I chose the Higgins Hall Auditorium where all our architecture-related lectures take place. The auditorium has two entrances, and the ground floor descends with gentle steps toward the small stage that also features a podium. The seating is divided into two sections and there are three pathways one can take; down the right, left, or middle podium. The stepped structure of the seating allows each row to have a clear view of the stage. Being an auditorium, the space contains yellow lighting that is flexible to control. When lectures are conducted, the lighting on the audience can be dimmed to only shed brighter light on the stage.
In terms of circulation, as people enter the auditorium, they filter through the three descending pathways mentioned until they enter a row and find a seat. Other than the speaker or technicians, to most people the stage is off limits. Even the first few rows of the auditorium are seldom fully occupied. People tend to seat themselves in the middle or back of the auditorium, as the closer one is to the stage, more people can see them and more attention is drawn to them. The layout of the auditorium partitions people into mainly the speakers/performers, and the audience. On page 75 of Foucault's "Docile Bodies", he describes how the "each individual has his own place; and each place its individual. Avoid distributions in groups; break up collective dispositions...one must eliminate the effects of imprescise distributions, the uncontrolled disappearance of individuals, their diffuse circulation". Where the audience seats themselves is also somewhat organized; more eager participants tend to sit closer to the stage, while people who are less engaged are likely to sit in the back of the auditorium. For every audience member, essentially all they see of others is the outline of the back of their heads, all focus is on the stage. Furthermore, in the quiet and formal setting of an auditorium, if one gets up to leave or performs any unexpected action, everyone behind them will immediately notice. This is a means of controlling "uncontrolled disappearance".
The setup of the auditorium lends to more seminar based lectures where the speaker utilizes the screen and microphone to project information to the audience, while the audience is the passive receiver of information. The elevated structure of the auditorium allows each audience to have a clear view of just the stage, while from the speaker's perspective on the stage, all audience members can be seen (if lights are not dimmed down). Furthermore, access to the space is limited to speakers, faculty, and students of the Pratt architecture community. For guest speaker lectures, a Pratt ID must be shown to gain admittance.
Nice use of Foucault. On another version of this, you'd want to push beyond just noticing to start drawing some conclusions about how these features function as control (and to what end), as you've begun to do when you notice the self-surveillance as a function of the distribution of the audience. Think about those how and why questions--Good work.
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