The World's Import Trade and the United States' Share Therein

Abstract

Many student geography organizations or clubs associated with colleges and universities undertake community service projects each year to meet local needs and to gain recognition within the community. A uniquely geographical project of playground map painting provides a great community service and goes one step further by incorporating elements of quality service-learning for the geography club members. Painting projects for large school playground maps of the world, United States, or home state are student-planned and student-run. The final painted map can be used for geographic education in elementary schools by conveying basic spatial and geographic relationships. This article will detail a proven method of producing a colorful, useful playground map that can be employed by geography clubs as a service-learning activity and used by educators in elementary schools.     

Media Institute on Geographic Concepts

Abstract

A new political geography has emerged that stresses the political conflict behind the production of space. This orientation in the subdiscipline constitutes a turn away from traditional political geography, where the emphasis had previously been on the spatial distribution of political phenomena. The “new” political geographic theory has been applied to the study of environmental issues, turning the attention of scholars to the political struggle behind the construction of nature as well as space. This article reviews how the new political geography of the environment (NPGE) perspective has impacted the study of such environmental phenomena as hazards, siting issues, human-land relationships, resources, development, and international environmental governance. It concludes by suggesting how the NPGE perspective can inform pedagogy in environmental education.     

Popular Culture,Geopolitics, and Identity

Abstract

This study aims to theoretically investigate the notion of critical thinking for a more just understanding of self and “others” in global geographical learning. It focuses on the kinds of injustice in the world which are driven by our relationships with “others.” By drawing on the literature of critical education, philosophy of education, and geography education, this study reveals how universal notions of criticality tend to easily undermine those perceived as global others and may highlight, in deficit mode, their perceived differences. Instead, the study presents the imperative of deconstructive thinking for a more just world. The article concludes by proposing a teaching strategy for alternative criticality which strives for justice in school geography.     

Using Herman Melville's Moby-Dick to Explore Geographic Themes

Abstract

The classic American novel, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, can be used in geography and English classes at the high school and college levels to explore five themes that have a geographic component or are of interest to geography students: (1) the journey, (2) human/ environment interactions, (3) social relationships in space, (4) acquiring knowledge, and (5) ambiguities and their resolution. Included are detailed discussions of the themes with specific references to critical literature and passages in the novel, suggestions for background reading, and suggestions for classroom discussions and assignments.     

Bluegrass Grows All Around: The Spatial Dimensions of A Country Music Style

Abstract

Country music offers students and instructors of geography a fertile area for explaining many of the concepts and traditions emphasized in the field. This study focuses on the physical, man-land, and spatial traditions of geography and their significance in analyzing a particular style of American country music. During the early part of the twentieth century, bluegrass music originated in Appalachia where man-land relationships were important to the inhabitants. It has since been diffused by the migration of musicians and facilities accommodating the old-time “pickin' and singin'” sound. The purpose of this study is to lend insight to the possibilities of using country music to illustrate the spatial-temporal phases of American culture.     

The cultural approach and geography ‐ the perspective of communication

An interest in culture developed in human geography from its beginning. It was rooted in a conception of 'geography as a science of places, not of men' (Vidal de la Blache), and focused on the study of man/milieu relationships through the analysis of landscapes or genres de vie , the origin and dispersal of agriculture, and the regional diversity of the earth. A neo-Weberian orientation appeared in the 1960s, but the main shift occurred in the 1970s, with the adoption of phenomenological or critical perspectives. The new cultural approach modernises the traditional orientations in the field, explores the meaning that people give to their spatial experience, and introduces new questions about the epistemological foundations of geography as a scientific discipline. In order to understand how society is produced and reproduced and how significance is given to the world, the new approach stresses the role of communication in cultural processes and spatial organisation.     

Preservice Geography Education

Abstract

Improving preservice education, especially geography preservice education, is difficult because few geography faculty understand the teacher education process, many education professors who prepare geography teachers are not geographically well-educated, education and geography faculties do not communicate effectively, and efforts by alliances and other organizations have focused on inservice teachers, for the most part. Recommendations to improve preservice education in geography are offered. The authors argue that none of these recommendations should be implemented without considering its relationship with all of the components of the geography education system.     

The Establishment of the Validities of Experimental Materials in Geography

Abstract

This paper describes the various procedures followed in validating some research tools to be used to investigate pupils' attitudes toward and achievements in geography taught by programmed instruction. The research tools consist of learning materials and measuring instruments. The learning materials include five geography programmed texts, five conventional texts in geography, and a familiarization program in civics. The measuring instruments also include a geography achievement test, and two attitude questionnaires designed to measure attitudes toward geography and programmed instruction. The paper highlights the roles of formative evaluation in preparing curriculum materials in geography.     

“Is there a bubble to burst?”-college students’ spatial perception of campus and the city,a case study of rhodes college in memphis,TN

ABSTRACT

This paper builds on the study of student geography by critically examining college students’ perceived space of a university campus and the surrounding urban space. Rhodes College is a liberal arts college situated in the city of Memphis. As a campus with a majority white population located in a predominately black city, Rhodes College exists within but often separate from the city. It serves as a perfect case study to investigate how the college students build relationships with the environment within and beyond the campus. By using mental mapping and focus groups, this research unpacks four spatialities that shape college students’ perception of the urban space: (in)activity space, (im)mobility, boundaries, and center. This research demonstrates that student geography can be gendered, classed and racialized. The perceived space is socially constructed, and is reinforced by the lived and material space. Finally, this paper provides implications to facilitate deeper connections between students, the campus, and the city.     

From Geographic Holism to Geographic Information System

Substantial changes in a core idea of geography, integration, have occurred since Alexander von Humboldt published Kosmos (1845-1862). These changes are part of a larger shift in Western civilization to mechanistic reasoning. This shift led to the strengthening of system-based analysis, central to the development of geographic information systems (GIS). The duality of holism and the systems approach has led to an apparent contradiction in geography. R. Hartshorne in The Nature of Geography described this contradiction, but as did Alfred Hettner and Emil Wisotzki before, moved to partial systems as the core concept of geographic integration. Hartshorne's concept of vertical integration is the antecedent for the ubiquitous GIS layer model. The reduction of geographic relationships and processes to mechanistic components (layers) aids the systematic approach, but may lessen geographic understanding of a place's interrelationships. Although the partiality of the system approach was already acknowledged by Finch and Hartshorne in the 1930s, the tension between holistic and system approaches in geography remains. Holism and system-based approaches are indeed complementary methods for developing geographic understanding. Using holistic approaches to understand geographic phenomena, before we teleologically (following a purpose) analyze phenomena as a system, extends GIS to include broader interrelationships of geography in specific locations.     

The Future of Radical Geography∗

Radical geography has posed new, and refashioned many old, geographical problems. These problems require attention irrespective of one's political leanings. Yet radical geography has been consistently ignored by mainstream geographers since its inception. This essay examines the reasons for this situation, and finds four answers in Peet's recent review of the history of radical geography [1]. It seems likely that radical geography will continue to receive a cold shoulder unless its future exponents take pains to counter this trend. Six conditions are required to ensure progress, including effective communication in established journals, methodological heterodoxy, and a systematic, discipline-wide evaluation of the contribution of radical geography.     

Editorial

Abstract

Project GeoSim is a multidisciplinary effort by members of Virginia Tech's Departments of Geography and Computer Science, College of Education, and Learning Resources Center to develop computer-aided education (CAE) software for introductory geography and related classes. GeoSim laboratory exercises draw on the five fundamental themes of geography for their subject matter. The programs emphasize interactive learning combining the information capabilities of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with the techniques of computer simulation. The result is a series of geographic explorations that will make available some of the most exciting aspects of geography to a potential audience of 425,000 introductory geography students per year.     

Geographers' Forum

Abstract

The Local Community: A Handbook for Teachers is an effective text and organizational framework for developing a course on the geography of a state which combines elements of introductory geography, regional geography, and geographic methods for a graduate class composed of practicing teachers generally inadequately trained in geography. Through a series of distinct, yet integrated steps teachers are exposed to the conceptual and methodological basics of the field, comprehensive analysis of regional patterns of the state, and specific strategies for teaching the geography of the state and the local community. Teachers leave the course knowing not only what to teach about the geography of a state, but how to teach it.     

The Importance of Geography in Education II

Abstract

The concept of scale is fundamental to geography, yet the definitions for “scale” and related spatial terms can be confusing to those working in other spatial science disciplines. This is particularly true in the emerging multidisciplinary world of integrated remote sensing and geographic information systems, or IGIS's, where data of different types and at various spatial and temporal scales are combined to support complex space-time data analyses. Without a basic lexicon of accepted scale terms, working within an IGIS can breed confusion in the interpretation of data and the models that result from an IGIS construct. This paper provides some terminologies of scale that can be used as a framework for a multidisciplinary lexicon of accepted scaling terms and describes their relationships to an IGIS. It also illustrates how scaling terms can be potentially misunder stood when applied to geographic techniques that are used in disciplines related to geography.     

Involvement Geography: The School Partnership Program In The Junior High School

Abstract

This article presents a family program that extends the materials and meeting times of the Michigan Model Family Geography Challenge, including suggestions on creating a successful family night program. The article focuses on developing positive school-community relationships by inviting local community members to participate in fun academic lessons. In addition to watching the news together nightly, families meet four times during an eight-week period to engage in hands-on geography related activities. One lesson is introduced during each session and families work together to complete assigned tasks. Following the activity, families join together to eat and socialize. The program enhances geographic knowledge (including current events), positive family interactions, and school outreach.     

THE ARCHIVES OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHERS

Although numerous courses in geographic information systems (GIS) have been introduced into the geography curriculum over the past few years, there has been remarkably little debate over the issues involved. This paper first discusses the arguments for geography as an appropriate disciplinary setting for GIS teaching at the undergraduate level. This is followed by a discussion of the nature of GIS courses and their appropriate place in the undergraduate geography curriculum. The final section of the paper describes the NCGIA Core Curriculum project and examines its significance in this broader context.     

SIMION MEHEDINŢI AND MODERN ROMANIAN GEOGRAPHY

The foundations of modern Romanian geography were laid by one man, Simion Mehedin?i, at the beginning of the twentieth century. His systematic view of a unified geography developed from the ideas formed during his education in France and Germany, particularly under the influence of Ratzel. His ideas, propagated by his followers, are still regarded as valid by the present generation of Romanian geographers.     

Notes and News

Abstract

Full implementation of geography standards will require their adoption by all U.S. states and school districts for use in every school. Strategies for achieving this goal include: using the consensus process to its fullest, involving the energy and resources of geography organizations, and reaching out to others to help maximize the standards' influence.     

The Fundamental and the Incidental in Geography

Abstract

An increased use of artistic literature as a resource in both teaching and research is evident in geography. With the growing interest of some scholars in the behavioral aspects of geography, traditional resources are being supplemented with more humanistic, subjective information sources. In historical geography, for example, literature is a particularly suitable resource for studies of man's role in past geographies and of human perception of past environments.¹ Specialists in regional geography and area studies also have shown a growing appreciation of such sources.² A parallel and related development has occurred in geographic education. In many different courses, but particularly in those dealing with regions, literature has become a recommended resource. The purposes of this paper are (1) to review the relevance of the novel as a resource for geographers and (2) to suggest that a current novel, Centennial, by James A. Michener,³ particularly warrants consideration for use in courses on the historical geography of the United States.     

BEWARE OF NEW GEOGRAPHIES

The effort to make the discipline appear relevant and useful raises the danger of allowing applied geography to become yet another “new” geography. Though we must encourage the development of a viable applied geography, we must simultaneously make much greater use of our existing traditions and literature if we are to thrive in the long run as an academic discipline. Without a heritage, we are vulnerable.