The reading that struck me the most this week was Schivelbusch’s The Railway Journey. I think we take for granted our ability to travel such far distances in such short amounts of time. I thought it interesting just how much of a mind-blowing experience this must have been back when the railway was first put into use. This completely revolutionized how people perceived time and space. In the Schivelbusch reading, I took away the main ideas that this new form of travel created a brand new space-time and altered people preconceived notions of time. It was felt as though the actual space in between locations was reduced and that the outer lying regions of a main city were flooding into the city center, beginning to create the idea of an ever extending metropolitan area.
This concept of of an extending city and the reduction of time required to travel places reminded me of the idea of the Global Village that we discussed in class. This really was the beginning of an interconnected world. One that allowed you to work and live in different areas and commute unimaginable distances in a short period of time. I agree with part of Brett’s earlier post where he talks about how this is likened to the invention of the internet. The internet was the next step in creating a more unified world, whereby the railway was just the first step.
Furthermore, I really found the idea of aura being introduced into this topic interesting. The idea of how location and specific time makes things unique and valuable is completely relevant in this discussion. SchivelBusch talks about how the train only services the departure and destination points and any inbetween stops. The villages not hit by the train are totally devalued and forgotten. However, the tourist attraction to the idea of a remote, quaint village actually destroys the aura of the village to begin with. What makes it special is its initial remoteness and distance away from everything else. By allowing people to get there without a long journey it removes what is special about that place.
