Geography Awareness Week
Events for the week of November 16 - 20, 2009
NOVEMBER 18 - Russian table
1:00-2:00 PM
Morrill Hall 122
• Meet faculty and students in Russian and Eurasian language, literature, culture,
geography, history, and politics.
• Learn about Central and East European and Eurasian Studies Minor.
• Play games and learn more about Russia.
• Enjoy Russian refreshments and music.
All are welcome.
Sponsored by the Geography Club.
NOVEMBER 19 - Film
"The Geography of Genocide in Bosnia: Redeeming the Earth" (US, 2009, 50 min)
A film by Jonah Quickmire Pettigrew
and David Pettigrew
1:50 pm - 3:30 pm
Michael J. Adanti Student Center Theater, Plaza Level, Southern CT State University
Discussion with the filmmakers to follow
Jonah Quickmire Pettigrew graduated from Wilbur Cross High School (New Haven) in 2004 and NYU Tisch School of the Arts(Film)in 2008. David Pettigrew teaches philosophy at Southern CT State University.
"The Geography of Genocide in Bosnia: Redeeming the Earth" explores the extent to which the perpetrators of the genocide in Bosnia (1992-1995) violently transformed the terrain. They destroyed natal villages and razed over 1,000 Mosques and other cultural institutions. In many cases they replaced Mosques with Serbian Orthodox Churches. In addition, they murdered more than 70,000 Bosnian Muslims and attempted to hide the evidence in more than 350 mass graves that scar the landscape. Approximately 2 million Bosnian Muslims were forced into exile. Today, this genocidal geography has imposed a dehumanizing zone of exclusion in the form of the political entity named Republika Srpska, a zone of exclusion to which, the film suggests, a "geography of justice" must respond.
Sponsored by the Geography Club and the Departments of Philosophy and Geography
NOVEMBER 20 - Presentations by Geography Department Faculty
1:00 - 2:30 PM
Morrill Hall 120
Dr. C. Patrick Heidkamp
"Eco-labels & Sustainability", 1:00 - 1:30
Abstract: Increasing environmental concerns on the part of many consumers have led to the differentiation of a variety of products by their environmental production standards. Information regarding such standards is transmitted to the consumer through product labeling schemes (e.g. the Rainforest Alliance label, the Trans Fair label and/or the USDA Organic Food label). The goal of these labels is to appeal to consumer conscience in order to create new markets for so called 'ethical consumption'. This paper discusses the role of eco-labels and associated ethical markets in the context of sustainable economic development.
Dr. Eric West
"Getting Research into the Class and Conference Room: A Primer for Presenting Data
Collected in the Field Using Web-Based Mapping Technology", 1:30 - 2:00
Abstract: Research in many fields calls for the collection, analysis, and representation
of data from places, ranging from sociological research in neighborhoods to environmental
research in diverse biophysical settings. This presentation will demonstrate how to
map street addresses from spreadsheets and how to map coordinates collected in the
field using GPS technology or topographic maps. It then will show how to display your
data against different types of basemaps representing human and physical environments
using the newly released ArcGIS Explorer 900 software. The software, which resides
in the public domain, allows for seamless integration of mapped data into your presentations
and supports interactive flyovers over your study area. This technology greatly enhances
the effectiveness of your presentations of your data which have geographic components.
Dr. Leon Yacher
"A Visit to Central Asia", 2:00 - 2:30
Abstract: A series of photographs will be shown to provide an appreciation of the Central Asian region of the Former Soviet Union. Since the collapse of the USSR, the region has gone through a number of transformations. This presentation will present some of the changes.
Sponsored by the Geography Club, the Geographic Information Science Club, and the Department of Geography