GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

In the dusty triangle where Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan meet, there is more than one war going on.

Geopolitically, there is a fascinating confluence of competing interests at this border.  This is “the scariest little corner of the world;” a dangerous place that is often beyond the authority of any of state.  It also represents (depending on how you divide the world up) at the intersection of the three major regions in the area: Central Asia, the Middle East and South Asia.

Tags: Afghanistan, political, borders, MiddleEast, SouthAsia, Central Asia, unit 4 political.

See on www.nytimes.com

Young Iranians are tuning out. Of those encountered on a visit, many seemed less interested in religious fanaticism than in sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.

Often we fall into the trap of assuming that the political rhetoric of the governmental regime is is culturally representative of the people of that country (such as this picture above.  Listen to this podcast on the  Iranian nuclear program for an example of the religous/political rhetoric: http://www.scoop.it/t/regional-geography/p/2016189455/iran-s-nuclear-fatwa-a-policy-or-a-ploy ).  And yet, people are still people, and kids are just kids, even in a conservative theocratic government.

“One of the most pernicious misunderstandings in the West about Iranians is that they are dour religious fanatics…In the 1970s, disgruntled young Iranians rebelled against a corrupt secular regime by embracing an ascetic form of Islam. Now they’re rebelling against a corrupt religious regime by embracing personal freedom — in some cases, even sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.”

See on www.nytimes.com

Over the next few months, Ajam Media Collective will host a series that focuses on and describes various elements of the cultural, ethnic and linguistic mosaic that we refer to collectively as Iran…

What is in a name?  We know that there are subtle differences between Hispanic, Indigenous, Latino and Mexican that are bound with the history of these words and how they have been used by both insiders and outsiders to construct identity.  Likewise, the distinctions between the terms Persian and Iranian are often used interchangeably.  However there are political, ethnic, linguistic and religious connotations that shape the meanings behind these terms.  While I don’t necessarily agree with all of the arguments, this is an interesting look at the historical roots of these distinctions and the ramifications of these terms.

See on ajammc.wordpress.com