Day 42 - Settling In

Since the last time I updated this blog I have attended a few more lectures for each of my courses and I have been able to get a true grasp on the content covered. Thus far, all of my classes are proving stimulating, in particular ‘Food and Environment’ is proving fascinating. Led by Professor Carney, a distinguished professor whom is proving to be one of my favourite lecturers. Her presentations are incredibly thought provoking and she talks about her topic of interest with amazing enthusiasm and passion.

The content of the first half of this course reminds me very much of what is covered in the historical geographies aspect of my first year at UCL. Carney investigates both through her book ‘Black Rice’ and her lectures the lost geographies of the African slave trade and how the knowledge systems or ‘cultural funds of knowledge’ were essential for the establishment of functioning plantations in the Americas (Carney, 2002). With this she also critiques the well-documented ‘Colombian Exchange’ and how its rather narrow definition fails to include the elaborate movement of slaves across the Atlantic and their knowledge systems (Carney, 2001). Importantly she highlights it wasn’t just the seeds that enabled the transfer of food around the world and their integration into our diets (Carney, 2002). The racist view of the African as useless and just providing labour is rather emphatically nullified with Carney’s work.

With first midterm examinations in two weeks, the academic system here is fast paced; it encourages one to keep on top of work and reading, which I believe is important as it prevents individuals flying under the radar.

In terms of the differences between how geography is practiced in the US and UK, I wouldn’t at this point suggest that the experiences I’ve had in ‘Food and Environment’ have been particularly different to what I have experienced previously in the UK. After mid term examinations however I expect this to change due to the topic of study transitioning to more modern agricultural techniques and issues we face today like providing for a growing population in a world with limited carrying capacity (Langhelle, 2000), and dealing with ethical arguments about biotechnologies.

One aspect that struck me as really interesting occurred last Friday during my Applied Climatology class, the maps my professor decided to use to illustrate the spatial distribution of satellites and remote sensing technology were ‘American centric’. Showing North and South America at the centre of the map.  It will be interesting as I read more academic articles originating from the US whether this is a common occurrence.

Despite the third module I’m enrolled in this term not being related to geography, I think it would be good to highlight some key differences and adjustments I have had to make due to drastic differences in how the subject is studied in the UK. It was important to me to continue studying Spanish and maintain and improve on the fluency that I had built on at UCL. My first few lessons however have been challenging and there are a few reasons for this. Firstly, in the US, Latin American Spanish is what is taught, understandable when one considers its proximity to Latin America, however this means dialects and some grammar is very different to Spanish taught in the UK. Another key difference is the focus of classes away from grammar and onto speaking. In the UK, I was continuously learning new grammar and how to write but not so much how to communicate orally, something that is emphasised a lot here and which I feel will be beneficial.

Overall, since my last blog post there hasn’t ben much more information to report, the notes I am taking every lesson on differences are rather bare! I’m still very pleased with the progress I’m making as a student and person and with the quality of education I am receiving.

Until next time…

Carney, J. A. (2001) ‘African Rice in the Colombian Exchange’, The Journal of African History, 42, 3, 377-396.

Carney, J. A. (2002) Black Rice: The African Origins of Rice Cultivation in the Americas, Harvard: University Press.

Langhelle O. (2000) ‘Why ecological modernization and sustainable development should not be conflated,’ Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 2, 4: 303-322.