Das Unheimlich Unheimlichkeit at Anderson Hall

Anderson Hall at Temple University is home to the school's College of Liberal Arts. Anderson is one of the campuses tallest buildings, reaching a towering height of twelve stories. While the exterior of the building is domineering with the building's bold architecture contributing to the gravity of it's image, the interior of the building is a sharp contrast to its exterior construction, however, is as harrowing. One of the most Unheimlich areas of Anderson Hall are its stairwells, especially when a person attempts to look down through the tight sliver of open space at the center of the stairwell. In "The 'Uncanny'," Freud argues, "[T]he uncanny is something that is secretly familiar, which has undergone repression and then returned from it," which then in turn creates a feeling of unease, dread, or horror.

The image provided of the stairwell at Anderson Hall arouses feelings of the uncanny because it is both...

Familiarity is created by the building and school atmosphere itself. Everyday, I pass through the many buildings at Temple on my way to and from class. I have grown accustomed to my daily academic schedule, and unless I have to go out of my way due to some unplanned event, I follow a set routine. I have become so familiar with this routine that I often do not stop to take a closer look at my surroundings. Furthermore, I have grown comfortable with going up and down a couple of flights of stairs that I often do not take into account exactly how far up they reach.
When approaching the stairs from a different perspective and looking down from their highest point, I realize that they are not only claustrophobic, but that they are simultaneously dizzying and hidden. I often associate stairs with a structure that leads from one open space to another, however, the stairwell at Anderson Hall is one of the most confined spaces I have ever…