opening the
  door.
• Pat I think a lot of it depends on where you
  are sitting in the common room Im the farthest
  from the door So I, which means that if I dont
  turn around, I wont see somebody thats coming
  in. I mean, I may hear them, but I dont
  necessarily see them.

7
Community formation through ritual interaction
has a spatial component in the PhD Room.

• Sam Well theres this row of desks right by the
  door... And if youre sitting in one of those
  desks, you sort of by default become the person
  who answers the door because its distracting
  you anyway so you might as wellYou know, the
  third or fourth time you see them, they start
  having a conversation with you because they
  either its because they recognize you or because
  they feel bad that youre always opening the
  door.
• Pat I think a lot of it depends on where you
  are sitting in the common room Im the farthest
  from the door So I, which means that if I dont
  turn around, I wont see somebody thats coming
  in. I mean, I may hear them, but I dont
  necessarily see them.

8
Community formation through ritual interaction
has a spatial component in the PhD Room.
Area 1 High Interaction, Low Productivity
Door
Area 2 Medium Interaction, Medium Productivity
Area 3 Low Interaction, High Productivity
9
The PhD room acts is a protected space for a zone
of cultural intimacy.

• Kelly I mean the reason why I think it is such
  an interesting space is that its because it is
  the only protected space inside MIT or actually
  not too far from the headquarters of our
  department where you can have a safe conversation
  about something, about the program without
  feeling that, somehow, your voice might carry
  over into a facultys office or to the
  Department Heads office, which would be quite
  unfortunate.
• Sam I sometimes use it as a safe place to talk
  about things when Im upset, but every now and
  then I wonder whether thats smart. Because its
  not exactly private. And you dont know whos
  listening and who is going to say what to whom.
  Um, I do it anyway, but afterwards Ill be like,
  oh, maybe I shouldnt have said that.

10
The PhD room acts is a protected space for a zone
of cultural intimacy.

• Kelly I mean the reason why I think it is such
  an interesting space is that its because it is
  the only protected space inside MIT or actually
  not too far from the headquarters of our
  department where you can have a safe conversation
  about something, about the program without
  feeling that, somehow, your voice might carry
  over into a facultys office or to the
  Department Heads office, which would be quite
  unfortunate.
• Sam I sometimes use it as a safe place to talk
  about things when Im upset, but every now and
  then I wonder whether thats smart. Because its
  not exactly private. And you dont know whos
  listening and who is going to say what to whom.
  Um, I do it anyway, but afterwards Ill be like,
  oh, maybe I shouldnt have said that.

11
The PhD room acts is a protected space for a zone
of cultural intimacy.

• Kelly I mean the reason why I think it is such
  an interesting space is that its because it is
  the only protected space inside MIT or actually
  not too far from the headquarters of our
  department where you can have a safe conversation
  about something, about the program without
  feeling that, somehow, your voice might carry
  over into a facultys office or to the
  Department Heads office, which would be quite
  unfortunate.
• Sam I sometimes use it as a safe place to talk
  about things when Im upset, but every now and
  then I wonder whether thats smart. Because its
  not exactly private. And you dont know whos
  listening and who is going to say what to whom.
  Um, I do it anyway, but afterwards Ill be like,
  oh, maybe I shouldnt have said that.

12
The PhD Room facilitates the formation of helping
relationships among students