Geographical Text-Books and Geographical Teaching

Abstract

We are teaching the television generation in our college classrooms and if we can't beat' em, we should certainly join' em. Visual images can, indeed, be effective teaching tools in geography. Three uses of a “classic” concealed image of Jesus Christ in a melting snowfield are discussed. First, the image serves as an example of the geographer's search for spatial regularities. On a more interpretative level, the concealed image becomes a metaphor for the quasi-religious quest for scientific truth. If we aren't careful, this quest can devolve into Ideological explanation. Finally, the mysterious origin of the Jesus image is akin to an urban legend. Its origin may be used to illustrate the fallibility of scientific citation as can the image entitled “My Wife and My Mother-in-Law” incorrectly cited by the geographer William Kirk. Whether the Jesus image was a natural event or a product of human creation is an object lesson in the pitfalls of imputed intentionality.     

Geographical Notes

Abstract

This article describes the benefits of combining field-based learning within the context of a competitive setting in the geography curriculum. Findings and data are presented based on experiences gathered from teaching an upper-level university geography course that combined geographic techniques and theory into a game of capture-the-flag. Students analyzed a variety of geospatial data sources, using ArcMap Geographic Information System software, to prepare a series of maps for the game. Students reported a first-time understanding of many geographic skills that were previously ambiguous to them when the material was presented in a different format, such as lectures and labs.     

Geographical Reviews

ISLANDS OF THE MIND: How the Human Imagination Created the Atlantic World. By John R. Gillis. A WORLD OF ISLANDS: An Island Studies Reader. Edited by Godfrey Baldacchino.     

Geographical Reviews

A CENTURY OF BRITISH GEOGRAPHY. Edited by RON JOHNSTON and MICHAEL WILLIAMS. THE EUROPEANS: A Geography of People, Culture, and Environment. By ROBERT C. OSTERGREN and JOHN G. RICE. A COMPANION TO FEMINIST GEOGRAPHY. Edited by LISE NELSON and JONI SEAGER. MILITARY GEOGRAPHIES. By RACHEL WOODWARD. MEMORY AND THE IMPACT OF POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION IN PUBLIC SPACE. Edited by DANIEL J. WALKOWITZ and LISA MAYA KNAUER. THAILAND AT THE MARGINS: Internationalization of the State and the Transformation of Labour. By JIM GLASSMAN.     

Geographical Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: CREOLIZATION: History, Ethnography, Theory. Edited by Charles Stewart . THE IMPOSSIBLE LAND: Story and Place in California's Imperial Valley. By Phillip H. Round THE HORSE, THE WHEEL AND LANGUAGE: How Bronze‐Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World. By David W. Anthony DELEUZE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE: Violence of the Text. By Mark Halsey . AMERICAN GREEN: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn. By Ted Steinberg . LAWN PEOPLE: How Grasses, Weeds, and Chemicals Make Us Who We Are. By Paul Robbins .     

Geographical Publications

Abstract

Project Marco Polo provided the opportunity for teachers and students to experience Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean firsthand through the lens of a geographer, archeologist, and oceanographer. The National Geographic Society and U.S. Navy collaborated to provide meaningful applied geography field experiences for teacher and student participants. In addition, participants developed a global perspective which enabled them to better understand the interrelationship of the region's diverse cultures and lands.     

Geographical Publications

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the geography of poverty in the state of Illinois and to use these empirical results as a basis for classroom discussions and exercises intended to involve students in the current debate on poverty. Although poverty is generally associated with inner city locations, our results indicate that poverty levels are higher in rural areas, particularly those that are not adjacent to metropolitan locations. The prevalence of low-wage employment and the growing number of single-parent families in rural areas are closely linked to increased poverty. Student surveys and the presentation of data were successful in generating discussion among undergraduate students at Western Illinois University. Student comments revealed a high degree of concern about poverty and sensitivity to the circumstances of the poor.     

Geographical Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: STRABO'S CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY: The Making of a Kolossourgia. Edited by Daniela Dueck, Hugh Lindsay, and Sarah Pothecary PLOWS, PLAGUES, AND PETROLEUM: How Humankind Took Control of Climate. By William F. Ruddiman COLLAPSE: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. By Jared Diamond     

Geographical Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: CITIES AND RACE: America's New Black Ghetto. By David Wilson UNCOMMON SENSE: Understanding Nature's Truths across Time and Culture. By Anthony Aveni . COMMUNICATION AND EMPIRE: Media, Markets, and Globalization, 1860–1930. By Dwayne R. Winseck and Robert M. Pike . NUEVO ATLAS NACIONAL DE MÉXICO. Compiled by the Instituto de Geografía , Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México .