Aaron Knochel and Dickie Selfe

We've built three primary components of the "Spaces of the Hilltop" site for readers and viewers to explore. While linear documents predominate, they describe an unexpected and often surprising project. The mapping imagery of the web interface is an attempt to illustrate the surprising element of the Hilltop project. The map is not "accurate." It shows real streets and highways in, around, and in-between the Ohio State University and the Hilltop community, but it is not intended to provide directions. Instead the map is explored through the web interface as a metaphor for the heterotopic spaces of the Hilltop: spaces of real geographies with alternative voices and local histories. A map may show a "place" (Michel de Certeau, 1988), fixed and accurate, but our map aims to show a shifting, morphing space through the layers of faces, buildings, and satellite images that begin to visualize the spaces of the Hilltop.

Similar to the many spaces of the Hilltop, the web interface tells the stories of the Hilltop project through different forms: streaming videos and an article more typical of academic writing. The article is available to navigate in a linear fashion, and a list of the streaming videos is also available. As you read, sample the Hilltop stories and imagine what "work" the storytellers are accomplishing with their narratives.

For a "nonlinear" experience, use the graphical map that extends to the right and below and trace some spaces of the Hilltop as your finger might trace routes on a map. Click on links that will allow you to read sections of the essay and explore the videos as they are juxtaposed throughout the web interface.

Technical requirements: Your browser will need to run Javascript code and allow popup windows in order to experience the map. All media are played using the Flash plugin.