One of the concepts we learned from Professor Shemek's essay and lectures is pastoral settings and modes. Something is pastoral if it revolves around and idealizes the rural and natural. The Decameron prominently features this pastoral mode, with its setting in the countryside and in gardens with abounding plants and animals. In contrast to the plague-ridden city, the country villas the brigata inhabit represent a natural beauty unsullied by prople, at least ostensibly. In reality, the pastoral tradition is rather disconnected, used by urban authors and artists who portray an idealized version of rural life that overlooks the poverty and hard labor those who live in the countryside often face. Indeed, The Decameron is a prime example of this false perception, as the brigata move into recently abandoned luxury villas in the country, getting to enjoy nature from a comfortable, man-made position, while servants bring them food and other necessities. 

One of the important things about The Decameron's style is that it is a frame story, meaning that it has layers of storytellers and storytelling within in each other. While Bocaccio is the actual author of the book, the person narrating it is an unnamed "author", who is "writing" about the brigata and their stories. This "author" occasionally gives interjections during The Decameron, defending his literary decisions and countering his critics. I will be doing the same thing here because throughout this webpage, I will make a few cultural references that won't make sense to an American audience.

The previous section title probably seems a bit curious. It's not an original creation though, it's a slightly modified line from the poem "And did those feet in ancient times" by William Blake. The poem, written in the early nineteenth century, is very religious in tone and praises England's "green and pleasant land" while criticizing the factories of the industrializing country. This puts the poem firmly within the pastoral tradition, idealizing the holiness of nature and lamenting the destruction brought by human industry. Back to the webpage itself, I've used various lines from the poem as section titles where they seemed appropriate for the section content, sometimes with a more direct description of the section afterwords. Finally, I ask of you to click on the bottom link on the right to watch a lyric video of the poem on YouTube, to give a fuller context, and simply for enjoyment.

UCI has two dining halls on campus, Brandywine and the Anteatery, situated at their respective residence areas. While they’re main purpose is to conveniently provide food for students and staff, they end up also working well for social purposes. I’ve found that most nights I hang out with my friends start off by having dinner together, usually complaining about classes or the food. The dining halls are very much a continuation of what cafeterias were like during high school and show that sharing a meal is a great way to get to know people. 

I’ve grouped study rooms and recreation rooms together because for me they’ve served a pretty similar purpose. These are the preferred hangout places my friends and I opt for, often regardless of the circumstances. If we’re studying for tests or working on a common class project, the study rooms provide a great space that’s quiet and comfortable yet spacious for us to get work done. During downtime we have from work, the study rooms and commons work for things like card games and watching sports on the TV, while the recreation rooms have pool, ping pong, and consoles to play games on. Whenever I think of the time I spend with friends on campus, these places are what come to mind. 

One place I've found interesting from a worldbuilding perspective is the theater here at UCI. I'm a computer science major so I haven't been to the arts parts of campus very much. The only time I've been to the theater was to see a lecture and live performance of Chinese opera by the opera singer-actress Wei Hai Min, a portion of which is embedded on the left. Performing arts are an interesting facet of storytelling and worldbuilding because they often work within a limited set of tools to portray the worlds they want to show. Therefore, playwrights and composers need to use the strengths of their mediums to their advantage. Musical performances use shifts in tempo and key to model emotions, while stage performers dance and even sing to evoke specific feelings within the audience. In a sense, the limitations in what can be directly shown are often compensated for by the imagination that can be inspired in those viewing works of music and live performance.

That's the title? Really? 

I know it seems silly, but I really do not like this parking lot. It's right next to my residence hall, and it feels like every hour, a car alarm goes off because someone doesn't close their door properly. 

Why I bother to mention this is because it shows that while UCI strives to create a unique experience for staff and students, there are constant reminders of the city and situation around us. The car alarms going off all the time is one of them, but another is the stark realization you get if you try to walk anywhere off campus. Once you go past the edges of campus and UTC, you'll find it extremely difficult to get anywhere without a car. The nearest metro station is 5 miles away, with beaches and shopping centers at similar numbers if not more. The city of Irvine is extremely suburban, dominated by single family homes, and full of the car-centric infrastructure that many people either love or hate. Being situated in the middle of this, UCI is unable to escape the realities of suburban America. So, while great efforts are made to make a distinct experience on campus, the surrounding world continues to bleed in and affect our lives here at the university.