Posts Tagged ‘geography’
Even maps are subjective
Most of us grew up believing that maps and globes were accurate, objective portrayals of reality. At some point, though, we discovered that maps can be as subjective as anything else in the world of politics and diplomacy. That point is explained nicely in a recent article in the International Herald Tribune, about the cartography challenges faced by [...]
The question of Latin America
Is Latin America an integratedÂregion, or a diverse group of peoples and cultures? There are those, such as Simon Bolivar and Che Guevara, who have dreamed in the past of unifying all the peoples of Latin America. That sentiment was given expression again in the 2004 movie The Motorcycle Diaries (a nice travel movie, by the way), when the character of a [...]
Differences within countries
I write a lot about cultural differences between countries, but there are of course also differences between regions of the same country. For proof, one needn’t go further than to compare the average U.S. resident of, say, Wyoming with Vermont, or Alabama with New Jersey. Germany, too, has often been split between Prussian Protestants in the north [...]
Autonomy for Catalonia
More news on the burgeoning movements for autonomy or independence among unique cultural regions. Voters in Catalonia approved a referendum that gives considerable autonomy to their region of northeastern Spain. The provisions, which give the Catalan government more tax powers and greater authority over judicial and immigration matters, will go into effect within days. New laws also [...]
Appreciating geography
I had an op-ed piece published today in the Arizona Daily Star newspaper. It concerns the importance of geography to a good education and the ways in which travel can help us to appreciate our place in a global community. You can read the opinion piece here.
The country of Transdniestria?
What is a country? That’s a more difficult question than it first appears, as we saw in the wake of Montenegro’s recent vote in favor of becoming an independent state. Now, the Christian Science Monitor has an interesting article about “The Coming of the Micro-States.” Experts fear that many “frozen conflicts” around the world … could reignite as ethnic [...]
Popularizing geography
We know from previous news that many Americans don’t know a whole lot about geography. But some do, as evidenced by the 2006 National Geographic Bee, won by 12-year-old Bonny Jain of Illinois. Interestingly, the top three finishers, and five of the top 10, were Indian-Americans. Not a lot of attention is paid to this [...]
New country joins the world
Montenegro, the tiny Balkan country that has long been connected to Serbia, voted yesterday to become an independent country. Montenegro will thus become the 193rd member of the international community (or maybe the 192nd or 194th, depending on who is counting). There are 191 members of the United Nations. However, the U.S. State Department and many other U.N. members recognize 192 [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
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My travel memoir - Two Laps Around the World: Tales and Insights from a Life Sabbatical - is about two round-the-world journeys with my wife.
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