Hola from Panama

I am in Panama this week exploring opportunities for student exchange programs and looking into the possibility of a WorldWide course in Panama. If you are interested in studying in Panama, please let me know. It's a fascinating country.

David

Global Studies lecture series available online

The Center for Global Studies, a National Resource Center at the University of Illinois, has made its international digital video collection available online. Titles include "Energy and Global Environmental Change," "The Slow-Motion Suicide of the American Empire," and "Does Empire Matter?" You can view the lectures by going to this website.

Yet another poll finds U.S. young adults geographically illiterate

A recent posting on MSNBC.com cites a poll showing that six of ten Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 could not identify Iraq on a world map. Map identification is but one component of contemporary geography, but it stands to reason that an individual who cannot identify Iraq on a map would not be able to discuss the larger geopolitical context that binds the U.S., Iraq, Iran, China and Venezuela.

In a non-scientific poll that accompanied the article, 70% of 21,000+ respondents said that knowing geography is "extremely important in an increasingly global economy."

In a related note, there are spaces left in GBL 116 (Introduction to Geography) during term 2 this fall.