Qestion for Essay 2

Looks like you folks are ready to take on Essay #2.

This week you read about North Africa and Southwest Asia. This is a huge region with a great deal of history. After all, Iraq of today is the Mesopotamia of five thousand years ago. Tunisia that I referred to earlier was Carthage of three thousand years ago and wars were frequent with people on the other side of the Mediterranean. (BTW, did you know why it is called the Mediterranean? Keep in mind that it is a European name. Well, to them it represented the center of the world. Thus, if you split apart the name, med refers to middle, and terra refers to ground/earth)

Next week, you will be reading about South Asia. Also a region with immense diversity and history. There are people in Afghanistan who trace their histories to Alexander the Great's conquest; these "Afghans" claim to have Greek blood in them. Wars and conflicts have always been a part of humans, I suppose.

As much as there are physical and human geographic features that are common--a kind of unifying theme--in North Africa and Southwest Asia, there are also considerable physical and human geographic characteristics that make South Asia a region, a Subcontinent.

However, Afghanistan provides an interesting case. Some geographers (and others, too) would classify it under Southwest Asia, while others include the country in South Asia. And this provides the context for Essay 2.

In Essay 2, I want you to provide arguments for where Afghanistan should be included--under South Asia, or with Southwest Asia. In arriving at your bottom line on this, make sure you discuss what the merits are for each case: for what physical or geographic reasons should Afghanistan be treated as a South Asian country, and for what reasons one might want to place it with other Southwest Asian countries.
And, yes, include a map of Afghanistan, and a map of South Asia along with your analysis.

The readings for next week--on locating Osama bin Laden, and whether Pakistan is governable--will also help you understand Afghanistan. And then as you think about what you learnt about Southwest Asia, well, you will have a lot to write about :-)
Finally, keep looking at the maps of South Asia and Southwest Asia for a lot of insight into this task. Look at the political maps, the physical map, maps of ethnic distribution, .... and you will find that Afghanistan is at quite an interesting intersection. It is, therefore, no accident that historically--not just today--it is has been one hell of a battleground :-(

Email me if you need clarification, or if you have comments on thoughts related to this essay.