Interview with Andrea Tornielli About Pope Francis Geo-Outlook

Andrea Tornielli is a Vatican journalist and author of numerous books. His most recent book, Francis: Pope of a New World, is available now as an ebook at ignatius.com, and will be in stores, April 10.

Geographic Travels: How does Pope Francis' unique papal background, being a Jesuit from South America, impact his outlook and vision for the Church? 

Andrea Tornielli:  His experience as a Jesuit from South America is going to impact his pontificate: the direct style when he meets people, the special attention to the poor, the knowledge of the consequences of the globalization process, the idea of a Church that needs to "facilitate" the faith of people more than "regulate" it.

GT:  Pope Francis was heavily involved in the Eastern Rite while in Argentina. Do you see, and if so how, Francis taking a more active role to protect Eastern Christians who now face rising persecution? 

AT:  During the meeting with the new patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Louis Raphaël I Sako, he cried hearing the stories of Christians persecuted. I think he will continue in the line of Benedict. The former Pope elevated to Cardinal the Eastern patriarch Emmanuel Delly of Irak, Sako's predecessor, and Bechara Rai of Lyban. I believe Francis will also express his closeness to persecuted Christians. The possibility for a trip to Jerusalem fifty years after the historical pilgrimage of Paul VI and the recent meeting with orthodox patriarch Athenagoras - it could be a step in this direction.

GT:  There was talk in the Western press about the "need" for a non-European pope. Many reporters had in mind a few cardinals from Africa and reported on African hopes for an African pope. How will Pope Francis reach out to the growing church in Africa and Asia? 

AT: The African and Asian Cardinals were the first electors of the new Pope during the first ballots of the conclave. I think with an outlook focused on mission, he naturally could reach out to the growing church in Africa and Asia. Bergoglio said often that the Church must not be "auto-referencial" but needs to be focused on mission, near the people.

GT:  Pope Benedict XVI tried to have the Communist Chinese government free the Church in China. Do you expect Pope Francis to be able to make any ground with Beijing? 

AT:  The process will take time, and patience, a lot of patience. It is necessary to repair the relationship, and demonstrate to the Chinese government that the Catholic Church has no political interests and that the Holy See is not intending to provoke in China the historical "polish effect" as Pope John Paul II did in Poland. It will also depend on the new Secretary of State.

GT:  Development, globalization, government-allowed corny capitalism, trade, debt relief, and bailouts are major issues around the world. What are Pope Francis' approaches to these issues? 

AT:  I think that will be an approach of a man who knows the consequences of globalization, the problem of poverty, the necessity of equal development very well: I don't think that he will be a "political" or "geopolitical" pope, but at the same time I think he will speak without any problem defending the poor or persecuted.

Interview: Horreyah on the Arab Springs

Geographic Travels interviewed documentarian Victor S. who is creating a documentary film about his travels in the Arab world during and after Arab Spring-events.  The film, Horreyah, which means "freedom" in Arabic follows Victor during his time in the region.  Victor is currently raising money on Kickstarter to help him finance the film's production.



We find his information on the independent-mindedness of each protest surprising, the Muslim Brotherhood slow motion plan of conquest disturbing, and the personal story about the FSA adventurous.

GT:  What inspired you to do a documentary on the Arab Spring?

I had worked as a contractor in the region during the relatively early stages of OIF and became interested in the middle east for several reasons. The history of the area, the passionate nature of its people, and the politics all seemed fascinating to me. By the time that the "Arab Spring" had started, I had already traveled throughout much of North Africa and the Levant.

During my travels I spoke with literally hundreds of locals and (like many travelers do) I listened to them gripe about their view of the world- but later found it fascinating that they rarely mentioned the issues that would become the impetus for the Spring.

I am also an American, and as such believe that freedom is something that every person should have. When the first wave of popular uprisings were shown by the US media during January/Febuary of 2011, they were often presented (rather simplistically) as David taking on Goliath. As small but brave groups of individuals fighting long standing Dictatorships. This touched me and I couldn't help but draw some comparisons to American history.

I also noticed that major media reporting on the subject usually entailed interviewing some former Ambassador under the Reagan administration or some DC based analyst. These were "grass roots" uprisings after all, and I thought the most important people to speak with were those on the ground level.

That's why I decided to do a documentary on the subject.

GT:  The Arab Spring started in Tunisia and spread throughout the region.  Why do feel people were so interconnected in their urge to rise up?

For this film we traveled from the "birthplace of the Arab Spring" (the small and desolate Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid)- to the battlefields of western Syria. I met with revolutionaries, freedom fighters, and ordinary people. I asked almost every single one this same question- and they all downplayed the importance of this "interconnection".

The Tunisians I spoke with all seemed proud that their country was the new birthplace of freedom for the region, but the extent of this seemed lost on most of them. I met with Bouzazi's family who still seemed to be making sense of their own individual change of circumstances and did not appear overly concerned with the fate of the rest of the world.

Every different revolutionary group I met with in Cairo and Alexandria all seemed eager to downplay many of the events in Tunisia. Most of them told me that THEIR revolution would have started regardless of what was playing out in other countries. I formed the opinion that this may be tied to a very "Egypt centric" school of thought. That is to say that many Egyptians that I met believed that their country was (in most ways) the epicenter of activity for the region at all times. With that frame of mind, its only natural that one would find their personal struggle to be the most defining.

The Syrians were/are still struggling to make sense of the escalating conflict in their own country to put much thought in others. I did speak candidly with some FSA members who acknowledged being inspired by what took place in Libya, but many of them were quick to add that they felt the media was embellishing the "success" there.

GT:  What are some interesting trends you have seen?

The slow indoctrination approach taken by the "Freedom and Justice Party" in Egypt.

Unlike their Salifi counterparts, members of the "Muslim Brotherhood" have been politically astute enough to not demand a full out Islamic state immediately. I did realize after speaking to several different party members that they have taken a slower and more pragmatic approach with the same goal in mind.

According to them, the plan is to through a period of what they see as "purification" of the Egyptian people from western influence. They know that this will probably take 10-20 years and they are willing to approach it systematically. The first place to start is the schools- changing books and course curriculums. From there they will work on changing the culture of social institutions and the Army.

It was amazing to me how much everybody seemed to be on the same page about this. It didn't matter what member I spoke with or where, they all sounded like they were reading from the same play book.

One thing they have gained from over 80 years of political experience- is patience. They are going to great lengths to appear moderate to the Egyptian people, but are apparently sharing different information internally.

GT:  Many in the West are concerned about Christians and other minorities.  What impacts of the Arab Spring have you seen on these communities?

Again, I turn to Egypt. EVERY Christian church that I visited while in Cairo had to be guarded by police or Military. These weren't just large Cathedrals, but even smaller Catholic Churches in residential areas. It was also difficult to get Christians to speak on Camera about how they viewed the Arab Spring.

For this documentary we also went to the DC based "United States commission on International Religious Freedom" and interviewed the Deputy Director of Policy- Dr. Dwight N. Bashir. He just reinforced what we had already seen- that Christians will most likely see a rise in persecution in Egypt over all other countries effected by the spring. This is something that I believe our Government should be very proactive in addressing.

GT:  Do you have a interesting/fun "war story/crazy experience" to share?

Getting in to Syria and to an FSA camp.

There are foreign based organizations that have been (operating as non profits) excepting money from wealthy Syrians abroad which they in turn use to help fund humanitarian activities inside of Syria.

A journalist friend of mine put me in touch with a trusted point of contact inside of one of these organizations. This person informed me that a cigarette smuggler they knew took regular trips across the border to an FSA camp. If I paid a small fee, I could go with him and he would personally introduce me to the "Colonel". I agreed and invited two Italian journalists who I had met a week prior.

A date/time was set to meet at an agreed upon location 10km from the Syrian Border. The day came- and my two Italian friends suddenly backed out and advised me to do the same. Having quite a bit of experience ignoring perfectly good advice- I felt that this time should be no different and decided to proceed anyway.

My new best friend (the cigarette smuggler) simply placed me comfortably in the trunk of a late model Nissan 4 door car. Driving for what felt like hours, my "guide" proceeded to take (what felt like) dirt roads and gravel paths. We finally arrived at a large orchard at the base of a small mountain, where I was released from my comfortable nook. Here we were met by a small man in his early thirties, who was brandishing an AK 47 and was apparently the first FSA member that I would meet.

The adventure continued on foot up the mountain and down a narrow ravine, only to climb small small rock faces on the next mountain. We finally reached the outskirts of"camp" around mid day.

Having been in the US military myself, I was shocked at how poorly defended and designed this camp was. It was simply a ring of foxholes on the top of the mountain covering an area about as large as a football field. There were approx. 40-50 men of varying ages, most busy setting up (Coleman brand) multi colored sleeping tents. They were armed- but poorly. About half had AK-47's while the other half at a mixture of shotguns and hunting rifles.

I was taken to the "Colonel" and proceeded to set up for an interview when- BOOM! A large explosion was heard coming from the base of the mountain along where we had just walked. Myself and the small group of fighters around me all dropped to the ground. BOOM- a second one. Then they jumped up at once, starting to shout wildly and their was a brief moment of confusion. BOOM- a third one. After about thirty seconds of debate, the group apparently agreed it was mortars being dropped on the trail we just took.

It was later deduced that we must have been spotted. The Mortar team who responded just didn't eat their Wheaties that morning and were just a few minutes late putting rounds down range.

This is the moment that it suddenly dawned on me that I could actually get stuck there. My mind began racing beyond that to what would happen if the camp was attacked and the "impervious" defenses did not hold. What would Assads forces do with a white American at an FSA camp?

The tone suddenly changed from what felt like an "Indiana Jones adventure" to "lets get this over with and get out of here".

We completed the interview with no more "problems" and simply took a different trail to a small village where a car was waiting. This time the walk was much longer.

Thanks to God we made it back in one piece!

Interview with Robert Kaplan on the Revenge of Geography

I felt the mighty wrath of geography when I was in Afghanistan.  For three days the base where I was staying received non-stop snow.  The total amount of snow was over three feet (about one meter).  For those three days plus the next four flights in and out were cancelled due to the poor weather and visibility in the valley bowl we were in.  Meanwhile, the one main road was rendered impassable because of the snow drifts.  I repeatedly had to go on the roof of our building to clear the wind blown snow off the satellite dish in an attempt to keep our little base in contact with the outside world.

On a microscale I was a victim of geography.  The physical terrain and the climate made the base's location prime for being buried in snow.  Meanwhile on the macroscale I was victim yet again because I was in Afghanistan because of Pakistan's grand scheme to ensure geographical depth against India, control trade routes to Central Asia, and its desire to have a safe zone to train Islamist militants for its over war Kashmir.

Author Robert Kaplan wrote the Revenge of Geography as an examination of geography, past trends in geographical analysis, and to tackle today's geopolitical problems in a geographic perspective.  I am still reading the press review copy I received and will review it as soon as I am done.  However, in the meantime Mr. Kaplan was kind of enough to do a short interview with me.

Geographic Travels:  What inspired you to take a specifically geographical look the world's problems?

Robert Kaplan:  The media is obsessed with the power of ideas to the exclusion of all else. I decided to have a look at the power of physical forces that are so obvious that they go unmentioned.
 

Geographic Travels:  How has geography helped you better understand the world?

Robert Kaplan:  Nothing is so insightful about world events as a map. It shows you why Iran can dominate Iraq, why Taiwan retains de facto independence from China, why America must be sea power, and so forth.
 

Geographic Travels:  The title of your book is "The Revenge of Geography".  What is this "revenge" you speak of? 

Robert Kaplan:  In Bosnia and Kosovo the U. S. military, especially the Air Force, defeated geography. But in the next decade geography got its revenge against the U. S. military in the mountains, deserts, and alleyways of Afghanistan and Iraq. The humbling of the U. S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq is one of the starting points for my exploration.
 

Geographic Travels:  Did any previous works by geographers inspire you in your research (for your book)?

Robert Kaplan:  The first half of the book constitutes long profiles of great geopoliticians and historians who were heavily influenced by geography.
 

Geographic Travels:  Some geographers have hit back at your ideas claiming you are a geographical determinist (example).  How do you respond to these claims?

Robert Kaplan:  A reasonable person must be a partial determinist. That is because human choice operates against a backdrop of natural forces, especially geography. Without deterministic forces to struggle against, human agency would lose its moral significance. The French philosopher Raymond Aron and the British historian Norman Davies have both indicated that history is made up of both deterministic and non-deterministic forces, as well as of accident. In my book, I explain Aron's "probabilistic" determinism.
 

Geographic Travels:  If policy makers and the general public were to learn only one thing from your book, what would you want that lesson to be?

Robert Kaplan:  There are limits to what we can accomplish in the world. We can't do whatever we want whenever we want all the time. And those limits are best expressed through geography.

Book Review and Author Interview: Global Perspectives in the Geography Curriculum: Reviewing the Moral Case for Geography

 Geography has a long history but many consider Immanuel Kant giving the field its modern birth by defining it as the spatial science in the late 1700s.  Others reintroduced regional studies, incorporating spatial science, and thus tied geography with the scientific expansion of the nineteenth century.  The idea of liberal education further aided geography by removing limits put on it by religious and nationalistic pressures.  By the end of the 1800s geography was on a winning streak and many barriers to geographic education were removed.  However, one hundred years later the discipline is a shadow of its former self with many geographers unable to define the field and many schools teaching "global perspectives" and moral-driven world issues in a subject that calls itself geography but lacks any spatial reasoning.

Enter Dr. Alex Standish, who is a geographer who has researched how the field has developed since the days of the Ancient Greeks.  He has dedicated his career to studying how geography has been taught both past and present, and he does not like what he sees.  Standish sees the change in geography education from the objective spatial science/regional studies subject to one of global perspectives and moral-driven education as greatly damaging not only to geography but education and students as well.  Simple things like distance decay are not being taught while biased studies, half-truths, and outright lies about climate change, cultural conflicts, and globalization are being taught with students being exposed to only one side of the story (Note:  The book is not denying climate change or other important issues, just pointing out that both sides are not being fairly presented and the "moral" side is presented as dogma).  Not only is this not geography but it retards students ability to learn to think for themselves.  The outcome is the denial of free thinking, students who lack basic geographic skills like spatial reasoning, and a subject that cannot defend its own existence.  (See Standish's blog post on his AAG panel session for more on the last point)

Standish's work is summed up in his book Global Perspectives in the Geography Curriculum: Reviewing the Moral Case for Geography.  Standish describes the evolution of geography from ancient times through the religious-imperial driven ages and the "golden era" of liberal education up to today's moral-driven "global perspectives" interpretation of the field.  He does a good job showing how a drive to influence students' thinking has hijacked geography and made it an agenda-driven subject that while focusing on global issues ignores general topics like spatialness and regional studies.

Regardless if one thinks prepackaged morals should be a part of education it does seem like the shift in geography, which started to gain strength in the 1970s, has had a large impact on the subject.  American students geographic skills are laughable despite concentrated efforts by forces like National Geographic as Catholicgauzette has shown.

The book is a good read but it is written at an academic level.  The lay reader may want to avoid the book while those use to reading at a college-reading level may enjoy such a weighty book.

I was able to interview Dr. Standish to ask him a few questions about the book and his thoughts. 

Geographic Travels: Your book frequently discusses how geography textbooks and how they have adopted many bias and non-geographic themes.  What would be included if you could make your own Introduction to Geography textbook?

Dr. Standish:  At an introductory level pupils need to learn both regional and thematic geography. Courses can combine the two approaches or they can study both separately. What is included depends upon the age of the children. At a young age, children need to learn to interpret their world spatially, looking at and making basic plans and maps. It works well to start with a local area and expand scales out from there. Later they need to learn about the different types of countries and cultures of the world. Phil Gersmehl has identified four concepts that are foundational to the study of geography: location, place/conditions, links between places, and regions. Using these, teachers should introduce pupils to the themes of geography including landforms, weather and climate, the biosphere, resources, population, settlements/urbanization, cultural geography, political geography, and economic geography. A great introductory text at college level is an Introduction to Geography: People, Places and Environments by Bergman and Renwick.
 

Geographic Travels:  Your book has been reviewed in several academic geography publications and received some negative reviews because your reviewers believe that your main point, that geography's shift away from liberal education to moralism, is not a bad thing.  Do you have any response to these reviewers?  (Note: The book has just received a shining review from the new president of NCGE, soon to appear in the Journal of Geography.)

Dr. Standish: It is understandable some welcome the shift to moralism in the curriculum, as many of these people have lost faith in knowledge as a pathway to understanding. Seeking an alternative rationale for schooling, they have replaced education with political or therapeutic goals. In practice, this means teaching values, attitudes, and behaviors, such as empathy or affirmation, in place of knowledge as an end of education. While a good education will stimulate all sorts of emotions and make one rethink one's values, these are outcomes of education, not its aim. The inclusion of specific values as learning objectives is decidedly illiberal and inhibts freedom of thought. As such, it is anti-educational. A good reference here is Ecclestone and Hayes, The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education.

Geographic Travels:  There have been many efforts to improve geographic literacy in the last few decades.  However, as studies have shown and this blog has reported, the impact of these efforts has been minimal at best.   Do you feel, and if so how strongly is, the reason for such low geographic literacy because of the abandonment of geography in exchange for the moralistic geography-called subject currently being taught in schools?

Dr. Standish:  The US has had a particular problem with geography being burred in the social studies for almost a century. With America's increased international roll and discussion of globalization, geography's place in schools has seen some modest improvement. However, geographers need to be careful not to piggyback on trendy educational fads like global citizenship, which in many instances are tied to moralistic agendas. We are far better off building a case for geography through its intellectual qualities, its ability to help us make sense of our world. At the end of the day, clarity of understanding is the reward geography brings to pupils, whereas many see through the patronising approach that informs the moralizing in the curriculum.

Geographic Travels: Do you see any major pushes to bring back liberal education-model geography or will the global perspectives-version continue to dominate the education system?

Dr. Standish:  The key to resuscitating geography, and education more generally, is to focus the debate on the meaning and purpose of education. Everyone knows that schools have a problem, but they only look for technical or managerial fixes. Groups such as the Institute of Ideas Education Forum (http://www.instituteofideas.com/events/educationforum.html) or Common Core (http://www.commoncore.org/index.php) are trying to stimulate discussion about the content of education and what it is for. Only by challenging the demoralization of geography and other subjects in this way can we begin to stimulate young people and offer them the kind of education they deserve.

AAG 2010 Interview: Dr. Carol Harden

Dr. Carol Harden is a professor of geography at the University of Tennessee and President of the Association of American Geographers.

During the AAG 2010 convention I was fortunate to spend thirty minutes with Dr. Harden about her background, thoughts on blogs, and geography in general.

Background

Like many geographers Dr. Harden’s path to the field was not a straight one. She originally was involved in environmental studies until she worked with past AAG President Melvin Marcus who told her how her work was geographical in nature.

Dr. Harden became a self-identified geographer after discovering that she was “very, very comfortable” in geography and that the field was welcoming. Her work is more physical geography, geomorphology, but she has also looked at how physical and cultural landscapes affect each other like in the papers Interrelationships between land abandonment and land degradation: A case from the Ecuadorian Andes and Geomorphic response of an Appalachian Valley and Ridge stream to urbanization.

Geography Blogs

Dr. Harden and the geographic blogosphere’s first encounter was not as good as it could have been. She wrote in the November 2009 edition of the AAG newsletter that “[t]he media are changing. Now we have wikis, twitters, and blogs as well as OpEds and classic journalism. Is blogging an effective way to launch your research results into the public domain? My informants prefer up-to-date websites and personal contacts. And, compared to a blog, a good website is more visible to internet searches.”

The statement certainly is not hostile to blogs and when compared to other things said to me because of Geographic Travels [with Catholicgauze!] like me being a monster or Zionist agent it comes across as nearly nothing. However, many in the geoblogosphere (which include geography, geospatial, geopolitical, and cartographic blogs) felt that our researched and well read work was being ignored by the greater geographic community. I contacted Dr. Harden stating my concerns and she was gracious in her reply and promised to give the topic more thought.

During the interview Dr. Harden stated she appreciates the “inviting and open” atmosphere of blogs. She realizes that blogs are a key part of the online media suite which knowledge and opinions are shared within the discipline and public. She also mentioned that blogs do a great job pulling lots of information together. Blogs are a “tremendously useful” tool that can open doors to future research.

However, she still has some valid concerns. The wide range of style from academic to pure opinion with the added element of anonymity has made the blogosphere hit or miss when it comes to credibility (though there are excellent quasi-anonymous blogs out there like Coming Anarchy).

The Fight to Advance Geography

When talking both about the AAG 2010 convention and the state of geography in the United States Dr. Harden stated the need for geography to be relevant and visible. From a top-down approach she discussed the renewal of the No Child Left Behind Act and the hope that geographers can work with congress to make sure somesort of geographical education is mandated. However, she believes geographers need to look past No Child Left Behind and work on relevant projects that can inform the public about important things. Climate Change was explicitly brought up with at least one session (four to five presentations) being conducted at the convention from Wednesday morning to Sunday afternoon. Climate change sessions ran throughout the meeting--over 50 sessions in two continuous tracks.

She offered these key steps to advance geography: work on “real world problems,” make work visible to the public and power makers, and conduct outreach to schools, alliances, etc.

The Best Point

Dr. Harden said that geography is big and it has successfully shed its inferiority complex. We geographers must get out there and make our work visible. And yes, blogs are a valid way to make our work more visible.

AAG 2010 Interview: Andrew Shears

Andrew Shears is a doctoral student in the geography department of Kent State University. He is presenting on Saturday with Infrastructure as Discourse: The "Safety" of New Orleans and Resulting Environmental Injustice. This interview is designed to give an insight into Andrew's background, his paper's talk, and his thoughts on geography.

Background

Geography can be seen as Andrew's destiny. His mother was a geomorphologist and he was fortunate enough to go to field camps with her. Many family trips were tied into her work. During his teenage years a sort of rebellion took over Andrew with him trying to avoid geography at all cost. However, he must have been wired for geography because after trying out a few other fields Andrew came back to geography. "Everything made sense [with geography]," Andrew told me.

Katrina, New Orleans, and a Call to Action

Besides being possibly predestined for geography, one thing that attracted Andrew to the field was the desire to "try to make the world better." He views geography as a way to study problems, make the problems noticeable, and find solutions.

The cosmos aligned once again for Andrew and his socially responsible view of geography with Hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans days after he started his graduate program. At first Andrew sought to avoid Katrina because it was a field everyone was rushing into and he did not "want to be lost in the shuffle." However, after studying the how and why of both the physical and man-aided disaster he could ignore Katrina's impact any longer.

"What was 'Unsaid'"

One thing that struck me was Andrew saying that, from a capitalistic perspective, New Orleans should not exist. The vast majority of cities exist because their location was good for somesort of business and New Orleans was no different (being a port city along the Mississippi River). However, continued sinking into a depression between a large river and a lake, canals that bypassed the city, and the sheer cost of keeping the city dry had made New Orleans a physically risky place to be in that lost its original purpose of being a port city.

However, Andrew pointed out that continued investment into infrastructures gave many people the impression that the city was safe despite it being below a river and lake. However, when Katrina hit the levee system was so poorly designed against a big storm that the levees were easily compromised by the incoming water and the canal system actually made the situation worse. "It is like letting the enemy come in from behind the line" and wrecking havoc, Andrew told me.

The real tragedy was afterwards with FEMA. Andrew said that people were use to seeing FEMA come to the aid after other emergencies. It was unsaid but there was the strong impression that no matter what happened FEMA would be there to save the day after the storm. Sadly, rescue was late for many due to the utter devastation done by the flood water.

How to Improve Geography

I asked Andrew how geography's status in the United States could be improved. His first answer came quickly off his tongue: get rid of social studies. Too often schools only require a social studies course that is a mishmash of history, economics, government, and sometimes geography. A second answer came after that: make sure that the geography teacher is not named "Coach."

Interview about Geographical and the Royal Geographical Society's Support of Geography

Geographical is the magazine of the British Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). Lately Geographical and the RGS have been aggressively pushing geographical awareness in the United Kingdom. While many online geographers are familiar with National Geographic's My Wonderful World it seems Geographical/RGS's efforts have occurred with little fan fare. In an effort to change that Geographic Travels has been fortunate to conduct an interview with Geographical about their efforts online and offline.

Geographic Travels: Now that Geographical is on Twitter, are there any plans to extend your online presence to Facebook or any other social media?

Geographical: Twitter has been a fantastic experience for Geographical. It's connected us to explorers, cartographers, geographers, teachers, designers and scientists all over the world, and it has already turned out to be a good source for new stories. But we don't have any plans, currently, to extend our online presence. We're a really small team of just two and a half people (one member of staff only works part-time on Geographical) so we are currently focusing on the magazine Geographical and the website www.geographical.co.uk. However, I will definitely let you know if this changes...

Geographic Travels: National Geographic has been pushing their My Wonderful World campaign online to support geographic literacy. Does Geographical have or plan something similar?

Geographical: Every year Geographical runs a competition called the Young Geographer of the Year, a hugely popular competition aimed at students up to the age of 18 studying Geography. Last year's theme was 'Arctic Journey' and the task was as follows:

We want you to carry out a project that involves a journey to the Arctic. What would you take with you and why? What would ensure your journey's success? Your project should reflect a thorough investigation into the geography of the Arctic and a realistic portrayal of a journey to the North Pole. We would also like you to include one luxury time for your journey and an explanation of your item of choice.

Prizes included a month-long expedition to East Greenland with BSES Expeditions and a five-day Arctic Ice Adventure to Sweden courtesy of Explore, plus plenty of prizes for the schools involved.

The Young Geographer of the Year 2010 competition is due to be announced in the May issue of the magazine (and information will be put up on the website at the same time) But, sadly, it's only open to schools or colleges in the UK or Europe so not something students in the US would be able to enter.

Geographic Travels: How can geographers use social media to spread the message of geography?

Geographical: I have found that the geographers who are active on social media and blogs are often also innovative within their own fields, whether that's digital mapping or teaching or GIS development. And the people behind web presence's such as www.geographycollective.co.uk and http://digitalurban.blogspot.com/ are really changing how geography is perceived and, even, what geography actually is, so I think by connecting online (via social media or blogs) it reminds people that geography isn't just an irrelevant subject found it text books (a misconception that I know many geographers rally against) but a really relevant discipline that can help play a part in furthering our understanding of the world, and coming up with solutions to the environmental and social problems facing the world today.

Geographic Travels: How does Geographical and the Royal Geographic Society support geography in the United Kingdom?

Geographical: Geographical is the official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society. Although the magazine contains a mix of news and features on travel, the environment, culture and science, we also try and focus on the work of geographers around the world and recent articles have covered subjects ranging from the work International Boundary Unit in Durham to how digital geographers are helping to solve social problems in the UK's cities:

www.geographical.co.uk/Magazine/Boundaries_-_May_09.html
www.geographical.co.uk/Magazine/Sim_Cities_-_Aug_08.html
http://www.geographical.co.uk/Magazine/Emergency_mapping_Sep_09.html

Alongside our news and articles, we include information about the events being held at the society (which range from talks by Michael Palin, the ex-Monty Python star-turned-travel presenter who is now President of the Royal Geographical Society to technical training in GIS and plenty more you can see here: www.rgs.org/WhatsOn/Whats+on.htm) and the achievements of geographers who have been supported by the RGS.

The RGS provides a really large range of grants, that not that many people know about. And you don't have to be a geographer to apply for all of them. There are also grants for independent travellers and explorers, which include The Journey of a Lifetime Award, which gives travellers £4,000 and the chance to make a BBC Radio 4 documentary on subjects/destinations that have previously included the Zabbaleen community in Cairo, Egypt, who recycle a large percentage of the city's rubbish for free (www.geographical.co.uk/Magazine/Zabbaleen_-_May08.html), and The Cartaret Islands where the inhabitants were the first people to be evacuated from their homeland due to climate change. You can see the full list of grants available here: http://www.rgs.org/OurWork/Grants/Grants.htm

Interview with Harm de Blij

On the second day of graduate school I was asked by the professor who my favorite academic geographer was. After a brief moment to think I chose the geographer who has published probably the most popular geography textbooks in English, Dr. Harm J. de Blij. The professor responded with a shocked yet disappointed "oh" while a few other students giggled.

My response was dismissed by the others because de Blij's work was too mundane for them. De Blij foscused more on world geography with the studies of people, countries, and cultures. The others in the class preferred studying small niches of geography like hunting tourism, sexual spaces, ethnic neighborhoods, and exurbs in southern California. These niche geographers saw de Blij's work in world/regional geography as merely high school geography and not worthy of further pursuit. However, many of the students I taught have told me de Blij's books are the best geography texts they ever used and several geography majors and graduate students have shared with me the fact that de Blij was their reason for further studying geography. De Blij appealed to them, made geography interesting, and increased their geographical literacy.

I have had the honor of communicating with Dr. Harm J. de Blij. Below is the interview we conducted where we discuss the state of geography, upcoming geographical hotspots, and why don't geographers reach out more.

Beginning of Interview

Geographic Travels: As a graduate student I would ask other students to define geography. In a group setting it was interesting to see overlap and clashes between the various definitions (I must also admit that it was fun to have these groups discussion melt down into sparring matches between various people). What is your definition of geography?

Dr. de Blij: After my failed effort to give some focus to the question of geography's definition in Why Geography Matters, maybe I should demur on this one. I'm one of the shrinking cadre of geographers who continue to think that the overarching question "where" is our unifying preoccupation, but we're not the only ones using location and its vocabulary (proximity, juxtaposition, distance (decay), accessibility, etc. conceptually. I find myself turning to maps on a daily and continuing basis; find a globe still instructive after my half-century-plus of looking at it; and still feel that a mental map is a valuable part of general perception. Or what is that called these days? Spatial cognition? Well, probably nobody ever asks a historian "what is history" or a geologist "what is geology", although from what I hear about what's happening on campuses, geology as we came to know it seems to be history. In any case, geography is now so balkanized that it is, in a distinguished colleague's view, "everywhere."

Geographic Travels: The million dollar question that every geographer has an opinion on: how do you feel geographic education can be improved?

Dr. de Blij: The improvement of geographic education in the United States obviously depends on its wider inclusion in school curricula and the continuing improvement of teacher-education and training. The former relies on enlightened educational policy and school administration and the latter on money and equipment, all in short supply. It's not actually a million-dollar question; it's a billion-dollar question.

Geographic Travles: According to international studies and personal observations by the bloggers at Geographic Travels, many people do not see the relevance of geography. How can geographers demonstrate the importance of the subject to the general population?

Dr. de Blij: I'm surprised at those international studies you cite, because geography's relevance is pretty well established in places I visit regularly, like China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Eastern Europe, and other countries and regions; it's true that it's not seen as quite so relevant in Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, or Japan (but in all these last, it still has better standing than in the United States). Demonstrating geography's importance as part of the national capacity isn't difficult. When the Senate International Relations Committee's Carl Levin comes back from Afghanistan and says on national television that "you don't have ethnic divisions (there) that you do in Iraq" (Face the Nation, November 22, 2009) it's clear that he doesn't need a reservation to Kabul, he needs a seat in a cultural geography class. It wouldn't matter, except that the McNamaras, Bushes, Wolfowitzes, Levins and others of their intellectual makeup drive this country into foreign-policy blunders that have their origins in geographic illiteracy acquired at places like Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Although knowing locations (places, names) has about as much relevance to geography as a vocabulary table has to literature, you can't speak a language without learned vocabulary. When only one in seven Americans can identify Iraq on a blank map of the Middle East (and fewer still Afghanistan in Southwest Asia), that means the opinions of the other six (at least) are worthless, or at least not likely to have much if any basis in even the most rudimentary knowledge. A nation that does not know its way in this world functionally shrinking upon it will lose its way for sure. We did in Vietnam, were persuaded on Iraq, and now we think that we can handle Afghanistan's merciless geography with a few tens of thousands of troops.

But there's another side to this. Geographers haven't done much of a job even trying to persuade the "general population" of the importance of geography. We complain about geographic illiteracy, but where are the persuaders? I don't see many (any) colleagues in the debates roiling Washington on foreign policy (where you can hear the most incredible geographic blunders going unnoticed -- watch C-Span!). I see a gazillion history books on Afghanistan, Iraq, the British Empire, the rise of China, the fall of Russia ... where are the geographic interpreters?

Geographic Travels: I remember a presentation you gave in 2005 at National Geographic where you said in a few years Somalia will become a country of great interest. The rise, fall, and rise again of Islamic militants plus piracy have proven you right. Where do you see the next big geopolitical event to be?

Dr. de Blij: Somalia was an easy call. I was there only once, in much calmer times; but what I've called the "Islamic Front" was already in place and on the move. By the way, you may recall that in that same 2005 talk I also warned that the layout of the Horn of Africa and its opposite shore made Yemen a likely terrorist haven. Take a look at the globe and note how remarkably close Yemen is to Iran and other parts of Southwest and South Asia, even Pakistan. Now consider the cultural-geographic contrasts: Somalia is likely to be regional trouble, Yemen has the potential to be global trouble. The question "where next" is interesting. If bin Laden is looking at the world map, he must feel that he's got a pretty strong axis from weak Somalia (not Puntland or Somaliland) through Yemen to Afghanistan and Pakistan. What he doesn't have is the proximity to his Western targets he'd like. I've hypothesized for a long time that Africa offers that opportunity (Eritrea may be next, the North African Atlas Mountains perhaps the Waziristan of the more distant future). But it's also possible that al-Qaeda may take the potentially easier path, into Subsaharan Africa, where recruitment rather than destructive attacks may bear longer-range fruit.

Geographic Travels: You have published great books such as Why Geography Matters and The Power of Place. Do you have any upcoming books or projects?

Dr. de Blij: You're kind to refer to my two recent trade books that way, but compared to other, far more penetrating studies they're pretty pedestrian (this is reality, not false modesty). My mistake in WGM is to have concentrated too much on basic geography, in the hope that some readers might like to get up to speed on stuff we do in freshman classes at college level. I did have a nice response, by the way, from some Harvard University students who saw the book in their college bookstore, read it and wrote me to ask -- why aren't we getting this stuff as part of our College curriculum? And not only did they write me, they also wrote the Harvard Crimson. I actually heard from a Dean who was involved in a College curriculum revision then under way. He told me not to get my hopes up. "We're pretty dyed in the wool around here", he said. He was, of course, right. Harvard students still can go from kindergarten to graduate school without ever making contact with geography. And then lead the country into war after graduation. As to Power of Place, I just got mad at Thomas Friedman and his stuff about flat worlds and all that; he says himself in his book that he titled it that way to make people buy it. What Friedman, Krugman, Lieberman, and other men think is their great talent and indomitable perseverance is mostly -- luck. By the roulette of birth we're all parachuted onto this world in places fortunate and less so; and on average you're a hell of a lot better off as a man than as a woman. If you're born into the global core with its high-living-standard cities and high-income economies, and you start believing the world is flat (and geography is history), take a cold shower (it's the norm in the periphery, with a bucket) and take a good geography course to follow. We've made the global core a gated community, try to keep immigrants out through bureaucracy, fences, walls, moats, patrol boats -- and then call the world flat? Actually I am working on something new but not making much progress. It arose from an idea that popped up while I wrote Power of Place, on how we seem to be turning our backs on the fruits of the Enlightenment and what the cost of that might be. Extremism in religions, rejection of science, decline in the arts, coarsening of politics. But I find myself rewriting earlier chapters rather than moving along, so who knows. At least it keeps the adrenalin pumping.

End of Interview

Dr. de Blij makes some very good points. Generals Petraeus in Iraq and McFlynn in Afghanistan both realize the importace of regional and local geographic knowledge in the War on Terrorism. McFlynn goes as far to say that without local knowledge of the people and place that no amount of counter-insurrgency can win the Afghanistan War. Meanwhile I and others have stressed the need to teach geography better and for geographers to create products that will reach the general public.

Saldy, Dr. de Blij's story of Harvard University is repeated throughout America. Many universities do not have geography programs and those who do rarely emphasize the world regional interrelationships and instead focus on niche subfields. A deadly duet of university's not seeing the true importance and usefulness of geography and geographers constantly ruining their own case by an overemphasis of niches and tools has greatly harmed geographic literacy in the United States. I do not think we necessarily need more geography majors but instead need to properly teach world geography to students. One good world regional class can stick forever in an engineering or nursing student's mind allowing them to rethink world events. In a democratic society we cannot afford to have a large unknowledgable educated class.

Dr. de Blij is the author of Why Geography Matters, The Power of Place, Human Geography: People, Place, and Culture, Geography: Realms, Regions and Concepts, and other books.

Interview with Dr. Reardon-Anderson of Georgetown University

Dr. James Reardon-Anderson of Georgetown University is making an effort to bring geography into his foreign service class. Sadly, some students oppose this move because they do not see the purpose of geography in the "Map of the Modern World Class." Not one but two Facebook groups have even been established to give voice to the protesters.

Dr. Reardon-Anderson has taken time out of his busy schedule and allowed himself to be interviewed by Catholicgauze. Here below are the questions and answers.

Catholicgauze: What convinced you to add geography to the Map of the Modern World class?
Dr. Reardon-Anderson: I have long believed that physical geography has been both important and neglected in the study of international affairs -- as well as other areas of human behavior. I consider this neglect a major short-coming of education at SFS (and other institutions of higher learning) and think it is time to introduce it into the curriculum.

CG: You have encountered some public opposition by students to the change. Why do you think that is?
DRA: There has been considerable negative reaction to the announced change in the content of the course, "Map of the Modern World." The reasons are varied. It is better to let the critics speak for themselves.

CG: Do you know of any other efforts by Georgetown to integrate geography into other classes?
DRA: I believe geography is included in some courses in the major on 'Science, Technology and International Affairs,' but not in other parts of the curriculum. That is why I have taken this initiative myself.

CG: What does geography mean to you?
DRA: The course in question focuses on physical geography, which include land forms, climate and the resultant life forms and their impacts on human behavior. This is a particular take on "geography" and does not represent the discipline as a whole.

I would like to personally thank Dr. Reardon-Anderson for taking time out of his day to be interviewed for this blog.

Seven things about Catholicgauze and Upcoming Q&A Session

Catholicgauze has been tagged by several readers to reveal seven things about himself.


1. My first geographical memory is of my mother putting my fingers over our three-dimensional globe. As I felt Colombia I was told, "this is where mommy's coffee grows" and for Australia she said, "this is where the kangaroos hop." The second memory was of our National Geographic picture atlas of the world. The globe and atlas showed me the world was a vast and wonderful place. The geographer in me was born.

2. I have been an academic geographer, geographical educator, intern involved with geographical publications (National Geographic), and a professional geographer. Each have had their ups and downs. I have mostly positive impressions of each, though. The ability to use my geographical knowledge to create real world outcomes, from educating one freshman student to rebuilding Iraq, has been a huge honor.


3. I love geography because it allows me to do so many things. What other field of study can draw on economics, genealogy, geology, environmental science, history, and so many other topics in concert?

4. My favorite places are in the country side that have a view of a river. The most recent peaceful place I discovered is a bluff overlook near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

5. The last four countries I have been to are Iraq (presently), Germany, Canada and Aruba (Kingdom of the Netherlands). The next four I want to travel to are Ukraine, Kosovo, Israel, and Vatican City.


6. Geographical education in America is horrible but I think I found a way to teach it, at least with environmental geography. I threw out all the old tests which were just multiple choice questions such as, "What sort of sand dune is this?" or "What temperature is required to form this rock?" Instead I made free answer tests that required students to fully comprehend the subject. For instance, I gave my students a map of the local area and required students two list and explain two reasons why they would not build a house at grid location X. The answer usually was something along the lines of "Grid location X is in a flood plain and according to the map there are sinkholes in the area which could later form on poor soil and collapse the home." This required among many things, including: map reading, knowledge of the grid location and comprehension of hazards.


7. I greatly enjoy comments and e-mails from readers. It doesn't matter if you are sharing positive or critical thoughts or asking for help to understand something, I'm glad that I have the opportunity to share, and promote (and provoke) a response on a topic that I am so passionate about - geography.


As long as we are on the point of comments and e-mails, I am announcing an upcoming question and answer session with Catholicgauze! If you have questions about my doings in Iraq, the world, geographical education, or anything geographical just e-mail me at catholicgauze[at]gmail[dot]com and it will be featured in upcoming posts. Questions can be anonymous.

Atlas of True Names and Interview with the Cartographer

Many places in the United States have Indian names.  A common question that the curious will ask is what about the meaning of the name.  Sometimes there is an available answer but most times this is not the case.  The mystery of name origins is found throughout the world as well. Few Londoners will know there city means "Fort on the Hill" or "Hillfort." 

Recently Kalimedia released the Atlas of True Names.  The atlas is actually a series of maps that display the true meaning of places names.  Currently there is one of the whole world and a detailed one of Europe.

The maps reveal the true history and geography of a region.  The Yucatan is labeled "I don't understand you."  That name comes from the Maya word that they allegedly told the Spanish arrivals when the Mayans first heard Spanish.  The term Yucatan stuck in Spanish minds so it was tied to the land.  Similar stories exist for the rest of the world.

The maps are truly fascinating.  While some may argue on particular points or names, the atlas is an excellent addition to any geographer's collection.  Besides the novelty factor the maps allow one to see the world anew and learn the story behind the places.

I was allowed to interview the main cartographer over e-mail about the atlas.  Below is our conversation:

Catholicgauze:  What inspired you to create Atlas of True Names?

Kalimedia:  Three different parts of my general interest came together:

    1. Since I was a kid, maps were fascinating me and consequently I became a cartographer.

    2. When I was 13 I first saw Tolkien's maps of Middle Earth. These maps inspired my fantasy. (Today the maps of Narnia are strikingly similar)

    3. My interest in etymology started when I first translated my own name into comprehensible words.

The translation of personal or geographical names is different to a translation of simple words into another language.  Sometimes the origins remain obscure and you have to go back in time to enter arcane worlds.

Catholicgauze:  Is there anything that surprised you? Any names that made you think?

Kalimedia:  While I changed the entries in the maps name by name, a strange, romantic continent appeared and notwithstanding I was the creator.  I had to use the index several times to know where I was.  Somehow it's like looking at the world with child's eyes again.

I really love the names with a story behind it:

Tax Haven for Pilgrims - Astrakhan

Mountains of Secret Fire - Pyrenees

Cape by the Dark Warrior's Village - Duncansby Head

Mother of the Universe/Ever Resting Mountain - Chomolungma/Mt. Everest

Sentinel of Stone – Aconcagua

Catholicgauze:  What are your plans for the future?

Kalimedia:  The surprising popularity of the "Atlas of True Names" demands translation into several languages.  We continue quite soon with the French, Spanish and Italian version. Single fold up versions for the British Isles and the US are in preparation.  Popular publishers in Germany and the US asked us to produce a real atlas in book form.  Finally we'd like to establish KALIMEDIA as a brand for different outstanding maps at a low price level.

I am very grateful for Kalimedia for allowing the interview.  I also wish them the best of luck broadening the appeal of geography to many.