GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

“Approximately 7.1 million Americans moved to another state in 2012. That’s over 2.2% of the U.S. population. The United States has a long history of people picking up and moving their families to other parts of the country, in search of better livelihoods. That same spirit of mobility, a willingness to uproot oneself, seems alive and well today based on the visualization of migration patterns above.

The visualization is a circle cut up into arcs, the light-colored pieces along the edge of the circle, each one representing a state. The arcs are connected to each other by links, and each link represents the flow of people between two states.”

Source: vizynary.com

During summer, the sun never sets in Sweden’s northernmost town, posing challenges for Muslims observing the holy month.

Source: www.aljazeera.com

Like many early religious traditions, Ramadan is observed based on measurements from the moon and sun. The start of Ramadan is determined by the sighting of the new moon, which moves about 11 days back in the Gregorian calendar each year. During Ramadan the consumption of food and water is prohibited between dawn and dusk, how do Muslims observing the fast manage in the far north of Scandinavia, where the sun never sets in the summertime (in 2015, Ramadan is from June 17 to July 17)?  Some Muslims in the West (and north) argue that ancient customs from the Arabian desert need updating now that the religion has diffused beyond the Middle East.    

Tags: Islam, perspective, religion, diffusion, culture.

The battle over a fraught symbol is resurrected.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

The AME church in Charleston S.C. was targeted in a racist-motivated terrorist attack this week.  Many racial issues have come to the fore in the wake of this attack.  Two flags were lowered more than 100 miles away in Columbia, the state’s capital, the one’s picture above flying on the dome of the state house.  Whether South Carolina politicians want to or not, the issue of the Confederate Battle Flag has resurfaced because as a sanctioned part of the cultural landscape, it’s symbolism is continually called into question.

Tags: race, conflict, racism, historical, the South, landscape.

It’s a good thing we have so many guardians of Indian culture to protect us, the impressionable Indian youth, from being corrupted and misled. (Much like Indian culture, this post is very NSFW.)

Hinduism is much more sensual and explicit in their depictions of the human body and sexuality than other religious traditions.  Sacred spaces in India consequently feature a different ethos on their temples and shrines.  The image here is among the more ‘tame’ ones in this set (just sayin’).  

Tags: culture, India, Hinduism, sexuality, South Asia, religion.

Source: www.buzzfeed.com

“It’s Swanzey in New Hampshire and Swansea in Massachusetts, but they are both pronounced the same. Other names like Albany are spelled the same but pronounced very differently in New York than it is in the city in Georgia with same name. First settlers of an area often named places after something to remind them of a place left behind (like Swansea, Wales).”

Source: instagram.com

“This video shows you why the refugees crossing the Mediterranean by boat can’t just fly to Europe.”

Source: www.youtube.com

Not since the end of World War II have there been so many refugees seeking safety.  There are several regional hot spots of political, ethnic and religious turmoil, Many are asking how the global community should response to the worst refugee crisis in generations, 

Tags: migration, political, refugees.

“Everyone and their mom has an opinion about former NAACP chapter president Rachel Dolezal. We break down the arguments for you.”

Source: www.youtube.com

Her individual story might not warrant the attention it is getting, but it is challenging many people’s very notion of race and other categories (or axes) of identity–and that is worth discussing.

Tags: culture, race.

American English has a rich history of regionalisms — which sometimes tell us a lot about where we come from.

Tags: language, culture, English.

Source: www.npr.org

The Ring of Fire is a string of volcanoes and sites of seismic activity, or earthquakes, around the edges of the Pacific Ocean.

Source: education.nationalgeographic.com

The Ring of Fire is a long string where there are volcanoes and different physical activity. This is located around the edges of the Pacific Ocean so some of South America has the Ring of fire located in it. The ring of fire consists of a string of 452 volcanoes stretches from the southern tip of South America. The fact that South America has 90% chance of earthquakes occuring,if the ring of fire was ever to have a reaction or have a earthquake South America would have to be prepared. If you live in South America you have to know the possibilities of what could happen at any given time, this ring of fire is a natural disaster at its finest.