Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 6

Thoughts & Ruminations on Chapter Six - Language

Trevor Jones

12/10/15

Per. 3 

Sources: 

Human Geography: People, Places, and Culture: Chapter 6 - Language 

http://www.grammarly.com/blog/2015/english-words-from-around-the-world/?utm_campaign=Blog_Augment_1&utm_source=Facebook_org&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_post 

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/09/aramaic-middle-east-language/404434/ 

http://taskandpurpose.com/how-americas-wars-have-changed-the-english-language/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share&utm_content=tp-share

http://www.pangeanic.com/knowledge_center/country-with-the-highest-level-of-language-diversity-papua-new-guinea/#

          Many people, mostly including travelers, businesspeople, scientists, and technological experts, want to see a creation of a global language, but this has been proven impossible by several examples around the world because language is not just a form of communication to people, but also means of self identification and preservation to certain groups, so the human race has accepted the use of multiple official languages around the world with little restriction, then local languages can keep their language, but more importantly their sense of identity and culture that is related to the language that they speak. 

How is a global language born and how does that language develop and prosper before its decline? 

          Throughout the time period of 600 and 200 BC, the Aramaic Language served as a Lingua Franca from Greece and Egypt, across Mesopotamia and Persia, and all the way throughout India. This language was the global language of the day, and was commonly used for trade among people of different linguistic background. This same language, was virtually nonexistent in the century after that, which poses the question of: How is that possible? The Aramaic language began the was most languages would, as a local language spoken by a group of people with a similar identity, but what differed from most languages is the people's social structure. 

The Aramaeans were a group of nomads, seeking for land to rule. In the 11th century, the Aramaeans rules a large area of territory in Mesopotamia, encompassing parts of modern day Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, and the city of Babylon itself for a short period of time. However during this time period, the Aramaic language slowly spread throughout the kingdom of Mesopotamia, and by the time the Assyrians took control of of the kingdom in 911 BC, the language had become widely heard of throughout the Middle East and Europe as a whole. The Assyrians deported Aramaic speakers to a variation of distant locations, which rather than clearing the territory of Aramaic speakers, instead infused distant cultures with the Aramaic language that they had heard so much about. This lead to language convergence and and the birth of new dialects of the Aramaic language all throughout the continent. The language continued to spread whilst being modified by several different ways, including times of war. This is similar to the modification of the English language based on the Korean, Vietnamese and world wars' affects on the language. These wars modify the way we speak and think in the form of a sound shift know as slang. As the Aramaic language diffused around the world, the language was also influenced by other languages, which alter vocabulary and the sound of the language. This can be related to the English language as well, which was influenced by Latin, French, Spanish and many other languages. 

Because Aramaic no longer had a strong hearth, the language slowly faded and took the form of the languages they converged with, names we know today as Mandaic, Assyrian, and more not listed here. Aramaic was in a splintered state, and was eventually diminished by the Greeks and Islam (Arabic), both of whom pushed their languages upon the people of their kingdoms. Because English seems like a good language to compare to Aramaic, both being considered linguistic superpowers of their time, somebody could easily say that English will follow the same path as Aramaic did. This is most likely not true for many reasons, including the English language's print, widespread literacy and omnipresent media, however languages are fluid and nothing is inevitable.  

          The reason I chose this map of Southern Oceana, was because it included the country Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the world, with over 820 languages spoken by its people. That means there is a language for every 8,563 Papua New Guineans, if the languages were evenly distributed among the population. However, this is not the case, Papua New Guinea has three official languages: English, Hiri Motu, and Tok Pisin that are spoken by a large percent of the population as a primary or secondary language. There are several reasons why this is the most diverse country, but like many other countries, Isolation players a big role. Papua New Guinea has a lot of natural diversions, that have created natural barriers between peoples of different language. Also, the country is part of a larger community of Polynesian culture that spreads wide across Oceana, meaning language evolved from isolation after stemming from a unified source.

 

First Semester Extra Credit for Movies

1. Witness: 

In this movie, a Amish boy witnesses a murder while he is in a train station bathroom. For the rest of the movie, the boy and a detective named John (Harrison Ford), try to avoid the murder and his posey, eventually killing them. Throughout the movie, John is shown to become more Amish representing his transition from the way of popular culture to an Amish local culture. This shows how local culture can sustain itself against popular culture. 

2. Korean Drama- You Are The Only One: 

We watched episode 118 of the Korean Drama, You Are The Only One. It was hard to pick up, but in this episode we learn that Grandma Jo has had fraud committed on her fruit company, and her fortune and will be taken away from her. Meanwhile, dowon and his new wife are planning a honey moon and learn of the terrible news about Grandma Jo.  

3. Good Will Hunting:

 Good Will Hunting is a movie about Will Hunting's (Matt Damon) change in outlook on the world. In the beginning of the movie Will is working at a school at as a janitor, and solves a very difficult math problem assigned by a teacher. A good deal of the movie goes by, and Will is being put through personal therapy by a psychologist (Robert Williams). This movie represents a change in identity in Will Hunting. In the beginning of the movie, we are shown how tough of a life Will has been brought into, especially growing up as an orphan in the ghetto. Will is abandoned by the people that were suppose to love him most, which is why we see a defensive mechanism in his personality: his ability to leave people before they can hurt him by leaving him. We also see this in the form of him not revealing personal information to people that aren't his close friends, in other words, he feeds them lies. Throughout the movie, Will's identity is shaped by his girlfriend, Skyler, and his psychologist, in order to open him up to them, which represents his change in identity for the better. 

4. The Gods Must Be Crazy: 

The Gods Must Be Crazy is a comedy about a tribe in Africa called the Kalahari. This is a tribe about 600 miles north of a booming modern 1984 civilization, oblivious to modern technology. When an overhead pilot drops a coca-cola bottle from his plane, the Kalahari pick it up and are negatively impacted by it. The members of the tribe begin to fight with each other and the leader decides to throw the bottle off the end of the earth, eventually questioning the existence of his gods altogether. This coca-cola bottle represents popular culture invading the Kalahari's local culture, and turning the tribe members against each other.  

Thoughts & Ruminations on Chapter Five - Identity: Race, Ethnicity,Gender, and Sexuality

Trevor Jones

11/19/15

Per. 3 

Sources: 

Human Geography: People, Places, and Culture: Chapter 5 - Identity: Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality 

The Big Heart - by Tony Perrottet

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27102643 

The Nuer rebels of South Sudan wanted control of the Bentiu oil well, which produces 90% of South Sudan's revenue, but the Dinkas had control over the oil well at the time, so the Dinkas sought shelter at a nearby Kali-Ballee mosque in order to avoid violence from the Nuer rebels. Then, the Neur rebels slaughtered 200 civilians in the mosque, leading to a large migration of 22,000 people trying to seek refuge at the UN peacekeeping base over the boarder of Sudan.  

This video is a "rap" done by African-American kids in Ferguson, Missouri about how racism affects minorities, specifically African-Americans, in the United States. 

          How was the city of Huston able to move away from its cultural stereotype of an Angelo "cowboy city", and emerge with a new identity? 

Houston is a largely diverse metropolitan area in Texas, known for its oil industry and redneck rodeos. But what most people may not know, is that Houston also contains the most equitable distribution of the nation's four major racial and ethnic groups: Asians, Hispanic people, and white and black people that are not Hispanic. Throughout the 60's, 70's and 80's, Houston was an overwhelming Angelo city, taking up of 63% of the human population. This was mostly due to big oil businesses hiring Angelo workers at a low price, but still a higher price than the alternative of working back home, which lead to an influx of Angelo population. However, the eight-decade long Texas oil boom fizzles, and the city lost over 100,000 jobs, most being low wage Angelo jobs. This lead to the decrease of Angelo population in Houston from 63%, to under 33%. Consequently, with all of the lost job opportunities for minorities, Houston became the most income-segregated of the ten largest metropolitan areas, with the greatest percent of rich people living among the rich, and the third greatest percent of poor people living among the poor. This lead to residential segregation and racism throughout many neighborhoods because most poor people in Houston were non-white minorities. All of these factors contributed to Houston's ethnic identity of a cowboy city that has massive amounts of oil, and as a cultural wasteland. 

Houston has done a fair bit of structural modification with the addition of skyscrapers and endless concrete highways, but has also managed to develop its ethnic identity in the form of artistic expression. Over the past few decades, Houston has constructed a multitude of museums, galleries and 17 block theatre district, that claims to have the largest concentration of seats outside Broadway. These buildings as well as many others contribute to Houston's growing artistic identity. One of the more notable buildings is the Rothko Chapel; a masterpiece of religious art, with 14 rich-colored paintings mounted across the octagonal space. This silent sanctuary allows for people to contemplate life, as well as pray to their God with the addition of over two dozen religious texts hung over benches. Another example of artistic expression is known as Project Row Houses. This idea, originating with artist Rick Lowe, began by renovating a block of decrepit shotgun shacks into gallery spaces. By doing this, these abandoned spaces are given a practical use, and turned into social hubs. This as well as many other examples gives the people of Houston a sense of place and allows them to construct an identity, rather than conforming to the previous 'cowboy city' identity. Houston began to draw attention from outsiders who wanted to share their artistic expression with a community. This process was also made easier on migrant's into Houston due to the low rents, lots of wide open spaces, and cheap food. Due to the vast amount of ethnicities in Houston, most migrant's who come don't even need to speak English, by identifying with art, ethnically different communities can find their own voice. Although Houston still retains its former identity of a cowboy city to a certain degree, it is slowly developing a new identity constructed around artistic expression within a community. 

 This is a map of Northeastern USA. I decided to color this map because it contains New York, New York. New York is a large metropolitan area with the greatest number and diversity of immigrants of any city in the world. Around 65% of the city is composed of Hispanic ethnicity, including Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and Dominicans. There is also the presence of other ethnic minority groups such as Asians, Pacific Islanders, and African Americans. This gives ethnic minority groups a chance to create their own identity and share it with the rest of New York. 

Yugoslavian Civil War Project

Trevor Jones 

11/16/15

Per. 3

Yugoslavian Civil War Write-up

In 1945, Josef Tito  became the monarchical communist dictator of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia. Under his tight rule, ethnic tensions were kept in check in a region where such feelings were flaring amongst the many diverse groups of people forced to live together in a single sovereignty. When Tito died in 1980, the tensions that built up over the past decades exploded, leading to division of the people, a bloody civil war, and the perpetration of atrocious crimes against humanity. This conflict is unique in the fact that it was not sparked by a single factor, but rather many factors and differences between the people, built upon each other until they finally reached a tipping point and exploded into conflict.

The first factor that helped start and continue the Yugoslavian civil war was the impact of Nationalism on the conflict. This was caused by the high amount of diversity in the country, with over 4.4 million people who were 40% Muslim, 33% Serbian and 19% Croatian. Of the ethnic groups that inhabit what was once Yugoslavia, the main group is Slavic that includes Serbians, Croatians, Bosnians, Slovenians, and Macedonians. There are also Italians, Hungarians, Albanians, Turks and Gypsies living in this region. The amount of diversity in the country worked well under communist rule, but when the communist party fell, the strict rule of the president, dictator Josef Tito fell as well. This meant that the different ethnicities were free to fight each other, and claim land. An example of this is when Serbia wanted to create a greater Serbia by carving out enclaves where Serbians lived in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and adding them to Serbia. When Serbia defeated the Turks in Kosovo in 1389 giving the Serbs a feeling of ownership of the region. However, Kosovo is the cradle of Albanian nationalism in Yugoslavia. Another factor that lead to Serbian dominance was the fact that The Yugoslav army was Serbian led and dominated, which lead atrocities committed by the Serbian army during the War. These are just a few examples that help us understand why such a diverse country can have conflict, and why nationalism was a major cause for of war.

One of the slightly more important causes of the Yugoslavian civil war was the economic aspects of it. Several economic aspects contributed to the growing feud between peoples, such as Serbia’s want for expansion and sea access. Geographically, Serbia was landlocked and separated from the Adriatic Sea in the 80’s so they wanted to take enough of Croatia’s land in order to have access to the sea. The Croatians were obviously not keen towards this idea which brought up problems in the Serbian and Croatian relationship. The 1980’s also marked a widening of the gap between communist and capitalist economies. However, the spread of communism was slow, as well as considered technologically backwards by some, and lead to chronic shortages. On top of all of this, inflation was growing rapidly and in the early 90’s, inflation levels were at 2600%. This impacted the economy greatly, and even resulted in a strikingly high unemployment rate of 20% in Yugoslavia, as well as a national debt of over $23 billion, an internal debt of over $14 billion, and a personal income level that had decreased by 20% since the 80’s. These figures had a great impact of the identity of the country as a whole, as well as individual groups within the country. The economic causes leading up to the Yugoslavian civil war were severe, however there were several other types of causes that contributed as well.

Another factor that greatly contributed to the onset and continuation of the civil war in Yugoslavia is the political complications of the tensions and conflict between groups in Yugoslavia. With over 40 political parties and no predominant nationality in Bosnia & Herzegovina alone, political tensions and division of the population is inevitable. Additionally, the fact that the European Commision would not recognize Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina's nations effectively set the stage for major conflict because it forced groups with different political views and platforms to live together under a single political body and to identify against each other. Even though Yugoslavia had only been a democracy for only eleven years as of 1989 due to it’s history as a single body under authoritarian rule, the contribution of the ongoing global conflict between the democratic world and the communist world created unique tension between the Serbians and the Croatians because Serbia still favored a communist system and a united Yugoslavia while Croatia favored independence and a free market democratic system. When all of these sources of political tension are combined under a single government that had been gradually decentralizing since the death of Josef Tito, it is impossible to prevent the spark of a major conflict between the multitudes of ethnic and political groups forced to live with one another in Yugoslavia.

    In conclusion, conflict caused by economics, nationalism, and politics created heated and potentially deadly tension between ethnic groups in Yugoslavia, and when communism fell, the tension was released, causing a deadly civil war that lasted ten years. By analyzing these these factors, we can conclude that conflict in Yugoslavia was caused and sustained by economic, nationalist, and political tension.

Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 4: Local Culture, Popular Culture and Cultural Landscape

Trevor Jones

11/9/15

Per. 3 

Articles: 

Human Geography: People, Places, and Culture: Chapter 4 - Local Culture, Popular Culture, and Cultural Landscapes 

Cultural Intercourse and Landscapes - by Unknown  

The Pressure to Modernize and Globalize - by Helena Norberg-Hodge

https://www.quora.com/Which-country-has-the-most-ethnically-diverse-population-in-the-world 

Somebody wanted... But... So... Then: 

In the late 1990's, the Makah American Indians of Neah Bay, Washington wanted to hunt whales just like their early ancestors had for 1500 years, but whales were an endangered species so the United States government removed the North Pacific gray whale from the endangered species list in order for the Indians to hunt them. Then, the government instated new laws for the humane hunting of whales, as well as the filling out of a form before one is allowed to hunt whales. 

Essay question: 

How does isolation preserve the local culture of an area, and when that isolation is removed and the country (state, group, etc.) is forced to modernize, how does popular culture re-shape said country (state, group, etc.)? 

Essay: 

A local culture by definition is a group of people in a particular place who see themselves as a collective or a community, who share experiences, customs, and traits, and who work to preserve those traits and customs in order to claim uniqueness and to distinguish themselves from others. This uniqueness is what separates this group of people from the mainstream popular culture of the rest of the world. The key to remaining unique in culture is by isolating a population from the outside world, in a way that the culture's authenticity is not compromised. How does a culture do this if the rest of the world conforms to popular culture one might ask? The Pressure to Modernize and Globalize by Helena Norberg-Hodge writes about a high-altitude desert on the Tibetan Plateau in northernmost India, called Ladakh. Until 1962, Ladakh remained almost completely isolated from the outside world, but in response to the conflict in Tibet, the Indian army built a road to link the region with the rest of the country. This lead to the presence of tourists in Ladakh and the destruction of almost all that makes a local culture authentic, which is excellently described in the reading Cultural Intercourse and Landscapes, by George Demko.

Norberg-Hodge describes how the region was affected by early tourism, especially by the teens of Ladakh. By seeing tourists spend enormous amounts of money (comparatively) on what seemed frivolous at the time, teens were made to feel self conscious and ashamed of their cultural roots, desperate to appear modern. Teens began to further themselves from what was a cohesive family and community, and soon to follow was the adult population. What seemed pointless to the people of Ladakh previously, such as electricity, governmental support, or elements of material culture from popular culture, now seemed necessary and a part of everyday life. Over time, the people of Ladakh moved away from their traditional customs such as living off the land, and relied more on the government and foreign sources to supply the people with food, money and assistance that previously was unnecessary. The people of Ladakh had lost contact with their traditional methods of farming and living off the land which furthered the young population from the old population, due to their values being considered outdated and pointless. The region of Ladakh was slowly losing the customs that made them a unique local culture, and falling culprit to the effects of popular culture and modernization. 

In Demko's writing, he talks about all of the elements that go into making a culture unique. There are several elements that contribute to the making of a unique local culture, but some that should stand tall over the others are language, religion and folklore (such as music, stories, etc.). Traditionally in Ladakh, the Buddhists and Muslims lived in harmony, each religion sharing a mutual respect for one another, however this would also change with the influence of popular culture. As popular culture overcame Ladakh, a noticeable change in religious structure occurred. Fights broke out in between the two harmonious religious groups, and suddenly, they were at each others throats. This happened shortly after people started to define themselves based on whether they were Buddhist or Muslim. The influence of popular culture on the region of Ladakh made members of both religious groups self conscious as well as gave them the idea that the two groups were not suppose to get along, and their false paradise was historically incorrect compared to religious wars in other countries that they had recently received the word of. A switch in religious structure as well as social and governmental structure transformed the region's community revolving around neighbors and family ties into a community revolving around consumerism and independence. This short process taking only a little over a decade to complete, completely modernized Ladakh into a modern culture society, showing great signs of placelessness similar to other regions around it. This modern culture is producing environmental and economic problems that, if left unchecked, will lead to an irreversible decline as well as the breakdown of community and the foundation of personal identity.

Map: 

The map shown above is a map of Northwestern South America. The reason that I decided to color this map is because it contains the country Peru. Based on percentage of population, Peru is the most ethnically and culturally diverse country in the world, containing over 100 distinct ethnic and racial groups, dozens of which are in the Peruvian Amazon. No predominant ethnic or racial group in Peru is larger than 20% of the total population.

Employment Migration, The Gonzales' Story, Chapter 3: Migration

Employment Migration, The Gonzales' Story, Chapter 3: Migration 

Comic Procedure and Information

1. Scenario: Employment Migration (Legal) 

2. Story: Maria's story (Lourdes Gonzales’ story)

3/4. Outline/Essential details:

- Started to think about moving for better job opportunities 

- Father lost job and idea to move to the US for better employment opportunities-acted as a pull factor

- Contacted friend about move to Colorado from Peru 

- Mother applied for work visa instead of father because it is easier to get a work visa for being a Spanish teacher 

- Government called mother to come for a week for an interview for work at schools 

- Got the job at the school 

- After one week, mother comes back and whole family moves in 2005 

- Living in the united states with a work visa (renew every 3 years)

- After 7 years, family receives a green card 

- Cyclic movement (When Maria's mother came to the U.S. for a week, then returned to Peru) 

- Periodic movement (When Maria's father came to America for a year, then moved back to Peru for work a year later) 

- International migration (When Maria's family moved across borders from Peru to U.S.) 

- Voluntary migration (Maria's family moved because of better economic opportunities in America) 

- Pull factors (The pull factor of better job opportunities brought the family to America) 

- Chain migration (Friends of the family in Colorado that migrated earlier influenced the destination of the family's move to Colorado) 

5. List of images:

- women filling out paperwork 

- airport/ plane/ suitcase picture 

- women in interviews 

- elementary school pictures 

- women on phone call picture 

- family moving out 

- family on plane 

- family moving in 

- waiting pictures? idk to show like time we waited for the green card 

- a work visa 

- green card picture 

7. Script: 

1st Panel (introduction): "In 2004, there was a family living in Peru, Maria's family… All born and raised in the city of Lima, Peru..." 

2nd Panel: Picture of two people talking "The parents started looking at the option of moving to the USA in a year". Dialogue (Father): "Why don't we move to America?"

3rd Panel: Picture of mother on phone "Maria's mother, Lourdes, knew of friends who went through the same process of migrating to America and decided to give them a call." Dialogue (Mother): "Do you miss your family?" "How is everything going in Colorado?" "What is it like working there?"

4th Panel: Picture of father losing job "It so happens that a little while later Maria's father, Gonzalo, lost his job. This later became a push factor to migrate" "Although this was unfortunate this was exactly the kind of push the family needed to migrate, also known as a pull factor" 

5th Panel: Picture of a plane taking off "After thinking about the push and pull factors, Maria's mother decided to fly out to the USA for a week..." 

6th Panel: Picture of interview with mother "During the week, Lourdes attended many interviews for a teaching position in Spanish". Dialogue (interviewer): "So tell me about your teaching experience"

7th Panel: Picture of Denver to Lima "At the end of the week, Lourdes return home. This short trip was an example of cyclic movement" 

8th Panel: Picture of mother on phone "When Lourdes came home, they were planning to move in a year. The job called her back sooner than expected…". Dialogue (interviewer): "You got the job!" (Mother): "Wow, so soon...?" 

9th Panel: Picture of family packing boxes "As soon as they heard the news, the family packed up, said goodbye to family and friends, and moved away."

10th Panel: Picture of parents waving goodbye 

11th Panel: Picture of family waiting in the airport 

12th Panel: Picture of mother's work visa "Since Lourdes got offered a job, the family, first stayed legally in the USA with a work visa."

13th Panel: Picture of kids with father "Since the family was there a legally under the work visa of the mother,Lourdes, the father can work until the family received a green card." "For this reason, Maria's dad, Gonzalo, after living a full year in Colorado, thought it was better to return to Peru because it was hard on him and the family to not be able to work"

14th Panel: Picture of two people holding hands "Even though at times Lourdes thought it difficult to stay, especially as a single mother in America, she knew it was for the better of her children." 

15th Panel: Picture saying time to renew "For three years, the family had to renew the work visa every year, and after those three years, they renewed the visas once more.

16th Panel: Picture of people waiting in a long line "Finally after being in the process of renewing in waiting for six years, the family enter the process and got the green card."

17th Panel: Picture of mother's green card 

18th Panel: Picture of an American passport "Currently a family has to wait less than three years to be able to apply for American Citizenship" 

19th Panel: "When people migrate to different places, it can be for many different reasons. There can be many different push or pull factors. In Maria’s family’s case there was the push factor of her father losing his job. This also created a pull factor for the family come to the United States because they thought that there might be better job opportunities. Although there was a push factor, the migration of Maria’s family was an example of voluntary migration. When Maria’s mother came to the United States to interview for jobs, it was an example of cyclical movement because she came for a short period of time and then returned to Peru. When the family moved from Peru to the United States, it was an example of International migration. Once the family moved to the United States, Maria’s father only stayed for a year. Her father’s migration was an example of periodic movement. When people migrate to different places, there is usually a very large culture shock, which can be very hard, but usually when families or individuals migrate, it is for a good reason that benefits outweigh the negatives."

20th Panel (Conclusion): Pictures of Peru and Colorado Flag "“Although it was a hard and long process, looking back on it now, moving to america was worth it. I was always happy with my decision but it was hard to adapt to the new culture, and especially the language. There was definitely big culture shock. I can admit that there were moments when I wanted to go back and live close to family but i always remembered why we moved in the first place. And the main reason was to give my children better futures.” - Lourdes Gonzales"

Chapter 3 Map & Statement

Trevor Jones

10/25/15 

Sources: 

http://syrianrefugees.eu/ 

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/cuban-immigrants-united-states 

          After Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, a steady stream of Cuban refugees migrated to America because they wanted to avoid capitalism, but too many Cubans wanted admission to the U.S. for traditional immigration pathways to handle, so the first Cuban "boatlift" sailed the refugees 90 miles from Camarioca to the coast of Florida. Then, in order for the United States to control the massive influx of Syrian refugees, the government established the current "wet-foot, dry-foot policy", saying that Cubans caught in the water will be sent back, but those caught on the shore may stay and work in the U.S. 

Map: 

The map shown above is a map of the far western portion of the Middle East. The reason that I colored this map is because it contains Syria, but more specifically, all of the countries involved in the Syrian Refugee Crisis. Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, a total estimated number of 9 million Syrians have fled from their homes and taken refuge on the countries bordering Syria, or within other parts of Syria. According to The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 3 million Syrians have fled to countries neighboring Syria such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Over 6.5 million refugees are internally displaced within Syria, with an estimated 150,000 more declaring asylum in the European Union. Absorbing the influx of Syrian refugees has been an enormous problem for countries neighboring Syria, with serious consequences on the stability of the entire region. 

Thoughts and Ruminations on: Chapter 2 - Population

Trevor Jones

10/5/15

Articles: 

Human Geography: People, Places and Culture: Chapter 2 - Population 

The Population Surprise - by Max Singer 

The Population Sizzle - by Anne H. Ehrlich  

The U.S. Economy's Big Baby Problem - by Derek Thompson 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/13/opinion/relaxing-chinas-one-child-policy.html?_r=0

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger 

               In the 1960, The Chinese government, but more specifically Mao Zedong, wanted married couples to have as many children as possible, which lead to a boom in fertility rate, and almost doubled the size of the population in China. But, with an already high and continually increasing population, China began to encounter problems in the economy, so the one-child policy was put into place, which would allow the Chinese government to drop the population to a desired number of 700 Million citizens. Then, the policy was relaxed in 2013 when the population arrived at an idea number for the landscape, and couples were allowed to have two children if they so wished. 

               How does global demography determine when our planet reaches its stationary population level? 

               In 2040, according to Anne H. Ehrlich's The Population Fizzle, the world's population growth is predicted to greatly slow down after it hits 8 million inhabitants, and level out completely in 2100 when it reaches 10 million. Of course, our planet is composed of 196 individual countries, or states, as geographers generally refer to them, so naturally, these states are in very different developmental stages. Some are even predicted to reach the ideal, zero net population growth, or stationary population level, in the next few decades, while other countries are only just beginning to develop. Simply, while some countries are developing and have a higher crude birth rate than crude death rate, a term known as natural increase without emigration or immigration (which is an unrealistic idea), other countries will have a higher crude death rate than crude birth rate, or even a stationary population level, which allows for a global zero net population growth. This in mind, the obvious question is what factors contribute to this rise or fall in population which ultimately contributes to this stationary population level? 

               We face many problems across the planet, some of which include: unequal population distribution, epidemics or pandemics, growing dependency ratios, and many other like the ones that I've mentioned here, all contributing to the planet's population level. As I have mentioned before though, all countries are in a different part of what we now call, the demographic transition model, a model that basically explains the phases of a country's developmental journey. In Max Singer's The Population Surprise, each of these phases are described in great detail, giving the attributed and contributing factors of each one, the first phase, being the developing phase. In developing countries, many of which are in Subsaharan Africa as well as the Middle East, there is a very high natural increase in population, due to high crude death rates, and even higher crude birth rates. This is because of multiple factors, one being a high total fertility rate in the country. As a country forms, the main roles of women is to stay at home and take care of the kids, this and the lack of family planning and mother's index, leaves mothers uneducated about proper birth control. Also, many government's of developing countries put into place a expansive population policy, which encourages mothers to have as many kids as possible. There are also many different ways that a developing country can decrease their population level, the most common being an endemic or an epidemic. Due to poor sanitation and a high population density, or many people living in close proximity, it is easy for an infectious disease to spread across a state, one such as Ebola. This disease can kill thousands, or even millions in extreme cases, and is the leading cause of deaths in developing countries. 

               The next three phases are commonly blended together into one phase: rapid growth followed by slowed expansion and modernization phase. In the United States for example, this phase was marked by the industrial revolution, where sanitation and medical technology were greatly improved. This lead to the population explosion beginning in 1820, and the Baby Boom in the U.S., which was documented in Derek Thompson's The U.S. Economy's Big Baby Problem. As Thompson describes in his writing, birth rates naturally decline with economic development for many reasons such as the education of women and their presence in the work force, as well as when children become financially unproductive in a society, rather than an economic commodity. This is the demographic phase that the United States currently resides in, along with many other developed countries on the planet. The fifth and final phase is the ideal phase for a country, known as the theoretical phase. Very few countries reside in this phase, if any, but for a country to be in this phase or development, the crude birth rate and crude death rate must even out, making a zero net population growth, or the ideal 'stationary population level'. The stationary population level globally is modeled to reach 10 million people in 2100, when all of the planet's nations reach the theoretical phase. All in all, there are many demographic features that play into when a country reaches its stationary population level, and it is only a matter of time before the planet reaches its. 

                This is a map of Northern Africa that I chose to color because it contains the country Niger. This country, named after the Niger River is the largest nation in Africa, covering 1,270,000 square kilometers, 80% of which is covered by the Sahara Desert. However, this country also has the current highest fertility rate in the world at 6.89. This is mostly because it is a developing country that faces the struggles of its desert terrain, overpopulation, poor education and sanitation, as well as its lack of infrastructure. All of these factors contribute to Niger's shockingly high fertility rate.   

* Map of areas that have been used in my geography coloring book for thoughts and ruminations maps.

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