census Archive
Measuring the Unknown in Jesse Ball’s Census
The nature of the census changes continually—it is at points a mechanism of state surveillance, a quest for self-knowledge, an act of community, a measure of goodness, an exchange, a gift.
Notes on the State of Virginia: Journey to the Center of an American Document, Queries VII, VIII, and IX
Author: Kiki Petrosino | Categories: Critical Essays, Nonfiction, Poetry, Series, Writing, Writing Advice No comments
In these three queries, Jefferson attempts to distill the complex meteorological, demographic, and military features of Virginia into a series of data points. His prose—supplemented by graphical tables tracking everything from rainfall to carriage wheels—draws a fine grid over the natural and human activities of the Commonwealth.