Humans Give Meaning to the World
While discussing N. Scott Momaday's novel A House Made of Dawn, Professor Bowden introduced a new concept - geosophy. It was an unexpected moment during an undergraduate geography class that ultimately opened mental doors and windows to the world. Geosophy, an idea promoted by John Kirtland Wright in the 1940's, "is the study of geographical knowledge from any or all points of view. It is to geography what historiography is to history... it covers the geographical ideas, both true and false, of all manner of people—not only geographers, but farmers and fishermen, business executives and poets, novelists and painters, Bedouins and Hottentots—and for this reason it necessarily has to do in large degree with subjective conceptions."* In short, humans give meaning to the physical world.
I felt like I knew that before this moment. However, this humanities moment was a crossroad that never left me. In fact it caused a shift in my psyche. I remember feeling I understood life better, clearer, and with more agency. After all, the spirit of geosophy applies to everything external and physical (including other people), abstractions, events (past and present) and yourself. As a teacher I made sure I introduced this idea to my middle school and high school students. I remember seeing "a-ha" moments in their eyes. Things clicked. They were constructing meaning and felt empowered to explore and develop their ideas and convictions. It is like what Lionel Trilling reminded us; establishing systems of objectivity that people agree to and can interact in is the hardest, and most important, thing for humanity to develop.
*Quoted from:
Wright, J. K. Terrae incognitae: The place of the imagination in geography. Annals of Association of American Geographers, 1947, 37(1): 1-15.
This moment was inspired by Dr. Martyn Bowden during his class "The End of America, Los Angeles."
1992
Craig Perrier (46). Educator, curriculum specialist, teacher, adjunct, and digital history project designer.
humans-give-meaning-to-the-world
Rolling with Difference
The image I chose for my humanities moment is representative of how I have come to understand myself, society and the cities around the world. While many might see poverty and struggle in Africa, this man is a waste-picker (recycler) in Johannesburg who plays a critical role in the overall sustainability of the city. After my early career as an urban planner in South Africa thinking through many ways of reducing urban poverty I have had to unlearn the developmental approach to cities in the 'global South'. This image is representative of the shift I believe urban specialists need to make. That is, following normative global trends in urban design, policy and planning is not always the most appropriate change to make in a particular context due to its situated differences. In Johannesburg a waste-picker's lane or a shared bike/waste-picker's lane would address environmental and economic sustainability more holistically. In a postcolonial world teachers and researchers of urban-related disciplines need to be critical of extant theories and practices that disenfranchise cities through entrenched mechanisms of spatial violence.
More personally, this relates to a life-long journey of understanding 'difference'. As I white child born at the end of the Apartheid era, having anti-racist liberal parents but also born into an Afrikaans family, I am exposed to stark identity juxtapositions. Being sent to one of the first multi-racial and multi-cultural schools in South Africa I grew up fortunate enough to build strong, life-long relationships across social borders. Without knowing it, from a young age I embarked on a process of unlearning unjust, societal norms. In my career and personal life I continuously work to understand differences that exist within me; those that are and that which is different to me.
My doctoral research delves into understanding and articulating the tensions that exist from stark differences found in urban space and how this may change the meaning making and conceptualization of 'place'.
Walking through the busy streets of Jo'burg, South Africa - my home city.
Summer 2018
Lené Le Roux, 34, Urban planner, Urban Geography PhD candidiate, South African
rolling-with-difference
Historical Perspectives
I was born in Boston and raised in New England. I attended an elite, all-girls, private school in New England, which was established in 1854 with the mission of turning out highly educated, capable young ladies, even before college was an option for all. So by the time I got there in the 1960s and 70s, female empowerment was steeped in the hallways. So were the ideals of a rigorous, humanities-based education. Through a curriculum rich in history, literature, writing, and the arts, I learned so much about our world.
I learned, for example, that the history of our country started in the early 1600s with the pilgrims from England and Holland who were seeking a better place to build their lives. I learned that in 1607 the colony of Jamestown was established, and not long after that in 1620, the Plymouth Colony. I learned that over the next hundred and fifty years or so, more and more settlers made the journey from England and established colonies up and down the east coast. As those colonies grew, they began to feel that England no longer understood or cared about their needs, so they signed the Declaration of Independence and asked General Washington to lead their Continental Army in the subsequent war. When the dust settled and the colonists had won, the United States was born.
While my young-self did understand that all such historical events were steeped in complexity and layers of understanding, this was the story of the founding of our country that stayed with me.
I was in my thirties when my husband got transferred to Florida and we relocated south. My first job in Florida was a 4th Grade Teacher. As you may know, the Social Studies curriculum for 4th Graders is usually the history of the State in which they live. Admittedly, I knew nothing about Florida History, so I realized I had better remedy that, and began to read everything I could get my hands on about Florida history. It did not take long for me to be hooked. I fell deeply in love with my new home state. It has such a rich and diverse history. The native tribes; the architecture; the wildlife and ecosystems. I discovered that Florida is a complex and wonderful place. And in my journey of discovery, I started reading about this place called St. Augustine, which was established in Sept. of 1565 as a Spanish settlement and has been the oldest, continuously occupied European settlement in what is now the United States.
You can imagine my surprise as I discovered this! 1565 is well before 1607 and 1620. How did I not know this? I was flabbergasted.
This became a moment of insight for me as I realized that our geography, our sense of place, no matter how hard we try for it not to, impacts our perspective and how we view events and the world. Almost as if we were literally standing in our geographic location, our understanding of historical events is viewed through the prism of where we are located. It also clarified for me the importance of acknowledging the multiple perspectives that are always present in events and issues.
This painting was selected as a visual representation of my Humanities Moment because it captures the landing at St. Augustine. Pedro Menendez de Avilez is the man kneeling in the painting and he led the voyage from Spain to settle Florida. When he landed, it was Sept. 15th, so he named the place they landed and their settlement after St Augustin. By Stanley Meltzoff, from National Geographic and dated February 1966, this painting is a representation of what the artist believed the landing party to be. Pedro Menendez is receiving the blessing of the priest who accompanied the voyagers, while the Spanish soldiers and the Natives looked on. While I do not know the historical accuracy of this painting as it related to the actual events of 1565, for me, the painting represents my new understanding that history is much more complex than simply learning about names, dates, and events. My personal discovery of St. Augustine and the history of this magical place, has influenced my life in so many profound ways.
Telling the stories of those in the past, has become a vocation of sorts. In addition to being an educator, I have also become an author of middle grades, historical fiction novels. And in that role, I seek to tell the stories of those who are most often overlooked as we look back. To tell the stories of not only Pedro Menendez de Avilez, but of the others who are standing peripherally on the edges- yet who also impacted, and were impacted by, historical events.
A painting by Stanley Meltzoff depicting the establishment of St. Augustine Florida by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
Around 1990
Judy Lindquist, 59 years old, Educator and Author and 2018-19 Teacher Advisory Council member
historical-perspectives
Representing Southeast Asia
There’s a game I like to play in class called “Look At.” We practice our close reading skills by gazing at a picture for 3 minutes and then writing down everything we see (or don’t see) about that image by starting each sentence with: “Look at…” When I first looked at Vietnamese American artist Dinh Q. Lê’s woven photo-collage, “Untitled #9 from Cambodia: Splendor and Darkness,” at the Ackland Art Museum (UNC Chapel Hill), I was struck first by my not knowing: what it was, how it was made, what it represented. On-screen, the image resembles 80’s over-pixelated computer graphics, but in person, it’s a traditional prayer mat woven from strips of two separate photographic images. Look at how colonized cultures are represented. These two images, official photographic records of the Khmer Rouge’s S21 prisoners, who are about to be executed, and a bas-relief of a Vishnu incarnation from the ancient Khmer temple of Angkor Wat, offer polarizing visions of how Cambodia is represented in an American imaginary: the Killing Fields or one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The two images echo questions that we’ve discussed in our National Humanities Center seminar: how are nations memorialized? What are the human geographies represented and reproduced? How are these competing representations contested? Look at Vishnu’s vanished face. When I visited Angkor Wat, I was overwhelmed by the spiritual power standing alongside me, at this nexus of religious histories, the fall of an empire, the way this temple’s physical weight changed the geographical landscape. Look at these missing eyes. The artist has razored out eyes from the S21 prisoners’ faces. They look like my parents’ old document pictures that I once found buried in a dresser drawer. When I visited the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh, I literally felt physical distress, panic, anxiety. How can the earth retain emotion and memory? Can trauma leave a residue in the earth itself? Look at the dark spaces woven together. Human meets divine. Official record meets folk tradition. Black and white meets color. Modern technology meets ancient carvings. Vishnu’s arms are outstretched: in pain? In embrace? I leave the NEH Summer Institute on Contested Territory with many more questions than answers, but such compelling questions. What does territory in Southeast Asia mean and who controls its expression? How do humans affect geography? How can we read this image through a diverse set of disciplinary expectations? How do we survive a war? And why is this important? This is why the humanities matter.
Dinh Q. Lê’
"Untitled #9 from Cambodia: Splendor and Darkness" by Dinh Q. Lê’
July 25, 2018
Adrian Khactu, High School English Teacher
representing-southeast-asia
Forever Maps
5 years ago the AP Human Geography teacher at my former high school announced that she would be moving to Rhode Island. She informed me that I would be taking over the course. I fell in love with the material and am constantly looking for ways to make geography more meaningful for students. Every year I feel I get a little better at getting young scholars to think about the five themes of geography: absolute and relative location, place, human/environmental interactions, regions, and movement. Last Friday I had an experience that will forever change to way I teach.
On the second day of the Contested Territory seminar Chris Bunin quickly and effectively taught us how to use ArcGIS software. Groups received an assignment that was due on the first Friday. Our instructions were to focus on one of the five themes of geography and create an ESRI story map based on the territory of SE Asia. Our group chose to focus on bombing in Southeast Asia during the Vietnamese/American War.
Working with my group on the assignment created an a-ha moment. Our topic was unexploded ordnance from the bombing of SE Asia. We all were thinking about human-environment interaction as we scoured the internet looking for data, articles, and images. We worked on how to use the software. We had brainstorming sessions to storyboard our presentation. This is exactly what I want my AP Human Geography and AP Capstone Research students to do.
The biggest a-ha moment came when the other groups presented. I looked at my fellow participants and saw the wonder as we viewed the aesthetically beautiful story maps. I kept thinking, “We collectively created these and they are awesome.” We were not only proud but also amazed at the power of the assignment. We learned from embedded videos, recorded first person accounts, biographies, and multiple maps where the information had probably never been conceptualized in that particular way.
My students will have a-ha moments when they learn how to GIS. It will take many hours for me to be able to do what Chris Bunin did for us. This is an investment of time that I am ready and willing to make.
Storymaps
Friday, July 29, 2018 group presentations of ESRI storymaps
Spencer Swindler, 44, social studies teacher Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
forever-maps
The Liberation of Our Past
The Barbados Museum and Historical Society is located in a former military prison. Its original purpose of control through force and containment is clear and obvious when I entered the present-day museum. Cannons flank the entrance, a symbol of calculated and brutal violence. The façade is imposing, an intimidating tall arch way designed not to invite but to deter entrance. However, today it is a place of education, a site of liberation for the thousands of stories of people and events in the island’s past. That past for Barbados is incredibly complex. Built on coldly calculated and horrific brutality of agricultural production and subsequent cultural diffusion, the island today grapples with economic, political, and social successes, challenges, and the myriad of geographic factors that influence their narrative to the present day.
Education is critical to Barbadians history and culture. Education was restricted from enslaved Africans, planters viewing an education as catalyst for rebellion. Upon becoming a sovereign nation, Barbados made a social and political commitment to education. Across the island, the pride and commitment to education is obvious. It is the theme that many social-historians touch on as a key marker for its rise in development relative to other island countries that make up the Caribbean. Barbadian planters feared the liberating force of education, Barbadians themselves intertwined economic and political independence with education, and today, many Barbadians put high value on education’s ability to promote the freedom of job opportunity and prosperity on or outside of the island.
This literal former prison’s repurposing into a historic museum was itself a catalyst to understanding Barbados, but also the challenge of the humanities as people grapple with their own past, present, and the connections between them. As people, we look to past individuals and stories and attempt to reutilize or repurpose them to educate, improve, or respond to contemporary and future challenges. This museum, and its reutilization of the prison as a place of confinement to that of freedom is symbolic of that process. Barbados’ past is brutal and complex and, rather than imprisoning that narrative, we must learn and use those real and human truths to promote a better future.
June 2018
John Skelton, 30, Teacher, Virginia
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Sargassam & Barbados
At the heart of humanities are humans. This moment encapsulates the unintended consequences of human interactions with our environment. The picture was taken at Bathsheba, Barbados that shows the impact of Sargassam seaweed on the island nation of Barbados. It is believed the seaweed bloom is related to deforestation and agribusiness in along the Amazon River in Brazil. The source of this moment was seeing a painting of Bathsheba in St. Nicholas Abbey plantation. It affected me by realizing the ripple effects of our actions and the importance of Environmental history and geography.
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Chris Bunin
sargassum-barbados
The World from My View
Without my introduction to geography I would have never captured this image and more so, if I had, I likely would have only seen the beautiful old building and not the depth of human interactions across the landscape.
I have traveled many places and have tried to capture what I found unique, beautiful and different. But, this place, along the Bosporus Strait which merges the European region of Istanbul, Turkey, with the Asian region of Istanbul, Turkey, to be one of my favorites. At first I remember seeing this building and quickly trying to get out my camera to snap a photo before the ferry we were on quickly passed. However, it wasn’t until later I realized that the quick photo I managed to take of an abandoned building revealed more than I expected. As you can see, here is an old building, run down but with a history that I would love to know. Now, the immense growth and economic development peeking out from behind the building in the skyscrapers that dot the landscape show a new chapter to the story and its development.
As I reflected on the moment in my life when I realized the capacity of the humanities, experiences I have embarked on, and appreciation of the geographical landscape, I realized it was a culmination of events that began in my world regional studies course at Texas State University – San Marcos, TX. My professor, Byron “Doc” Augustine, opened my eyes to the world through his lectures, stories, and passion for travel. I realized I was where I needed to be and soon after changed my degree with his guidance. It was not the last course I took from him, but one I sincerely attribute my passion for geography, social studies and the humanities.
It seemed each day he shared with us a glimpse of his perspective when viewing the world geographically and noted that - if you are ever given the opportunity in life to travel you should take it. I have since lived by those words and tried to travel both domestically and internationally to understand the different cultures and ways of life in this vast world. I still have so much to see. This passion for the humanities further deepened when I began teaching world geography, human geography and GIS. Learning from my students, sharing my experiences and broadening not only their understanding but mine as well, has and will continue to shape how I perceive the interactions between people on Earth.
Without my introduction to geography I would have never captured this image and more so, if I had, I likely would have only seen the beautiful old building and not the depth of human interactions across the landscape.
2009
<a href="http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/humanities-in-class-guide-thinking-learning-in-humanities/">Megan Webster</a>, Educator
the-world-from-my-view
Finding “the Truth” in Music
Reflecting on the interview with William, I realized that he was describing the very learning experience my students were having as they created their documentary. By investigating the relationship between individuals and the music that shaped their lives, the students were in fact developing deeper understandings about the history of neighborhoods, their city, and American society—and seeing connections across time and place. Like William, their interest in music led them to think like historians. That day reaffirmed my commitment to interdisciplinary learning and, specifically, to using music and art wherever possible to help students make meaningful connections in my classroom.
In June 2017, I found myself in a cramped, sweltering apartment in New York’s East Village. I was there with three high-school students to interview William Millan, founder of the seminal 1970s Latin band, Saoco. The students were working on a documentary film about the history of musical communities in New York City. After playing several Saoco albums for us, William described how his interest in the roots of Latin music led him on an intellectual journey to understand the cultural history of the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa. Then he said something profound:
“I wasn’t a very good history and geography student when I was in school… it wasn’t until I really got into the music that I realized it’s not that I don’t like history and geography—I really love history and geography. It was the information they were giving me in school that I couldn’t relate to because it had nothing to do with what I was living. If you go into the music, and you check out the artists’ lives, that’s going to give you a truer picture of history; and in their body of work you’re going to see what the truth is.”
In 20 years of teaching, I have never heard a better articulation of music’s power to engage students in the study of history and culture.
Reflecting on the interview with William, I realized that he was describing the very learning experience my students were having as they created their documentary. By investigating the relationship between individuals and the music that shaped their lives, the students were in fact developing deeper understandings about the history of neighborhoods, their city, and American society—and seeing connections across time and place. Like William, their interest in music led them to think like historians. That day reaffirmed my commitment to interdisciplinary learning and, specifically, to using music and art wherever possible to help students make meaningful connections in my classroom.
Interview with William Millan, musician and founder of the band, Saoco
June 2017
<a href="http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/humanities-in-class-guide-thinking-learning-in-humanities/">Ben Wides</a>, age 46, social studies teacher, East Side Community High School, New York City
finding-truth-in-music