Essay 1: the "prompt"

We are at the end of Week 1. Summer sessions go by really, really, fast. So, yes, "you snooze, you lose" is quite a warning here. Is that enough? :-)

The essay on Nigeria's religious tensions focuses on the Sahel--the Middle Belt. How important is this Middle Belt to Nigeria, and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa? Do you agree that the Middle Belt had, and continues to have, a strong influence on Sub-Saharan Africa?

In responding to this prompt, make sure you:

• think through the reading and the prompt itself
• provide appropriate quotes from the essay in building your argument
• feel free to use other references--none is required, however
• do not merely summarize the reading
• include a map of the Middle Belt, and cite the source

You should be able to develop your response in about 800 words. Maybe 1000 words max. Make sure you double-space, spell-check, .... well, you know the rules of college-level assignment writing :-)

All set? Any questions?

Geography, location, and this course

So, here is more on why geographic education is important, and why understanding location (map work) is valuable:
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Could it be true that only real estate agents and geographers seem to understand the importance of location, location and location?

I asked the students in one of my classes whether they considered Iraq and Iran as important enough for Americans to know more about. There was no hesitation — students unanimously and loudly voiced their affirmatives.

I interrupted their enthusiastic comments by handing out blank outline maps of the Middle East and directed them to identify as many countries as they possibly could. Well, it turns out that the familiarity that the class had about Iraq, Iran and Saddam Hussein did not lead to a spatial understanding of that part of the world.


After pointing out the countries at the end of the exercise, I directed them to look at Sudan and Ethiopia. As they kept staring at the countries on the map, perhaps for the first time in their lives, it became apparent to them that it is a relatively narrow body of water, the Red Sea, that separates these countries from a larger contiguous land area that we refer to as the Middle East.

For all purposes, Sudan and Ethiopia are, hence, only a metaphorical stone's throw away from Saudi Arabia, yet Ethiopia is imagined as somewhere in a remote part of Africa.

Of course, geography is not about memorizing maps or random and trivial facts about places. It is about understanding relationships — such as economic or political relationships — between and among geographic areas. Such a framework, though, begins with knowing the actual location of a place and its relationship with its surroundings. After all, if we didn't know where exactly Ethiopia is, would we really be able to understand why that country seems to have so many problems?

The author and public intellectual Susan Jacoby, notes an interesting aspect of Roosevelt's "fireside chats." He urged Americans to buy maps of the world and then follow along with him details of the World War II battles that he "chatted" about in his radio addresses — with specific references to the geographic areas.

Roosevelt may have had in mind what a student in my class articulated in her journal assignment after the class exercise. She wrote: "One thing that stood out to me this week was ... I find that I get so caught up in these abstract, revolutionary concepts of how the world should be better without ever even taking into account what the world actually looks like."

In the contemporary world, too, America is actively engaged in the international arena. To play a constructive role, we citizens need to be informed enough in order to be able to convey to elected leaders the changes we would like to make.

Fortunately, unlike F.D.R.'s era, we now live in a world in which information is freely and easily accessible. This ease of obtaining information is all the more reason educators like me want our students (and the general populace) to understand the world and appreciate the importance of location.

Perhaps add a world atlas to your summer reading list?

Published in the Statesman Journal, June 12, 2009. Note: I added the map for this blog post.

Map work details

Hey, I got an email inquiring about Map Work 1, which is due on Monday.

The overall structure of the assignment is here.
Every map assignment will relate to the region that is identified for that week. Well, more like the week that is coming up--thanks to the condensed summer schedule.
So, Map Work 1 will be about Sub-Saharan Africa.
(Maybe I should clarify this in the course web pages, eh! I shall try to do that soon.)

So, how would I like you to approach the assignment? Read through the articles related to Sub-Saharan Africa. It is largely focused on one country, right? Use the CIA Factbook, for instance, to understand more about that country. And then expand the geographic scope to the part of Africa that is below the Sahara. And then follow the guidelines I have for you when it comes to putting together the assignment itself.

The articles provide an interesting bait of sorts--otherwise, to simply 'learn" about some distant part of the world can become a boring task.
However, it is not that the details of the articles won't come in handy--the short essay questions I will have for you will relate to the articles.

Incidentally, when you try to understand the regions, you will find that in many cases the "edges" of the region are wonderful zones of transition in a number of different ways. In the case of Sub-Saharan Africa, the zone of transition is called the "Sahel." Physical and human geographic characteristics markedly differ between above and below the Sahel.
We can see such zones of transition all around the world, though perhaps not as pronounced as it is with Africa.

On the final, and tasks ....

Hey:

• When one of you had questions about how to locate the journal articles, another jumped in with the response--and with the articles as PDF files :-) I have always believed that learning is a collaborative activity and am, therefore, genuinely happy with the give and take.
• Thanks for reassuring me that the assignment structure is ok--even if it will keep you busy.
• In response to your concerns about the final paper, I will provide you with details on it by the Fourth of July itself--that should provide you with a great deal of lead time.
• Finally, regarding the task that is due by this Friday. Well, if you need time until Saturday, that is ok. But, note that taking the "test" and keeping track of the errors is only one component of the task. The second component is to relate it the experience to the two journal articles, which discuss the importance of geography and "regional geography". Do not email me these as two different essays, but as one single essay.

So, in case you wonder how two are related .... hey, they are. As you read the two journal articles, you will find arguments there on why and how geographic education helps. And that geographic education is not about memorizing odd facts about places. So, grab on to those ideas, and note down any quotable sentences from there. Then reflect on the test you took, and the errors you made. I am fairly confident that the errors are not due to any inability to memorize facts, but because we construe the world in a certain way. Put all these together and, well, that is your assignment. I hope this helps.

As and when you think that perhaps I can clarify anything, please make sure you contact me. Remember the yardstick we use: for every student with a question, there is a chance that there are more students with the same question. So, you will be doing your fellow classmates a favor by asking that question :-)