Rodney: A Town Abandoned by the Mississippi
What happened?
After the Civil War a sand bank formed and the Mississippi changed its course dramatically, setting Rodney's natural advantage on its head. Besides that, yellow fever, a great fire and the establishment of a railroad line in a nearby town accelerated the downfall of Rodney.
Exploration
Our starting conditions could not have been more adventurous in a postmodern sense: We had to find a place that did not exist on our GPS navigation system. In a way, our van ride was reminiscent of the early explorers setting foot on uncharted land. After getting lost, but nevertheless finding a path on dirt roads through the backwoods, we discovered the remains of what must have been Rodney. As each and everyone of our small group of adventurers paved their way through the weed-ridden former streets of this settlement, imaginary plots thickened and constructions of what might have been or happened manifested in our minds.
Authenticity and Agency
Deliverance. Besides that, Rodney showed us yet another view of the way of life in the United States and we generally tried to keep our intruding tourist manners to a minimum.
European Perspective
Conclusion
In the end, all of these assumptions could just as well be true as they could be absolutely wrong, but the most important factor of this experience was the confrontation with our own constructed mindsets of what we expected from the American South. There were no definitive answers to be found among the abandoned buildings, but the ruins definitely fueled our imagination and aided us in deconstructing our conceptions.