What I learnt in Geography this week.....

My Geography teacher has started an experiment which involves me writing about what I have learnt in my lessons and about any geographical news that interests me. My Geography teacher is also going to write a blog about what she teaches me (and therefore what I should have learnt!) and hopefully the two blogs will match up. The idea is that this will not only help me to consolidate what I learn but that it will also help fellow students do the same and keep up to date with current issues.

Tuesday, 3 April 2012

Development Discussion

Hello everyone! Right, I am about to try something different, so you will have to bare with me...... after Millie suggested in our last lesson before half term that revising in groups is the best way to do it, I have had numerous questions to do so. Therefore, I thought, why not do them online so, after some consultation with fellow students I have decide to try and run live discussions like Millie does. The idea is that we can discuss things, ask each other questions, share resources and revise together online and it is just easier to host it through my blog. Hopefully, they will prove beneifcal to everyone involved and become a regular thing.

So, the first one is scheduled for this Thursday (05/04/2012) at 19:30. If you are around join in, and spread the word to all other geographers. First topic for discussion is development and globalisation - I have a few discussion starting points in mind, but think of some questions to ask etc and I will see you there......

4 comments:

Sam7 April 2012 at 08:20
Will you be scheduling any more of these development discussions?

(I must add that your blog is so helpful! The Poole notes were great in January!)
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Geography Films

My Geography teacher is always reminding my class that watching (geography related) films can contribute to the 3 hours of reading time we are supposed to do each week. On both her blog and the Facebook page there are lists of recommended films and so I thought I would start to watch some of them and write a review on them from a student's perspective. If I would recommeded them to a fellow student then I will add the film to my own list below.......

- THE AGE OF STUPID (great film to watch for the energy module as it talks about climate change, energy consumption and production via some interesting case studies)

- THE COVE (this film is very thought provoking and presented the issues surrounding the dolphin trade - before watching this I didn't know a lot about the issue, especially the scale of it in Japan, and it left me feeling very shocked that something like this still exists today in such a developed country)

-ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (a great documentary with some simply stunning footage and interesting interviews that collectively provide an insight into life in Antarctica and the important research that is taking place)

-THE CONSTANT GARDENER (a rather sad story about how a drug company exploit the Kenyan population to allow them to test a new drug, despite the fact they know it has harmful side effects - good film for development and globalisation)

- ERIN BROCKOVICH (a good film that presents the negative impacts of the natural gas industry and the extent to which large companies are prepared to go to, to cover this up)

- SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (provides an insight into the life of children living in the Indian slums - good film to watch for development)

- GANDHI (a biopic about the life of Gandhi with particular reference to his prominent role in India's struggle for freedom from colonial rule)

- CRY FREEDOM (set in South Africa and tells the true story of Biko and his friendship with a white liberal newspaper editor - good film to watch for development)

- THE PAINTED VEIL (set in China, in the 1920's, and explores the impact of a cholera outbreak on a village, including references as to how religious beliefs make containing cholera even more challenging)

- BLOOD DIAMOND (set amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone; it explores many issues including those surrounding the diamond trade, supply of arms to rebels and child soldiers - good film to watch for development and globalisation module)

- THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW (after the Larsen B ice shelf collapses, the thermohaline circulation shutdowns, provoking glacial inception in the northern hemisphere - a good film to watch and then point out the geographical/scientific mistakes!)

- GOODBYE BAFANA (follows the unlikely friendship that forms between Mandela and his prision officer - good for development and globalisation)

- INVICTUS (after 27 years imprisionment, Mandela becomes South Africa's first elected president and this film follows his bid to unite the country via the rugby world cup - good film for development and globalisation)

- DARFUR (a group of international journalists travel to a village in Darfur in search of evidence to persuade the UN that genocide has occured but are forced to live after the Janjaweed turn up and threaten to kill them.... a film to watch for either development and globalisation or the population module but be warned it is very graphic)

Geography Books

I am a bit of a bookworm and often prefer reading a good book to watching a film and so (like I am doing with the Geography films) I am going to read some of the suggested books and write a review on them so I can comment on whether or not I think they are worth reading........

- AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, Al Gore ( presents the issue of climate change and discusses how it has been caused and the impacts it is likely to have - well worth reading but if you prefer the film version is equally as a good)

- OUR CHOICE, Al Gore (this books follows on from An Inconvenient Truth by offering the solutions Al Gore thinks are required to solve the issue of Global Climate Change)

- THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND, William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer (tells the extraordinary true story of a Malawian teenager who overcame many obstacles to provide electricity and clean water for his village by capturing the energy in both the wind and the sun)

- BLOOD RIVER, Tim Butcher (tells the story of Tim Butchers quest to retrace the journey taken by H.M.Stanley in the 1870's. From this you get an insight into the history of the Congo and the factors that have effected its development - great book for the development and globalisation module as it provides an insight into the impact colonialism has had on Africa)

- GAIA, James Lovelock (presents the Gaia hypothesis which is the idea that the Earth functions as a living organism and so self-regulates to adapt to changing conditions - puts forward some very interesting ideas and really makes you think - it is worth a read!)

- THE REVENGE OF GAIA, James Lovelock (applies the Gaia hypothesis to global climate change - again an intriguing read which presents some interesting ideas and solutions to problems we are likely to face)

What I learnt in Geography this week.....

Tuesday, 3 April 2012

Development Discussion

4 comments:

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