THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY ON THE WEB
Eight Themes to Develop a Different Aspect of Critical Thinking
Go to Themes
The Third Edition brings a streamlining of the online interactive units under one general category:
"Thinking Geographically on the Web." Eight themes have been developed within this category, each meant to
develop a different aspect of critical thinking in World Regional Geography. Overall, however, the themes are all
offer variations on the general theme of understanding world regions as dynamic and interlinked.
Thinking Geographically on the Web, in other words, seeks to encourage students to think across
multiple scales-from local to regional and global-and to understand the processes operating in their daily
lives that link them to other regions of the world. World Regional Geography is approached, then, not simply as a
survey of the world's regions and what makes them unique and interesting. Rather, the emphasis is on encouraging
students to think geographically about themselves and their place in the world. We encourage students to ask: In
what ways am I part of a global system? We view the World Wide Web as a natural medium for raising this kind of
geographical awareness.
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- A Globalizing World
The units in this theme tend to maintain several foci. First, they seek to encourage students to think about how their
lives are directly related to globalization. Second, they encourage students to consider the ways that the different
regions of the world are linked together in an ever-changing network of interactions. Third, they seek to challenge the
notion that globalization is simply another word for "Westernization" and that the increasing interactions throughout the
world are making the world more homogeneous socially and culturally. The units therefore emphasize trade linkages that tend
to affect students directly, raising questions about the conditions in which their clothes and food are produced and
distributed. They also emphasize the social and cultural implications of globalization at the local scale. Four specific
subthemes are thus developed: "The Geography of Breakfast," "The Sweatshop Debate," "Globalization and Disease," and
"Is Globalization McDonaldization?"
- An Uprooted World
These units focus on the implications of voluntary and involuntary migration within world regions and from one
region to another. In particular, we examine the politics of immigration in industrialized societies, such as the
United States and Western Europe, which are the target of large-scale in-migration among job seekers. The oil-rich
economies of Southwest Asia are also considered in this context. The units help express some of the controversies
surrounding immigration in host societies, as well as discussing the impact that migrants have on their own home
societies. For example, the issue of "guest workers" is addressed by discussing the implications of the assumed
temporary status of such workers, and whether permanent migration should be considered an option for them. A more
specific gender focus is taken in the unit on the Philippines "maid trade," in which questions about the global
"mail-order bride" business are also raised. Finally, war-induced migration is addressed by noting that although
refugees are widely recognized around the world as long as they cross international boundaries, the vast majority
of the world's refugees remain within their home country and thus receive much less attention and aid from the
international community.
- Finding a Place in the World
The units within this theme focus on the question of how people's identities are changing in relation to the ever-increasing
interactions among regions associated with globalization. Collectively, they ask: What is the region with which people identify,
and within which their culture finds expression? A significant answer to this question suggested by the various units is that
national borders should not be taken for granted as "natural" divisions of people in terms of cultural, ethnic, religious, or
other forms of identity. Each offers examples of groups who do not necessarily consider themselves part of the dominant nation
within which they live. The units are meant to help us think about different scales or territories that express identities in
alternate ways. They also seek to develop the idea that as the processes of globalization proceed, new regions of identity become
increasingly important vis-à-vis the traditional nation-state. Thus, for instance, as Europe becomes increasingly unified under
the European Union (EU), new regionalisms, such as the Basque movement, continue to press their cases for independence or
autonomy.
Some of the units also touch on the theme of how minority groups or refugees maintain their cultural practices and beliefs
within a dominant population, and how newly independent state build a sense of national identity among diverse populations.
In Belarus, we focus on the role of language in national identity-building; in Kazakhstan and Kyrgystan we examine religious,
ethnic, and cultural diversity, and how differences among diverse groups are negotiated in the creation of a unified national
identity. The units thus offer an opportunity to discuss the centrifugal and devolutionary forces facing many states, as well
as the efforts of some states to counter these forces by actively building a stronger sense of national identity. While the
overall theme focuses on the ways regional identities challenge nation-states, we are also reminded of the continuing power
of the nation-state idea.
Finally, a unit on the debate over the veiling of women in Islamic societies is included in this theme. The debate
over the veil is offered as a case study in the broader question of the relationship between Islam and gender equality.
It offers a number of on-line readings conveying a variety of views by Muslim women themselves and is meant to challenge,
what for many students may be the accepted view, that women are more repressed in Islamic societies than in Christian or
Jewish ones.
- Feeding the World
Two of the seven themes in "Thinking Geographically on the Web" are based on the idea that one of the most effective
ways to teaching geography is by addressing two of the most fundamental elements to human survival: food and water. The
latter is dealt with in the theme "Water, Water Everywhere." In "Feeding the World," students are encouraged to relate to
the discipline in new ways once they've had to think about where their food comes from, the conditions under which it was
produced and brought to their grocery stores or restaurants, and the ways food makes geography part of our everyday lives
in the most fundamental sense. The units in "Feeding the World" focus on both the international processes that allow food
to travel the globe, and the changes in agricultural technology that have enabled greater amounts of food to be produced
than ever before. In each of the units, key political issues are considered. In the "Geography of Breakfast" units (also
included in the "Globalizing World" theme), we consider the ways consumers and farmers who are separated by great distances
are linked together at the breakfast table. In the units on agricultural development, the key issue at stake is how new
technologies in agriculture, developed in response to growing populations, also have broad-reaching social, cultural, and
political consequences. These consequences are the subject of much debate, particularly in the case of genetically
modified organisms (GMOs) and other kinds of biotechnology.
- Water, water everywhere…nor any drop to drink
Because it is so basic to our survival, water is, like food, a very effective way of teaching geography. Here we
emphasize the conflicts surrounding the use of water as a natural resource in different parts of the world, including
large-scale water conservation and hydroelectricity projects (see subtheme on "Big Dams" below), water consumption in
arid regions such as the western United States, and water transfers for large scale agricultural development in Egypt.
Of course, water and food should also be linked conceptually, such that students are encouraged to understand that
water use involves more than paying attention to what comes out of the tap. It can also mean water for crops
(as in irrigation) and energy production (as in hydroelectricity, or water in power-plant "cooling towers").
Water subtheme: Big Dams-This topic focuses on large-scale dam projects:
the Xingu River in Brazil, and the Narmada Project in India. Each project
generated firestorms of controversy, much of it expressed on the Web. Because of the international prominence of these
projects, particularly among international environmental groups, they offer ideal case studies in the politics
surrounding water resource conflicts.
- A Healthier, Smarter World
Four units in this theme explore the issues of population growth and the spread of disease around the world. Two of
the units deal with population growth and its relation to food security, gender equality, and education. Population
growth is one of the world's most complicated, contested, and misunderstood geographical issues. Geography is one
field positioned to help clear up the picture for students. The units examine many facets of the population debate
in a number of different regions of the world. As with the textbook, we focus on the relationship between population
growth and food security (addressing issues of agricultural production, access and distribution of food, and whether
or not population growth negatively impacts agriculture), women's rights (addressing consequences of population control,
and the roles of women in different world regions), and environmental degradation (addressing ideas of carrying
capacity, resource use, and pollution). Specific cases include population growth in India-focusing on questions
of gender inequality, reproductive health issues, food security, and the impacts and effectiveness of population
control policies; and Chinese food security-focusing specifically on the question of whether China's population
growth is outstripping its capacity to increase food production domestically.
Two other units address issues related to health and disease. In one, the case of SARS
in China is examined as an example of the relationship between globalization and epidemics (also featured in
"A Globalizing World"). In the other, we explore the impact that AIDS is having in Sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS
is a truly global pandemic. Still, many students do not fully appreciate how different the AIDS crisis has been in
Sub-Saharan Africa, compared to the United States. This unit explores the nature of AIDS in Africa, and offers a
case study in South Africa illustrating the global issues involved in addressing the AIDS crisis. These units remind
us that, despite overall improvements in access to and distribution of healthcare worldwide, we are not invulnerable
to the emergence of new, poorly understood diseases (like SARS). They also remind us that, while many of the world's
worst diseases are thought to be well controlled, many new diseases continue to ravage large portions of the world.
World Regional Geography not only highlights the differential nature of health and disease around the world, but
also puts into focus the connections between regions that enable the spread of diseases.
- A Hotter World?
This topic focuses on the debate over global warming. While the Web does not necessarily provide for a definitive
conclusion to this debate, if such a conclusion is even possible, it does provide ample material for introducing
the basic terms of the debate so that students can begin to sort out the issues involved. We begin with the basic
premise that it is crucial to understand the world as an integrated system. Students are encouraged to balance what
we actually know about global warming with what we should be doing about it (if anything). The selected sites focus
our attention on the problems inherent in "scientific proof," in an attempt to impress upon students that the debate
is about much more than simply "good" versus "bogus" science. Thus, students are encouraged to confront the ideological
positions that have solidified around the debate. Working from this premise, the units then consider some of the local-scale
ramifications of the debate. One unit focuses on deforestation and indigenous groups on the island of Borneo, directing
attention to the case of tropical deforestation and the indigenous groups affected by such deforestation. The unit allows
students to learn about the activities of grassroots organizations in Malaysia and Indonesia advocating indigenous rights
in the context of preserving tropical forests. In another, we consider the impacts of rising oceans on the inhabitants of
the low-lying atolls of the Pacific Ocean. This unit directs attention to the difficulty these people have in convincing
the rest of the world that serious action needs to be taken to prevent global warming.
- War and Peace
These units focus on current and recent armed conflicts, and the efforts to reduce and resolve them. The six units
explore the geography of war and peace in four different regions of the world. The goal in developing these units has
been to understand these conflicts from a specifically geographical perspective. The units are not intended to comprehensively
discuss or analyze the conflicts, but rather seek to introduce students to some of the ways geography can contribute to
a better understanding of certain aspects of these conflicts. Thus, the unit on the Arab-Israeli conflict focuses on the
question of territorial claims, and the way that territory and the mapping of territory has figured centrally in the
conflict. The unit on the war in Iraq focuses on the impact of the war within the broader region, while Afghanistan is
explored in terms of mapping its complicated religious and ethnic diversity in the context of the results of the recent
elections. Two more units examine the impacts of wars in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on war-induced migration and
displacement (also featured in "An Uprooted World"). Finally, Hiroshima's online resources are featured as an example
of "virtual sacred space." By touring the on-line Hiroshima peace site, students can learn both about the devastation
wrought by nuclear weapons and the ways places are made "sacred" through the practices, activities, and build-landscapes
of people living there.