Post by G ♥ t h i k a l e a on Jul 16, 2010 15:45:49 GMT -5
My short notes...I need to write a chapter's notes per day.
DAY ONE, THURSDAY
-----CHAPTER 1: WHY GEOGRAPHY MATTERS
(PAGE ONE)
* 10 years ago: Soviet Union turned into 15 independent countries
* China Pacific Rim---> east asia economy change
* South Africa -> Nelson Mandela caused the map to be reconstructed
* NAFTA link Canada+US+Mexico in econ union (Change commercial map of NA)
* EU exist; 15 nations
* Yugo dying
<--Cause: Global climate + environmental extremitys (such as 1k yr flood of Miss + Missouri)-->
TERMS: ethnic celansing, greenhouse warming, Gulf War, El Nino, pandemic, jihad, War on Terrorism, Sunni Traingle
(PAGE TWO)
* Inter terrorism came to the US
* Amer fight soldiers in Afgan + invade Iraq
* N.Korea nuclear ambition
* Wars in Africa, overlooked, millions of lives, Aids = more millions of lives
* NAFTA's link lost jobs for NA; China comes in
* EU + 10 member in 2004, inc = 25/39 EU
* Yugo died, new East Timor, Papua, Padania, Transdeniestria, Limpopo, Uttaranchal
(PAGE THREE)
* All can be explain with geography
* Geo change; HS -> learn countries , cities, ranges, rivers; college -> geo = math + sceince, teaching carrier -> tech
* GIS = Geographic Information Systems
---Being A Geographer
* Federick E Fritz Nelson: geo, join Geo bcz like regional (undergraduate) geo in Northern Michigan University, pursue major -> change (graduate) Michigan State -> today geo + periglacial (ice-margin) world reowned
* Harm de Blij: Holland during WWII, at home (not school) -> watch from roof window suburbian house. Rotterdam englufed flames; Nazi firebomb May 14, 1940 (later he think 9/11), parents go 2 small village in country. He use this time to study, esp. Hendrik Willem Van Loon.
(PAGE FIVE)
* School open: Geo teacher inspiring: geo widen horizations, but require religious studies. (immeasureable rewards)
* Geo: life easier, more meaningful, complex + changing world, lifetime dis + fasc
---What is Geography
* Millenia ago - Geography: discovery. Eratosthenes masure Sun, Earth = round, nearly correct fig. circum.
* Sev centuries later: Alexander von Humboldt, German naturalist - geographer
* A few decades ago - capes + bays, unnecessarily taught in schools
* Today - Satellites transmit info to comp (maps = analysis + decision)
(PAGE SIX)
* Still traditions in geography exist:
* 1: In ways most important deals w/ natural + human.
* "social science" , research physical + weather climate + plants / animals + human activ, everything can be studied
* 2: Assess complicated relations btween human society + natural environments
* fast growing: "Jean Grove" global analysis on what happen when Europe + much of world "the little ice age" from 1300-1800
* other scales at diff geos
* predict pppl reaction to environ hazard, health + disease (climate, veget, fauna, cultural trad + habit)
* small productive group med geos rrch + prdict outbreaks of cholera, AIDS, bird flue, etc, (ex. Peter Gould's book on Aids, the slow plague)
* 3rd trad: research, understand foregin cult + dist. regions
* Many know foreign language, faded due to IE, satellite, comp, some still like geo because of foreign places
(PAGE SEVEN)
* Geographic provincialism entails serious national security risks
* 4: location tradition (essentially human-geo conv)
* why cities located? what does location imply for future prospects? why does one city grow when another nearby dies? Historical events
* Urban + regional planning = key compnent, many graduates: find pos in plan field
---Looking At The World Spatially
* Prefers to use the term "spatially" whichderives from space, not celestial space but Earthly space.
* Econ + Anthro + other social scientists use spatial perspections, but they lag behind
* for example: Paul Krugman wrote a column in New York Times, rediscovered spatial trusims, long since so perseded in geo, lit. Physiologist Jared Diamond book "Guns Germs + Steel" described "Best book in geo recent years" but geos note weaknesses.
(PAGE EIGHT)
* Diamond joined Department of Geo at ULCA + wrote another volume.
* Diamond: sensitive issues, role of natural environment in fate of human society (flawed, racist interpretations)
* Many people attribute complex set of circumstances due to map (incorrect) - Jeffrey Sachs: the rich countries of the wrold are outside the tropics, the poor ones are inside the tropics, then, climate influences.
* However the truth is: subjugation, colonialism, exloitation, suppression is the true reason for pushing tropics into difficult disadvantages. the geographic map does NOT lend itself to environmental generalization
* Geography is a discipline of diversity, whose spatial umbrella - study, analyze processes, systems, behaviors, countless other phenomena that have spatiall expression
* binds geos, inte in patterns, distribution, diffusions, circulations, interactions, juxtapositions, interations connections
(PAGE NINE)
* Geography allows geographers to pursue endly varying research. The age of Discovery = over, but era of geographic discovery will never be
---The Spatial Specializers
* Greek + Roman expan, Euro diversity, global dissemin
* Indigenous drew maps, interpret lands, from Korea to Andes, from India to Morroco
* Euro nationalism, "schools" of Geo: German, French, British
* US: specialized schools, but mor escholar than political
* California-Berkeley, "Carl Sauer": idea, society liveways imprint on Earth as cultural landscape
* Geographers take wide/long view, put what discov. in temporal + spatial perspective.
(PAGE TEN)
* Geography is synthesis = try to find ways 2 link disparate info to solve unanswered problems.
* Can set in very fruitful
* Courage to generalize and hypothesize: this is age of specialization. Must be relate to big questions that confront, or else question value.
* Ex: NW University professor urge practice "int dinner convo" - Always be ready 2 explain in ordinary langauge 2 the guest what it is you do / why it matters - because the general public must be told about what they do
* Some geos become area specialistss (regional scientists); others study urbanization to speculate and assess, (such as interact btween cities: Baltimore + Philadelphia close, more interact than when far away, Dever and Minneapolis.) Distance is imp to interact - distance decay, measuring factor can help in business + commercializing
* Some geos combine eco + geograph, focus on spatial aspects of econ activity. (Giants on Pacific Rim)
(PAGE ELEVEN)
* Some focus on spatial aspects of political behavior.
* Geopolitics hijaked by Nazi ideologues, lost rep, but coming back as serious and objective research. (power relation -> boundary studies)
* Dozens of fields
* Cultural geo, biogeo, geomorphology, historical geography, etc.
* Harm started as phyiscal geographer (geomorpho) etc, but spent year in Sqaziland, (south Africa), trying 2 determine a large wide valley was part of African Rift Valley system? Preparing, met political geograph, Arthur Moodie (british came from nw univ as visit prof)
* The man changed him, study political + physical, asked to eatch course, wrote book, became second special
* Knowing geopolitics, physical will help. It is dangerious to explain political / social develop influenc by environ.
* Appointed to Geogetown uni to teach in School of Foreign service
(PAGE TWELVE)
* drank wine 1955 chateau beychevelle, working on book wine: a a geo appreciation, teaching the geography of wine at the univ of miami, students went into business with Geography
---But is Geography Important?
* Many of us cannot read maps, even simple road maps
* People like travel professionals, the ones who use them the most, have trouble
* When someone arranges his trip, he hopes consideration si given to the other airport about 2 hrs away, but no
* December 26, 2004: Tilly Smith was in Phuket Thailand on Maikhao Beach and she saw water recede into distance. She remembered her geo teacher Mr. Andrew Kearney at Danes Hill Prep in Oxshott, (below london) that tsunami will make water disappear off beach before returning in a huge wave. She and her parents warned people and 100 followed her advice, all of them surviving. Those who did not all died. She became the Angel of Phuket and they praised her geo teacher as well
(PAGE THIRTEEN)
* Public believes misinformation.
* American student can go thru Kindergarten --> Graduate school w/o taking 1 course in geography (not even complete program)
* Not true in any other develop country ^
* group of scientist predict imminent glaciation (1960s) or looming greenhouse warming (2000s), people insufficiently informed, can spend billion of dollars better in other cause
* "Leaders may know" - defense secretary Robert McNamara not even take one basic regional / human geography at his alma mater (Harvard)
* Harvard has not offered geo for half a century
(PAGE FOURTEEN)
* Ex: Prime minister of Mauritus come to Washington, Mauritius = subtropical island with lots of rainfall and excellent relations, got mix with Mauritania (arid desert state in West Africa broke relations in 1967), Nixon suggest to restore diplomatic relations and start American aid, such as dry farming. The ambassador asks about the space tracking station US maintained on his ialdn, if the operation was satisfying, and Nixon wonders why he has a space tracking system in a country that they do not have diplomatic relations with
* We were not well enough acquainted with the physical or cultural geograph of Indochina when in Vietnam Ware
* Iraq in 2003, same
* More we know about planet and natural environ, ppl and culture, polit system + econ, borders and boundaries, attitudes and aspirations, better prepared for challenges
---How did it come to this?
* Geography is underrepresent as school subject and university in the US
* Geography used to be at Harvard and Yale, and was widely taught at schools
(PAGE FIFTEEN)
* First World war, Second World war, very important in schools. Geos brought environ issues to public attention first, knew about foreign culture + econ, produce map, work of political boundarie, guide US policy
* 1950, 1960, good in Geo - success in WW2. Maps, atlases, globes sold by mills, National Geographic unprecendent numbers of substcription, University Geography Departments more students than handle
* Peace Crops, geo + students quickly appointed
* Professional educators: instead of teaching history + government + geography, teach combo: social studies
* School teachers no learn disciplines either, learn SS
* University of Miami in early 1970s: registered for World Regional Geography and Environmental Conservation, but when SS come, student teachres stop come, bcz other requirement before geography
(PAGE SIXTEEN)
* Private + Parochial schools teach geo, but public, no more
---Reversal of Fortune
* Evident + worsening national geographic illiteracy
* social studies rubric excluded elementary/necessary physical geography (include basic climatology)
* this is one subject of importance understanding human-environment interactions + workins of climate and weather
* college and enrolled in first-year geograph course, disadvantage: did not know basics
* Georgetown University - every student required to take Map of Modern World by charles Pirtle
* Must become ^ familiar with layout political world , general pattersn fo geopolitical change, general environmental and climatic conditions, resource distributions
* At end of 4 year degree program, asked to list course pushed knowlage forward the most. Map of the Modern world led rankins year after year
* Georgetown was and is still a rarity.
(PAGE SEVENTEEN)
* University of Miami ask students identify prominent geographic locations on blank map. Results abysmal, grew worse
* Announce the large percentage of participants who could not locate Pacific Ocean, Sahara, Mexico, China
* 1980, student newspaper, Miami Hurricane, geographic illiteracy posted. NBC's today show appear on campus.
* Elsewhere, people tried own tests on students - only 5 percent of students could identify Vietnam, college: 42 percent correctly name Mexico as our southern neighbor.
* People became dismayed
---Enter the Society
* President Reagan, went in Brasilia, capital of Brazil, to important international confernce, said Bolivia instead of Brasilia. Caused stir, made front page of USA Today
(PAGE EIGHTEEN)
* ABC-TV call University of Miami (relayed to Harm de Blij) he went on Good Morning America, generated a week-long geo series a few months later, made him six-year appointment to GMA staff as geography editor
* Gilbert M. Grosvenor from Society agreed with involving Society with the campaign
* He joined NGS staff full time in 1984 for six-year editorial term, help mobilize alliance
* Many years, Society + discipline not good relation
* Society: Professional geographers = snobbish, insulated, often unimaginative
* Professional geographers: Society's popular is inapprorpiate / misleading
* professor in Northwestern Universeity says: If you are going to subscribe to NG send it to your house, not in department mailbox here
* He living in Africa during early 1950s, National Geographic helped him to the world, its maps helfpul, he sent the president a letter to tell him so, he sent back one urging to continue interest in geo and invite to visit Society Headquarters
(PAGE NINETEEN)
* Gilbert M. Grosvenor (grandson) laucnehd massive financial and educational campaign in support of geography at school level.
* High school students not coming 2 colege intend major geo, never saw geo in their HS
* SS deplete ranks of geo teacher, must teach geography teachres
* Cristopher Kit Salter develop framework "Five Themes" geo, print million copies + of map "Maps The Landscape and Fundamental Themes in Geo" give to each school in country
* Salter with NGS organize Geographic Alliances for every State in the Union, with geo teachres come to Washington for instructon then return with what they had learned, so then they began to teach better
* Grosvenor raised the funding, testify on Capitol hill (shows why national edcuatoion must have geo), buttonhole politician, go around country talking about geography
* leader of Association of American Geographers put the Society and discipline together, no more arguement
* After all that, 20 years, 100 million, less than 30 percent of American students getting geo. (7 percent before) so much left to do
(PAGE TWENTY)
---Will Geography be History?
* US Congress endorsed National Geography week every November, National Geography Bee, television vo
* Geography = one of the five cornerstones of America
* Two negatives in particular
* 1: We are obsessed with history, acheology to geology to paleontology to linguistics, in higher edu spatial science is as bad as geography in school level
* No one believes that a university or college should go without a history department but the same can't b said for geo
* Professional geos have lots of subdivisions within geography; university admins are not sure what the geography is. History, anthropology, biology = more clearly defined to them
* Basic ground = regional, human-cultural, physical(environmental)
* Tied by spatial perspective + spatial analyiss
* great opportunity lies at interface of environment / humanity: was very popular for better part of a century, ahead of much of that time, should reclaim pos
(PAGE TWENTY-ONE)
* So many historians on TV, needs a presidential geographer , ignord by networks
---Geographic Literacy and National Security
* crucial to national security; century: massive environmen change, mjr popultn shifts, civil conflicts, China -> geopolitical + encomic superpower, Europe -> international stage, + more
* conduct research on likelihood of coming energy crisis, how to forestall, WMD (weapons of mass destruction) dissemination, mitigating them, impact of global climage change, how to confront, w/o geo cannot do any of this
* WMD -> tech + ideology, idology = geography. Somalia to Afghanistan, Cambodia to Liberia, Myanmar to North Korea, terrible price
* Geography can antidote isolationism + provincialism
* During Vietnam War, people talk of bombing the North, and US could, but they cannot persuade Vietnamese to change ideology.
* Iraq: Military made sure war was one, but the people still feel the same way in their hearts and minds (devastated country)
(PAGE TWENTY-TWO)
* US could not stop growing minority of Sunni citizens
* Not enough American know region, speak diff language, understand faith, rhythms, feelings
* + Other dangers not just Iraq such as the China (long term)
* Reinstate departments of Geography in Elite university + ressurect regional studies in all departments
* Geography can be fun and entertaining and enlightening, but it is also serious, can be used to end wars or to start them
DAY ONE, THURSDAY
-----CHAPTER 1: WHY GEOGRAPHY MATTERS
(PAGE ONE)
* 10 years ago: Soviet Union turned into 15 independent countries
* China Pacific Rim---> east asia economy change
* South Africa -> Nelson Mandela caused the map to be reconstructed
* NAFTA link Canada+US+Mexico in econ union (Change commercial map of NA)
* EU exist; 15 nations
* Yugo dying
<--Cause: Global climate + environmental extremitys (such as 1k yr flood of Miss + Missouri)-->
TERMS: ethnic celansing, greenhouse warming, Gulf War, El Nino, pandemic, jihad, War on Terrorism, Sunni Traingle
(PAGE TWO)
* Inter terrorism came to the US
* Amer fight soldiers in Afgan + invade Iraq
* N.Korea nuclear ambition
* Wars in Africa, overlooked, millions of lives, Aids = more millions of lives
* NAFTA's link lost jobs for NA; China comes in
* EU + 10 member in 2004, inc = 25/39 EU
* Yugo died, new East Timor, Papua, Padania, Transdeniestria, Limpopo, Uttaranchal
(PAGE THREE)
* All can be explain with geography
* Geo change; HS -> learn countries , cities, ranges, rivers; college -> geo = math + sceince, teaching carrier -> tech
* GIS = Geographic Information Systems
---Being A Geographer
* Federick E Fritz Nelson: geo, join Geo bcz like regional (undergraduate) geo in Northern Michigan University, pursue major -> change (graduate) Michigan State -> today geo + periglacial (ice-margin) world reowned
* Harm de Blij: Holland during WWII, at home (not school) -> watch from roof window suburbian house. Rotterdam englufed flames; Nazi firebomb May 14, 1940 (later he think 9/11), parents go 2 small village in country. He use this time to study, esp. Hendrik Willem Van Loon.
(PAGE FIVE)
* School open: Geo teacher inspiring: geo widen horizations, but require religious studies. (immeasureable rewards)
* Geo: life easier, more meaningful, complex + changing world, lifetime dis + fasc
---What is Geography
* Millenia ago - Geography: discovery. Eratosthenes masure Sun, Earth = round, nearly correct fig. circum.
* Sev centuries later: Alexander von Humboldt, German naturalist - geographer
* A few decades ago - capes + bays, unnecessarily taught in schools
* Today - Satellites transmit info to comp (maps = analysis + decision)
(PAGE SIX)
* Still traditions in geography exist:
* 1: In ways most important deals w/ natural + human.
* "social science" , research physical + weather climate + plants / animals + human activ, everything can be studied
* 2: Assess complicated relations btween human society + natural environments
* fast growing: "Jean Grove" global analysis on what happen when Europe + much of world "the little ice age" from 1300-1800
* other scales at diff geos
* predict pppl reaction to environ hazard, health + disease (climate, veget, fauna, cultural trad + habit)
* small productive group med geos rrch + prdict outbreaks of cholera, AIDS, bird flue, etc, (ex. Peter Gould's book on Aids, the slow plague)
* 3rd trad: research, understand foregin cult + dist. regions
* Many know foreign language, faded due to IE, satellite, comp, some still like geo because of foreign places
(PAGE SEVEN)
* Geographic provincialism entails serious national security risks
* 4: location tradition (essentially human-geo conv)
* why cities located? what does location imply for future prospects? why does one city grow when another nearby dies? Historical events
* Urban + regional planning = key compnent, many graduates: find pos in plan field
---Looking At The World Spatially
* Prefers to use the term "spatially" whichderives from space, not celestial space but Earthly space.
* Econ + Anthro + other social scientists use spatial perspections, but they lag behind
* for example: Paul Krugman wrote a column in New York Times, rediscovered spatial trusims, long since so perseded in geo, lit. Physiologist Jared Diamond book "Guns Germs + Steel" described "Best book in geo recent years" but geos note weaknesses.
(PAGE EIGHT)
* Diamond joined Department of Geo at ULCA + wrote another volume.
* Diamond: sensitive issues, role of natural environment in fate of human society (flawed, racist interpretations)
* Many people attribute complex set of circumstances due to map (incorrect) - Jeffrey Sachs: the rich countries of the wrold are outside the tropics, the poor ones are inside the tropics, then, climate influences.
* However the truth is: subjugation, colonialism, exloitation, suppression is the true reason for pushing tropics into difficult disadvantages. the geographic map does NOT lend itself to environmental generalization
* Geography is a discipline of diversity, whose spatial umbrella - study, analyze processes, systems, behaviors, countless other phenomena that have spatiall expression
* binds geos, inte in patterns, distribution, diffusions, circulations, interactions, juxtapositions, interations connections
(PAGE NINE)
* Geography allows geographers to pursue endly varying research. The age of Discovery = over, but era of geographic discovery will never be
---The Spatial Specializers
* Greek + Roman expan, Euro diversity, global dissemin
* Indigenous drew maps, interpret lands, from Korea to Andes, from India to Morroco
* Euro nationalism, "schools" of Geo: German, French, British
* US: specialized schools, but mor escholar than political
* California-Berkeley, "Carl Sauer": idea, society liveways imprint on Earth as cultural landscape
* Geographers take wide/long view, put what discov. in temporal + spatial perspective.
(PAGE TEN)
* Geography is synthesis = try to find ways 2 link disparate info to solve unanswered problems.
* Can set in very fruitful
* Courage to generalize and hypothesize: this is age of specialization. Must be relate to big questions that confront, or else question value.
* Ex: NW University professor urge practice "int dinner convo" - Always be ready 2 explain in ordinary langauge 2 the guest what it is you do / why it matters - because the general public must be told about what they do
* Some geos become area specialistss (regional scientists); others study urbanization to speculate and assess, (such as interact btween cities: Baltimore + Philadelphia close, more interact than when far away, Dever and Minneapolis.) Distance is imp to interact - distance decay, measuring factor can help in business + commercializing
* Some geos combine eco + geograph, focus on spatial aspects of econ activity. (Giants on Pacific Rim)
(PAGE ELEVEN)
* Some focus on spatial aspects of political behavior.
* Geopolitics hijaked by Nazi ideologues, lost rep, but coming back as serious and objective research. (power relation -> boundary studies)
* Dozens of fields
* Cultural geo, biogeo, geomorphology, historical geography, etc.
* Harm started as phyiscal geographer (geomorpho) etc, but spent year in Sqaziland, (south Africa), trying 2 determine a large wide valley was part of African Rift Valley system? Preparing, met political geograph, Arthur Moodie (british came from nw univ as visit prof)
* The man changed him, study political + physical, asked to eatch course, wrote book, became second special
* Knowing geopolitics, physical will help. It is dangerious to explain political / social develop influenc by environ.
* Appointed to Geogetown uni to teach in School of Foreign service
(PAGE TWELVE)
* drank wine 1955 chateau beychevelle, working on book wine: a a geo appreciation, teaching the geography of wine at the univ of miami, students went into business with Geography
---But is Geography Important?
* Many of us cannot read maps, even simple road maps
* People like travel professionals, the ones who use them the most, have trouble
* When someone arranges his trip, he hopes consideration si given to the other airport about 2 hrs away, but no
* December 26, 2004: Tilly Smith was in Phuket Thailand on Maikhao Beach and she saw water recede into distance. She remembered her geo teacher Mr. Andrew Kearney at Danes Hill Prep in Oxshott, (below london) that tsunami will make water disappear off beach before returning in a huge wave. She and her parents warned people and 100 followed her advice, all of them surviving. Those who did not all died. She became the Angel of Phuket and they praised her geo teacher as well
(PAGE THIRTEEN)
* Public believes misinformation.
* American student can go thru Kindergarten --> Graduate school w/o taking 1 course in geography (not even complete program)
* Not true in any other develop country ^
* group of scientist predict imminent glaciation (1960s) or looming greenhouse warming (2000s), people insufficiently informed, can spend billion of dollars better in other cause
* "Leaders may know" - defense secretary Robert McNamara not even take one basic regional / human geography at his alma mater (Harvard)
* Harvard has not offered geo for half a century
(PAGE FOURTEEN)
* Ex: Prime minister of Mauritus come to Washington, Mauritius = subtropical island with lots of rainfall and excellent relations, got mix with Mauritania (arid desert state in West Africa broke relations in 1967), Nixon suggest to restore diplomatic relations and start American aid, such as dry farming. The ambassador asks about the space tracking station US maintained on his ialdn, if the operation was satisfying, and Nixon wonders why he has a space tracking system in a country that they do not have diplomatic relations with
* We were not well enough acquainted with the physical or cultural geograph of Indochina when in Vietnam Ware
* Iraq in 2003, same
* More we know about planet and natural environ, ppl and culture, polit system + econ, borders and boundaries, attitudes and aspirations, better prepared for challenges
---How did it come to this?
* Geography is underrepresent as school subject and university in the US
* Geography used to be at Harvard and Yale, and was widely taught at schools
(PAGE FIFTEEN)
* First World war, Second World war, very important in schools. Geos brought environ issues to public attention first, knew about foreign culture + econ, produce map, work of political boundarie, guide US policy
* 1950, 1960, good in Geo - success in WW2. Maps, atlases, globes sold by mills, National Geographic unprecendent numbers of substcription, University Geography Departments more students than handle
* Peace Crops, geo + students quickly appointed
* Professional educators: instead of teaching history + government + geography, teach combo: social studies
* School teachers no learn disciplines either, learn SS
* University of Miami in early 1970s: registered for World Regional Geography and Environmental Conservation, but when SS come, student teachres stop come, bcz other requirement before geography
(PAGE SIXTEEN)
* Private + Parochial schools teach geo, but public, no more
---Reversal of Fortune
* Evident + worsening national geographic illiteracy
* social studies rubric excluded elementary/necessary physical geography (include basic climatology)
* this is one subject of importance understanding human-environment interactions + workins of climate and weather
* college and enrolled in first-year geograph course, disadvantage: did not know basics
* Georgetown University - every student required to take Map of Modern World by charles Pirtle
* Must become ^ familiar with layout political world , general pattersn fo geopolitical change, general environmental and climatic conditions, resource distributions
* At end of 4 year degree program, asked to list course pushed knowlage forward the most. Map of the Modern world led rankins year after year
* Georgetown was and is still a rarity.
(PAGE SEVENTEEN)
* University of Miami ask students identify prominent geographic locations on blank map. Results abysmal, grew worse
* Announce the large percentage of participants who could not locate Pacific Ocean, Sahara, Mexico, China
* 1980, student newspaper, Miami Hurricane, geographic illiteracy posted. NBC's today show appear on campus.
* Elsewhere, people tried own tests on students - only 5 percent of students could identify Vietnam, college: 42 percent correctly name Mexico as our southern neighbor.
* People became dismayed
---Enter the Society
* President Reagan, went in Brasilia, capital of Brazil, to important international confernce, said Bolivia instead of Brasilia. Caused stir, made front page of USA Today
(PAGE EIGHTEEN)
* ABC-TV call University of Miami (relayed to Harm de Blij) he went on Good Morning America, generated a week-long geo series a few months later, made him six-year appointment to GMA staff as geography editor
* Gilbert M. Grosvenor from Society agreed with involving Society with the campaign
* He joined NGS staff full time in 1984 for six-year editorial term, help mobilize alliance
* Many years, Society + discipline not good relation
* Society: Professional geographers = snobbish, insulated, often unimaginative
* Professional geographers: Society's popular is inapprorpiate / misleading
* professor in Northwestern Universeity says: If you are going to subscribe to NG send it to your house, not in department mailbox here
* He living in Africa during early 1950s, National Geographic helped him to the world, its maps helfpul, he sent the president a letter to tell him so, he sent back one urging to continue interest in geo and invite to visit Society Headquarters
(PAGE NINETEEN)
* Gilbert M. Grosvenor (grandson) laucnehd massive financial and educational campaign in support of geography at school level.
* High school students not coming 2 colege intend major geo, never saw geo in their HS
* SS deplete ranks of geo teacher, must teach geography teachres
* Cristopher Kit Salter develop framework "Five Themes" geo, print million copies + of map "Maps The Landscape and Fundamental Themes in Geo" give to each school in country
* Salter with NGS organize Geographic Alliances for every State in the Union, with geo teachres come to Washington for instructon then return with what they had learned, so then they began to teach better
* Grosvenor raised the funding, testify on Capitol hill (shows why national edcuatoion must have geo), buttonhole politician, go around country talking about geography
* leader of Association of American Geographers put the Society and discipline together, no more arguement
* After all that, 20 years, 100 million, less than 30 percent of American students getting geo. (7 percent before) so much left to do
(PAGE TWENTY)
---Will Geography be History?
* US Congress endorsed National Geography week every November, National Geography Bee, television vo
* Geography = one of the five cornerstones of America
* Two negatives in particular
* 1: We are obsessed with history, acheology to geology to paleontology to linguistics, in higher edu spatial science is as bad as geography in school level
* No one believes that a university or college should go without a history department but the same can't b said for geo
* Professional geos have lots of subdivisions within geography; university admins are not sure what the geography is. History, anthropology, biology = more clearly defined to them
* Basic ground = regional, human-cultural, physical(environmental)
* Tied by spatial perspective + spatial analyiss
* great opportunity lies at interface of environment / humanity: was very popular for better part of a century, ahead of much of that time, should reclaim pos
(PAGE TWENTY-ONE)
* So many historians on TV, needs a presidential geographer , ignord by networks
---Geographic Literacy and National Security
* crucial to national security; century: massive environmen change, mjr popultn shifts, civil conflicts, China -> geopolitical + encomic superpower, Europe -> international stage, + more
* conduct research on likelihood of coming energy crisis, how to forestall, WMD (weapons of mass destruction) dissemination, mitigating them, impact of global climage change, how to confront, w/o geo cannot do any of this
* WMD -> tech + ideology, idology = geography. Somalia to Afghanistan, Cambodia to Liberia, Myanmar to North Korea, terrible price
* Geography can antidote isolationism + provincialism
* During Vietnam War, people talk of bombing the North, and US could, but they cannot persuade Vietnamese to change ideology.
* Iraq: Military made sure war was one, but the people still feel the same way in their hearts and minds (devastated country)
(PAGE TWENTY-TWO)
* US could not stop growing minority of Sunni citizens
* Not enough American know region, speak diff language, understand faith, rhythms, feelings
* + Other dangers not just Iraq such as the China (long term)
* Reinstate departments of Geography in Elite university + ressurect regional studies in all departments
* Geography can be fun and entertaining and enlightening, but it is also serious, can be used to end wars or to start them
