Supporting geography educators everywhere with current digital resources.



South Africa is the world’s most unequal nation

“Despite 25 years of democracy, South Africa remains the most economically unequal country in the world, according to the World Bank. If anything, South Africa is even more divided now than it was in 1994 as the legacy of apartheid endures. Previously disadvantaged South Africans hold fewer assets, have fewer skills, earn lower wages, and are still more likely to be unemployed, a 2018 World Bank report on poverty and inequality in South Africa found.”


This CNN article takes a shocked tone, but that removes South Africa from it’s historical and geographic context even if the outcome is unfortunate (as a bonus for educators, the article has a GINI reference in its analysis with the data charts).  Time’s cover story is more detailed and nuanced.  In the late 1980s, the apartheid system was becoming untenable; the injustices and discontent make the apartheid government unable to govern.  Both the government and activists recognized that change was necessary and compromises were needed to allow South Africa to move from the apartheid system of racial separation to nonracial democracy without falling apart.

The post-apartheid government guaranteed that while political power would be transferred, economic power would still stay ensconced in the hands of the land-owning elites, since there was to be no massive land redistribution. Neighboring Zimbabwe had disastrous land redistribution attempts and everyone wants to avoid economic chaos.  Land reform will be be a key issue in tomorrow’s election (see this BBC article for more election issues).     

GeoEd Tags: South Africa, Africa, race, ethnicity, political, economic. Tags: South Africa, Africarace, ethnicitypolitical, economic

‘Ethnoburbs’: The New Face of Immigrant Cities

"Old settlement patterns have reversed, but old problems of adaptation remain. Immigrants still like to settle where immigrants have already settled (chain migration). Once word of the new ethnoburbs got around, they grew fast. Letters, phone calls, and then emails back to the old country, enticed others. In Richmond, one group held an extended debate with city hall over there being ‘too much’ Chinese writing on business signs. Residents of a condo building complained when the strata council held its meetings only in Mandarin. And just as in other parts of gateway cities, as wealthy Chinese buy properties in ethnoburbs, they have been blamed for driving prices out of local reach."


Residents of ethnoburbs often have transnational lives that fit into their countries of origin as well as their new homes.  Ethnoburbs are common in North America as well as Australia and New Zealand. 

Questions to Ponder: What similarities and differences do ethnoburbs have from other ethnic communities?  What similarities and differences do ethnoburbs have with other urban processes such as gentrification?


GeoEd TAGS: culture, historical, North America, ethnicity, USA, neighborhood, gentrification, urban, place. Tagsculture, historicalNorth America, ethnicityUSA, neighborhood, gentrificationurban, place.

How to Win Florida

"It’s the southernmost section of the Deep South, the sixth borough of New York City, and the northernmost nation of Latin America. But even in the ultimate swing state, some voters are more equal than others."


Sure this article might be used for partisan purposes, but it’s analysis of how a diverse group of interlocking demographic communities vote in the United States is very insightful.  This article doesn’t focus on identity politics, but it does show how identity shapes political views and how the demographics of a particular constituency might shape the platforms of candidates. 


Questions to Ponder: What makes a swing state a swing state? How is Florida emblematic of the nation as a whole? Tags: electoral, political, ethnicity.

WordPress TAGS: electoral, political, ethnicity.

South Africa Is Still Under Apartheid






Why South Asia’s majorities act like persecuted minorities



Tags: religionethnicity, South Asiaregions, politicalconflict


A History Of Sudan’s Civil Wars & Conflict





Tags: Sudan, politicalethnicity, Africa, war.

The dim reality of South Africa’s new dawn

In April 1994, South Africa held its first democratic elections and all races went to the polls to bury apartheid for good. But hopes of a new dawn have been tarnished by fraud and corruption at the highest levels.


The first 2 and a half minutes of this video are a good historical analysis into the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa, culminating in the election of Nelson Mandela and the empowerment of the ANC.  Today though, the ANC and South Africa is mired in endemic corruption.  South Africa is one of the most unequal societies with high unemployment and a faltering economy. 


Tags: South Africacrime, Africa, political, racegovernance, ethnicity.

During World War I, Propaganda Erased Visible Markers of German Culture

As the U.S. entered World War I, German culture was erased as the government promoted the unpopular war through anti-German propaganda. This backlash culminated in the lynching of a German immigrant.


German-Americans are America’s largest single ethnic group (if you divide Hispanics into Mexican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, etc). Yet despite their numbers, they are barely visible. During the first world war, parts of America grew incredibly anti-German. Many stopped speaking German and anglicized their names. “In 1915 about 25% of all high school students in America studied German, but by the end of the World War I German had become so stigmatized that only 1 percent of high schools even taught it.”


Tagsculture, historical, ethnicityUSA.


Language: The cornerstone of national identity



Most Europeans see language as a strong prerequisite to be a part of the “national identity.”  Immigration has put a strain on cultural identities that are often very political. A majority of European agree on the link between language and national identity, but not surprisingly, the older Europeans and those on the political right feel more strongly about the importance of speaking the national language to truly ‘belong.’


Tags: language, culturepolitical, Europe, migration, ethnicity.

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