What the news doesn't tell us...

Although my last post illustrated how well covered geographical issues are in the media and what good it can provide, I think it is fair to say that there are a lot of the things the news doesn't tell us and students need to be aware of this.

Take for instance this news article that can be accessed via the link below:

http://reliefweb.int/report/china/china-gansu-earthquake-situation-report-no-2-23-july-2013

An example of the devastation caused. 

This image illustrates the location of the 2013 Chinese earthquake.

How many of you had actually realised that on the 22^nd July 2013 there was an earthquake in China killing around 94 people and injuring hundreds of others? I am guessing not many, I myself hadn't realised either. Why you might ask was there little to no coverage? Well if I was to tell you that this was the day prior to Kate Middleton going into labour with the Royal baby things might make more sense. Sometimes other stories just take precedent and as a result what we do hear in the news is often very selective. If another story will grab a wider audience regardless of the seriousness of the event being covered, it will get essentially get the headline!

A similar story can be presented when we consider the year 2010 – the year of the Haiti Earthquake that reached 7.0 on the Richter Scale, and killed hundreds of thousand of people. I am sure most of you and your classroom students will recognise this event from the extensive coverage in the news. However, how many of these other earthquakes provided by the US Geological Society can you recognise from the same year, 2010? 

A list of earthquakes for the year 2010. (Data: U.S. Geological Survey)

Location: Southern Qinghai, China
Magnitude: 6.9
Date: April 13, 2010

Location: Spain
Magnitude: 6.3
Date: April 11, 2010

Location: Solomon Islands
Magnitude: 6.8
Date: April 11, 2010

Location: Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Magnitude: 7.7
Date: April 6, 2010

Location: Baja California, Mexico
Magnitude: 7.2
Date: April 4, 2010

Location: Greater Los Angeles Area, California
Magnitude: 4.4
Date: March 16, 2010

Location: Offshore Bio-Bio, Chile
Magnitude: 6.7
Date: March 16, 2010

Location: East Coast of Honshu, Japan
Magnitude: 6.5
Date: March 14, 2010

Location: Liberatador O Higgins, Chile
Magnitude: 6.9
Date: March 11, 2010

Location: Eastern Turkey
Magnitude: 6.1
Date: March 8, 2010

You might well ask the same question as before, why haven’t I heard of most of them? This provides evidence for my second point. A lot of what we see in the media is manipulated in that it is news someone has chosen to show us. There are several reasons that it might have been chosen; the scale of it is so big it is considered of global importance, or the consequences of the event might affect us directly (e.g. British deaths amongst the casualties) or indirectly (e.g. flight paths interrupted or trade links for example). Although this may seem an extremely pessimistic view to have, I believe it is a realistic one, and therefore important for students to realise that not all news can and will be presented to us. Getting students to look at lists of natural disasters from a distinctive year, such as 2010 with the Haiti Earthquake, can really open their eyes as to what they hear about from the media and what they don’t.

Finally the last point I have to make surrounding geography and the media is the somewhat negative light it can shed on the subject. A way to get students to think along these lines would be to set them an allocated time on a selected news website and ask them firstly to seek out some positive, geography- related articles. Then secondly for them to look for positive updates on devastating events such as the Japanese tsunami – often these types of events are heavily covered during the time of devastation but little coverage follows up on the long term rehabilitation processes.

Now I feel I have a more extensive view on the role of the media and geography I want to finish off in my next blog post by looking specifically at its role with representing culture...

Media and Culture!

My last two blog posts have focused on how cultural items such as literature and artwork can not only give us more detailed insights into geographical events such as societal collapse and changing climates, yet provide us with comprehensive ideas into what daily life was and is like amongst various cultures around the world. In light of this I now want to consider what relationship the media has firstly with the subject of geography in general, and then what role it plays towards cultural representation...

What is meant by the term ‘media’?

When we use the term ‘the media’ we are referring to means of communication such as radio, televisions, magasines, internet pages etc. The scope of these communication opportunities means that what is covered by the media therefore has the ability to influence people extremely widely.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/MEDIA) 

Geography and the media – what is their relationship?

The media is arguably an integral part of geographical study as it is the platform that the subject’s image is thrown into the public domain. The relationship between geography and the media is seen most clearly during times of natural disaster, like the extensive coverage of the Boxing Day Tsunami, The Haiti Earthquake etc. However, not to be overlooked are the portraits of places the media provides as backgrounds to its stories or even as features and programs themselves. 

(http://www.slideshare.net/wellarb/geography-and-the-media-strengthening-the-relationship)

To illustrate this presentation of geography in the news, take the three pictures below taken from the BBC News website surrounding coverage of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. Firstly the images of the devastation clearly shock and engaged the audience showing them the scale of the geographical disaster involved, but secondly other attempts are made on the news to explain the geography behind how this earthquake actually happened. 

Classroom Activity Ideas

To begin a topic like this I would simply begin with a starter activity that encourages the students to collectively mind map all the types of media they are aware of. Questions could then be directed to get students discussing ideas such as which media they think is the most accessible to various age groups and why. Following this, to show them exactly how much geography is included as part of the media, I would find a range of website, newspaper, and magazine articles that cover a range of geographical topics from weather reports, natural disaster updates and reports, fact files on countries to travel to etc. I would scatter these resources around the classroom and get the students to feed back what types of geography topics they think are covered in the news and what they tell us as an audience. This way they will hopefully begin to see the scale of coverage the subject receives.

So far I have started to just simply think about the relationship the media has with geography. However in my next blog I now want to start considering whether this is a distinctly positive relationship, or if there is more to the story...

The Little Ice Age

What was the Little Ice Age?

The Little Ice Age is a period of time between about 1300 and 1870 during which Europe and North America were subjected to much colder winters than during the 20^th century. The period can be divided into two phases: the first began around 1300 and continued until the late 1400s, this was then punctuated by a slightly warmer period in the 1500s; after that the climate deteriorated substantially and the period between 1600 and 1800 is what marks the height of the Little Ice Age. 

So what caused this dramatic climate fluctuation?

The cause of the Little Ice age is largely unknown. Many people have however noted a coincidental low in sunspot activity as well as a possible reversal of the North Atlantic ocean current oscillation. The link below shows a documentary about the Little Ice Age of which some sections might prove successful in introducing the topic to students in the classroom:

More information on the facts and figures can be found at:

http://www.eh-resources.org/timeline/timeline_lia.html

How can cultural evidence aid our understanding of the impacts surrounding the Little Ice Age?

There is a wealth of cultural items such as paintings, diary accounts and other literature that help depict the various impacts that The Little Ice Age had on Europe and North America. For instance many painters have produced paintings that encapsulate how the Little Ice Age caused much colder winter temperatures that frequently froze rivers and canals so deep that winter fairs and ice skating could be held on them e.g. the first Frost Fair held on the River Thames in 1607. 

The Frost Fair held on the River Thames. 

A frozen river during the height of the Little Ice Age

Ice Skating was popular on the frequently frozen rivers and canals. 

Iceland was one of the worst affected areas during the Little Ice Age with around a half of its population falling. Evidence shows that the farmers suffered a series of cereal crop failures and its livestock perished, subsequently pushing up grain prices to extremes. The Norse colonies in Greenland also suffered and eventually vanished as architectural evidence in the picture below demonstrates. Diary entries and written accounts also suggest that many places were hit by severe snowstorms such as one person’s account who writes, ‘snowfall was much heavier than recorded before, and the snow lay on the ground for many months’. Glaciers also advanced further than before as shown in the picture of the Shone Glacier below; the advance of such glaciers destroyed villages and farming areas in their path causing further devastation. Finally, accounts also suggest that sea ice advanced, it was particularly bad around Iceland where it became near impossible to bring a ship ashore.

Glaciers such as the Shone Glacier advanced destroying homes and farm land. 

Archaeological evidence shows the sudden disappearance of Norse colonies in Greenland who heavily relied on grain. 

Activity Idea

Overall I think the section above shows the wealth of cultural resources that can be analysed to look at geographical events such as the impact of the Little Ice Age on human populations. Furthermore I think the analysis of sources such as paintings and literature has a further advantage as it allows for students own interpretations of what the material is depicting, rather than being told by a teaching presentation or textbook. In light of this I came up with an activity that I think would work well in the classroom. 

Firstly it involves introducing students to a brief fact file of what happened in a geographical event such as the collapse of Mayan Civilisation or the Little Ice Age. To follow the students should then be given a series of sources such as diary entries, graphs, literature and art work that depicts many of the impacts that events, such as those mentioned, had. From this the students should then write a diary account of what they think happened during the event and what impacts they think it had from interpreting the sources independently. To differentiate other students could produce a story board instead. I think this would not only introduce students to a higher order skill of source analysis and interpretation, but also prove to be cross curricular with subjects such as literacy and history. 

The Collapse of the Mayan Civilisation

So far my blog has looked at various definitions and processes associated with cultural geography. I now want to slightly switch the focus of my blog and begin to explore how cultural items such as art work and literature can be used to not only understand geographical processes, but to appreciate past and present cultures themselves. In order to illustrate this point I have chosen to look at the collapse of the Mayan Civilisation.

So who exactly were the Mayans?

The Mayans created a civilisation in Mesoamerica, which was a large region that we now refer to as Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. The ancestors of the Mayans had previously led a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, but by around 2000BC the civilisation had adopted agriculture as a way of life and heavy relied on it for their existence.  Many studies of Mayan society demonstrate its apparent complexity - particularly after 250AD where there is a marked rapid growth of a complex, stratified and prolific empire referred to as the ‘Classic Mayan Empire’. Their complexity is demonstrated by the development of trade networks that spanned Mesoamerica, expansive urban centres, the erection of intricate monumental stelae and strong advances in astronomy, mathematics and a written language. Yet, despite this, the Classic Mayan Empire seems to suddenly collapse at the peak of their cultural development between 750 and 900 A.D.

More information on the Mayans can be found at the following websites: 

http://www.localhistories.org/maya.html

http://authenticmaya.com/maya_art.htm

So why did their civilisation collapse?

There are two ways of looking at what might explain the collapse of the Classic Mayan Society. The first would be to analyse geographical data from the time. Many reasons for the collapse have been suggested, including overpopulation, deforestation, soil erosion, warfare and disease. However the most unambiguous evidence for their demise comes in the form of climate change. For instance, many sediment cores taken from lakes such as Lake Punta and the Cariaco Basin indicate distinctly dry periods that coincide with the collapse of the Mayan people. As a result, from the use of this first method of analysis, a broad consensus can be made that the presence of an abrupt shift in climate to more arid conditions was somehow responsible for the demise of the Mayan Civilisation (DeMenocal, 2001; Weiss and Bradley, 2001; Hodell, 2007). 

Whilst the first method of analysis has proven to be fairly conclusive, it is the second method that in my opinion gives a much more detailed account and therefore clearer depiction of what may have happened. The second method involves looking at existing cultural items from the time to build up a stronger picture of what society and daily life was really like. For example, archaeological remains, paintings and pottery all indicate the presence of a society that was highly reliant on agriculture. This was an agriculture that not only produced high yields of cereal but one that was heavily reliant on the use of a highly sophisticated irrigation system. Therefore the picture of the droughts now seems to make more sense in that if there was less rainfall, the crop harvests would have undoubtedly failed and the Mayan peoples starved, having devastating consequences. 

http://authenticmaya.com/maya_art.htm

http://www.lost-civilizations.net/mayan-art.html

 The websites above give a more detailed approach towards Mayan art and artefacts. Below is a series of items that show the high reliance on agriculture and irrigation in Mayan society:

Mayan Well

Mayan Aqueduct

Mayan Pottery

Overall, I think that by looking at the case of the Mayans it has made me realise that when teaching geography itself it is not only important to explore the topic of culture, but it is equally important to realise that cultural items such as art, literature and archaeology can also reinforce knowledge of geographical processes and events. I will look at this interrelationship further in my next blog that discusses The Little Ice Age and suggests a good activity in the classroom to exemplify this point to students. 

Below are the references of journal papers that I looked at to discover explanations of why the Mayan Civilisation collapsed, there are many more in this field that can easily be found online:

DeMenocal. P., 200. Cultural responses to climate change during the Holocene. SCIENCE. Volume: 292: Pages: 667-673.

Hodell. D., 2007. Climate and cultural history of the north-eastern Yucatan Peninsula, Quintana Roo, Mexico. CLIMATE CHANGE. Volume: 83. Pages 215-240. 

Weiss and Bradley., 2001. What drives societal collapse? SCIENCE. Volume: 291. Pages 609-610.

Homogenisation

In my last two blog posts I have touched on the fact that the processes of globalisation and westernisation has led to cultures across the world becoming essentially the same. This process is more formally called ‘homegenisation’ and it is where different cultural practices become intertwined into one blended, uniform culture that does not allow for easy identification of the characteristics of the many cultures it is made up of.

There are numerous examples of cultural homogenisation that surround us every day, here I will name just a few:

Music – many famous music artists now make it into the charts worldwide rather than just the country they have originated or even visited. This essentially means we are all often listening to the same music whether or not we speak or understand the language it is being produced in.

Cars – Car manufacturers are often based in many countries and export to an even larger range. As a result we tend to drive the same models worldwide.

Television – as with music, TV shows are shown worldwide so that even when on holiday you can tune into some of your favourites.

Food Outlets – perhaps one of the most infamous examples of homogenization in the media is the concept of Macdonaldisation. Firstly it concerns the fact that food outlets such as that named are found on most high streets worldwide now regardless of what the traditional foods in that area might comprise of. However it also has further implementations than this, for instance Macdonaldisation also refers to the way that the presence of these types of outlets can also alter other customs and moral values in the area such as eating with hands or the consumption of processed foods.

High Street – high streets across the world, particularly in MEDCS, are starting to feature the same retailers, and brands. 

Overall it is clear how the presence of the above is certainly minimizing the significant differences that can and still do to an extent exist between cultural groups. I for one was extremely surprised when visiting Namibia in 2008 that there local shop was in fact a Spa,r and that many of the children were excited to share with me that their favorite musicians were American rappers such as Dizzee Rascal and Jay-Z.

In order to illustrate the concept of homogenization to students I thought of quite a fun task for them to do. I would provide them with a logo quiz where they would have to guess the company name it represents. This would hopefully demonstrate how we can recognise logos across the world because we are so interconnected and often use the same products from the same global manufacturers and retailers.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081008085929AA4XDEo

http://www.converge.org.nz/pirm/homogeni.htm

Westernisation

In my last blog post I highlighted how globalisation had facilitated the spread of various traditional cultures leading to one overall global culture. However this is not quite the whole story. Firstly, it must be emphasised that cultural change does not occur everywhere, there are still pockets of many untouched cultural traditions e.g. tribes living in the Amazon. Similarly change does not occur everywhere in the same way and at the same rate; the processes of globalisation are not geographically uniform in that some cultures are influenced more than others. For instance, one culture in particular has tended to dominate the others – the western culture. This leads me on well to the next process I want to discuss, and that is ‘westernisation’...

Westernisation is a process whereby people practise or imitate western customs lifestyles and values. Below are some striking pictures from the National Geographic that illustrate this concept well; they could be a good resource to present students with as a starter activity for them to begin thinking what the topic of the lesson might be:

More images are available from the following web link:

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/creative/westernisation-stock-photos

Some people argue that westernisation brings many positive aspects to countries in terms of advancing there development and improving their way of life. For example educational standards can be advanced as teaching resources are better developed by improved technologies and the ability to share it worldwide. Lifestyles of inhabitants can also be changed as companies bring new facilities with them such as new restaurant chains, fashion styles and customs that people have the chance to try an experience if they so choose.

However, in general there is usually a negative attitude associated with the effects of westernisation, and arguably the main concern is the role it has on culture. For a lot of places the culture of an area has been a key factor enticing tourists to visit. Subsequently if the culture is lost or altered the tourism may also reduce causing possible economic insecurity and job losses. Additionally the loss of cultural values with the replacement of western ones will inevitably lead to a world where everything is just the same, and in my opinion fairly disengaging. For one what would be the point in travelling abroad if it will simply present the same views and cultures as one can experience at home? This process is something I will look at in my next blog post.

To finish off this blog post I wanted to share a quick idea I had for getting students thinking about the role of westernisation. To begin with I would introduce the students to a new culture such as that of life in Kyushu, rural Japan. A video such as the one linked below would be a good start to get the students immersed in the way of life there:

 I would then provide them with a fact file illustrating daily life there such as the farming methods used, the housing styles, their diet and ways they chose to dine. Following this I would request the students change this traditional way of life by westernising it to hopefully demonstrate how powerful the process can be on a traditional way of life.

http://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/146795-Westernization-our-country-A-view.aspx

Globalisation

As my previous blog demonstrated, global decline in cultural diversity is now recognised as a significant modern trend. Therefore, in my next few blog posts I want to consider each of the three processes associated with this decline – globalisation, westernisation and homogenisation- by first of all providing a definition, and then by discussing their relationship with global culture. Let’s get started with globalisation...

It is argued that the process of globalisation has been taking place for hundreds of years, but as a recognised concept it really took off in the 1960s when the Canadian media scholar Marshall McLuhan coined the term global village to capture the impact of new communications technologies on social and cultural life (Johnson et al., 2000). Since then the process has sped up enormously, but what is globalisation really all about? 

The term ‘globalisation’ simply means that the world we live in is becoming increasingly interconnected as a result of “time-space compression” – this basically refers to our increased ability to travel and trade across the world in a much shorter amount of time than previously possible, and with relative ease and comfort. This global interconnectedness has then transformed the structure and scale of our human relationships that social, cultural, political and economical processes operate at, from a national and local scale to a global one. 

There are several key factors that have influenced the process of globalisation:

1.      Improvements in transportation – larger cargo ships means that the cost of transporting goods between countries has decreased. Transport advances have also meant it is quicker and cheaper to move people and goods from one place to another.

2.      Freedom of trade – organisations such as the World Trade Organisation promote free trade between countries which means a lot of our goods can come from all over the world.

3.      Improvements in communication technology - the development of the internet and mobile technology has allowed better communication between people in different countries.

4.      Labour availability and skills – countries, such as India, have lower labour costs (in other words it is cheaper to pay someone there to do the same job as in another country). Labour intensive industries such as the clothing industry have taken advantage of this and set up businesses in these areas to increase their profits.

At the following link there is a useful video summarising the key points of what has influenced globalisation: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/globalisation/globalisation_video.shtml

The pros and cons of it all...

There are many heated debates about globalisation and its positive and negative effects. For instance, while globalisation is thought of by many as having the potential to make societies richer through trade and to also bring knowledge and information to people around the world, there are many others who perceive globalisation as contributing to the exploitation of the poor by the rich, and as a threat to traditional cultures. The video below is a good resource for in the classroom and highlights clearly some advantages and disadvantages of the globalisation processes visually: 

So now we are a bit clearer on the process of globalisation, it is time to just quickly consider its role with culture. Global interconnectedness via increased communication and transport has breached the existing social and physical barriers that had previously controlled cultural diffusion. As a result traditional cultures are being overpowered and cultural ideas are spreading faster and further than ever. Increased internet and mobile technology means that people are increasingly aware of one another’s cultures and so adapt traits of various others into their own daily routines. Additionally, global communication between individuals and companies sets new standards and expectations for us as consumers and subsequently we seek aspects of other societies (e.g. role of women, farming practises, education etc.).

Finally, to illustrate the idea of interconnectedness that globalisation provides, there are a couple of classroom activities that come to mind:

- Firstly, a timeline could be produced from students own research regarding how mobile, internet and transport technology has changed in the last century. 

-Secondly, pictures of their local high street could be projected and the students must identiy shops and services that typify the concept of cultural diffusion. 

-Thirdly, students could be provided with information of a local migrant community in their area and look at their culture in order to discuss what new morals and products they might introduce to the surrounding community.

Definition of globalisation:

Johnston. R.J et al., (2000) The Dictionary of Human Geography, 4th edition, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

General concept of globalisation:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/globalisation/globalisation_rev1.shtml

http://essays.ssrc.org/sept11/essays/teaching_resource/tr_globalization.htm

http://www.globalization101.org/culture-5