Discusses using novels set in North and South Dakota and Nebraska for geography instruction. Novels examined are: "The Emigrants" (Bojer), "Giants in the Earth" (Rolvaag), "Spring Came on Forever" (Aldrich), "Take All to Nebraska" (Winther), and "My Antonia" (Cather). (KC)

Uses census data from 1970-90 to examine the spatial dimensions of wealth and poverty in Appalachia. Discusses the economic history of the region, stereotypes and cultural interpretations of poverty, changes in income levels relative to the nation, and new and old poverty in sections of Appalachia. Contains 28 references. (SV)

Discusses those U.S. counties that the State Department has forbidden former Soviet government personnel to enter. Includes a U.S. map indicating closed counties. Explains that the policy came in response to restrictions on foreigners' movements in the former Soviet Union. Suggests that teachers have students explore why particular U.S. regions…

Addresses the beachfront urbanization of the Dominican Republic's coastline resulting from domestic and international tourism. Explains that the distribution of beach resorts reflects both quality and quantity of natural resources, proximity of urban centers, and intensity of development efforts. Describes five discrete types of coastal resorts.…

Life-story mapping is a technique for exploring personal identity and family history within the context of human geography. Site-specific autobiography develops a sense of how place influences identity. (SK)

Examines children's spatial mobility in urban settings, particularly in the public realm, using data from a study of children living in contrasting urban environments. Notes declining independent use of public space, and variations on use by gender, ethnicity, and family culture. (JPB)

Examines attitudes toward the role of the shopping mall as a place for congregating. Notes that adult attitudes reflect a discomfort with teenagers being in a place where they have no clear role, while teenagers transgress and question the spatial hegemony of adulthood, creating a "thirdspace" reflecting their place between adulthood and…

The world has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of new states in the past couple of decades. Many of these new countries are the result of ethnic nationalist movements dividing an existing state. Is the United States susceptible to the forces of division which we more commonly associate with the rest of the world? Or is the United…

Scholars have provided numerous critical analyses of the structural causes of poverty. Unfortunately, many teachers are still led to believe, via best selling books and mainstream discourse, that behaviors, neighborhoods, and families determine educational outcomes. This "culture of poverty" theory must be disproved; educators need to be…

Within the context of social, demographic, and historical change and informed by a life course perspective, this article examines patterns of relating between grandparents and grandchildren within families across and within generations. Using qualitative data from a study of 10 multigenerational families (N = 86), the analysis assesses continuity…

The British film "Bend It Like Beckham" (2002) is pedagogically useful in the cultural geography classroom for engaging students with core concepts, such as ethnicity, migration, acculturation, and assimilation, and with more advanced modes of analysis, such as the social construction of identity. Although the film depicts a particular…

A description of how a topical seminar can be structured to emphasize student exploration and discovery is provided. (DE)

The evolution of American cities is examined as the essential prior element in the creation of rural America. (Author/ND)

This paper deals with the growth and spread of one black denomination and emphasizes the relationship between the diffusion of the church and the migration of blacks. (Author/ND)

The author examines the part played by geography in the resolution of the problems of the Third World. He sketches the historical development of geography in Africa; looks at the postColonial development of geography and its orientation toward problem solving and evaluates progress in terms of yet unresolved issues. For address of journal see SO…