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In this thoughtful and engaging critique, geographer Martin W. Lewis and historian Kären Wigen reexamine the basic geographical divisions we take for granted, and challenge the unconscious spatial frameworks that govern the way we perceive the world. Arguing that notions of East vs. West, First World vs. Third World, and even the sevenfold continental system are simplistic and misconceived, the authors trace the history of such misconceptions. Their up-to-the-minute study reflects both on the global scale and its relation to the specific continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa-actually part of one contiguous landmass.The Myth of Continents sheds new light on how our metageographical assumptions grew out of cultural concepts: how the first continental divisions developed from classical times; how the Urals became the division between the so-called continents of Europe and Asia; how countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan recently shifted macroregions in the general consciousness.This extremely readable and thought-provoking analysis also explores the ways that new economic regions, the end of the cold war, and the proliferation of communication technologies change our understanding of the world. It stimulates thinking about the role of large-scale spatial constructs as driving forces behind particular worldviews and encourages everyone to take a more thoughtful, geographically informed approach to the task of describing and interpreting the human diversity of the planet.

Geographical perception. --- Geopolitics. --- World politics --- Environmental perception --- Maps, Mental --- Mental maps --- Perceptual cartography --- Perceptual maps --- Perception --- Orientation (Psychology) --- Space perception --- Geography --- Perception géographique --- Géographie --- History --- Histoire --- Geodesy. Cartography --- History as a science --- Geografie --- Sociale en economische geografie --- Algemeen. --- Geographical perception --- academic. --- afghanistan. --- analysis. --- asia. --- cold war. --- continental divide. --- continents. --- criticism. --- critique. --- economic. --- economy. --- europe. --- first world. --- geographical. --- geography. --- global. --- government. --- historian. --- historical. --- international issues. --- international. --- law and order. --- macroregions. --- misconception. --- myth. --- pakistan. --- philosophy. --- regional. --- scholarly. --- third world. --- world issues.

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This book identifies the challenges facing area studies as an organized intellectual project in this era of globalization, focusing in particular on conceptual issues and implications for pedagogical practice in Asia and the Pacific. The crisis in area studies is widely acknowledged; various prescriptions for solutions have been forthcoming, but few have also pursued practical applications of critical ideas for both teachers and students. The book not only makes the case for more culturally sensitive and empowering forms of area studies, but indicates how these ideas can be translated into effective student-centered learning practices through the establishment of interactive regional learning communities. Chapters in the first part of the book problematize the accepted categories of traditional area-making practices. Taken together, they provide an alternative conceptual framework for area studies that informs the subsequent contributions on pedagogical practices. To incorporate critical perspectives from the “areas studied,” chapters examine the development of area studies programs in Japan and the Pacific Islands. Finally, area studies practitioners reflect on their experiences developing and teaching interactive, web-based courses linking classrooms in six universities located in Hawaii, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan, New Zealand, and Fiji. These collaborative online teaching and learning initiatives were designed specifically to address some of the conceptual and theoretical concerns associated with the production and dissemination of contemporary area studies knowledge. Chapters draw useful lessons for international collaborative learning in an era of globalization, both in terms of their successes and occasional failures.

Social sciences (general) --- Area studies --- Etudes régionales --- Asia --- Pacific Area --- Asie --- Pacifique, Région du --- Study and teaching (Higher) --- Etude et enseignement (Supérieur)