The Lao P.D.R. Project: An update

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Donald Rallis

July 5, 2012
Luang Prabang, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Monks, temples and tourists in Luang Prabang, Laos
(Click on the photo to go to my album on this subject.)

A few days ago, we all began a hastily arranged and completely untested project. The purpose of the project was for all of us, working together, to learn as much as we can about the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos in general, and the town of Luang Prabang in particular.

The first part of the project was for students in Geog 101 (World Regional Geography) and Geog 307 (Geography of Asia) to do some online research, first looking for and perusing some good and reliable general sources of information.  Second, students were to choose a topic of particular interest to them and learn a little about them.

The third part of the project is where I come in. I asked students to send me one or two simple research questions, based on the area of interest they had chosen. The questions were to be of a kind I could answer (or at least investigate) in the field here in Luang Prabang (in other words, the kinds of question that I could answer by looking around and perhaps talking to people.)

The culmination of the project will be a collection of annotated links on the the Lao P.D.R., some of the more specialized links found by members of the class, and finally a collection of some of the research questions I was asked and the answers I managed to find.

I have a day or so left here, and lots of work still to do. Here, in the mean time, are some of the great questions and tasks students have posed for me.

  1. What takes place during the alms ceremony in the city?
  2. How has Luang Prabang grown as a result of becoming a UNESCO site in 1995? How present are signs of UNESCO in Luang Prabang? Can you see active signs of restoration or preservation of the buildings and architecture?
  3. How do people in Luang Probang utilize the Mekong? Are their practices sustainable? (Much of my answer to these questions is in the collection of photographs I took during a late afternoon boat trip on the Mekong.)
  4. Although French culture is still evident in Laotian architecture and cuisine, why isn’t the French language as widely spoken in Laos (Cambodia and Vietnam as well) as it is in other former French colonies such as Quebec, Côte d’Ivoire or the Democratic Republic of the Congo? (I received several other questions along similar lines, asking about the impact and evidence of French colonialism here.)
  5. I received a wide range of questions about tourism and its impact on the local economy, cultures, and landscapes. Here are two examples:
    With Laos having reversed its stance on tourism more than 15 years ago, and from what I’ve seen Luang Prabang being a top sight for visitors, are you noticing an overwhelming number of tourist attractions? More specifically, is the tourism industry in anyway similar to what we have seen of Bali in Indonesia? Do locals appear to be receptive and welcoming of foreign visitors?
    and, in a similar vein:
    Based on observation, does it appear that the city of Luang Prabang relies heavily on the tourism industry?  Do you think it’s to an extent that could be harmful to the city culturally, economically, or environmentally?
    and
    What evidence do you see of Luang Prabang’s widely known Buddhist heritage in terms of tourism? What about the row of temples that supposedly line one of the city streets – is that a main tourist attraction or is it mostly meant for citizens of Luang Prabang’s religious use?
  6. According to Lonely Planet, a well-developed highway system has been built linking Luang Prabang with Thailand and China. This focus on infrastructure has apparently turned Luang Prabang into an important commerce point in Laos (Lonely Planet, 2012) Do you see any evidence of this increase in commerce in the form of Thai or Chinese goods in Luang Prabang?
    (This question mentions two issues also raised by others: the development of Laos’s infrastructure, and foreign investment and influence of various kinds.)
  7. Are there any small private businesses? Or are there a larger shopping centers where people go buy things they need everyday?

 

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First Ever 307GeoQuiz! contest now open…

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Donald Rallis

If you subscribe to the UMWGeog307 Twitter feed, you will by now have received a Tweet containing the first 307GeoQuiz! challenge: two photographs from the same city. Your task is to identify the city or region where I took these pictures and, more importantly, explain the logic which led you to this conclusion. Just giving a location (even if it is correct) doesn’t count for much on its own. Post your answers as comments responding to this post. You have 24 hours to post your answer, which your Quizmaster eagerly awaits.

(The photograph will appear here after the contest close. Yes, this is indeed a transparent attempt to get you to subscribe to the UMWGeog307 Twitter feed.)

Posted in 307GeoQuiz! | 4 Comments

Announcing the Brand New, Exciting, 307GeoQuiz!

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Donald Rallis

For your enjoyment and edification, the people who bring you this course proudly announce the launch of 307GeoQuiz!, a game the whole family can enjoy (well, most of it, anyway; some episodes may be a bit risqué.) It’s open to everyone, whether you are in Geog 307 or not. Here’s how it works.

How GeoQuiz! works

From time to time (every few days, sometimes for a few days in a row, or if the spirit moves your quizmaster, more than once in a single day) you will receive a Tweet (from @UMWGeog307) containing a question, often accompanied by a photograph or perhaps a web link. At about the same time, or maybe a few hours later, a post will appear here posing the same question (but usually without the photograph, which may be added after the quiz deadline has passed. This is because a) I want to persuade you to use Twitter, and b) because I might be out, about, and computerless when I see something interesting and decide to post a 307GeoQuiz! by phone before I forget.)

Your challenge, if you are willing to accept it, is to answer the question. But there’s more: the winner is not the first person to come up the the correct answer. Instead, the prize goes to the contestant who provides the most logical and persuasive explanation of how he or she came up with the answer. Having the right answer helps, but logical and persuasive explanation of how you reach your answer is more important (so, sometimes, a person with a logically argued wrong answer may defeat one with a correct answer but an unconvincing explanation.)

So be sure you’re watching those Tweets, have your geographic thinking cap on, and are up to the challenge! (If you’re not on Twitter and following @UMWGeog307, you will have a tough time participating.) Post your answers on this site as a comment following the appropriate GeoQuiz! question.

The prize

 One extra credit point, added to the winner’s final grade for Geog 307. Since anyone can subscribe to @UMWGeog307′s Tweets, and anyone can post comments on the Geog 101 Website, it is quite possible that the best answer could come from someone who is not in this class. If this happens, the winner’s name will be posted on the course website, and the prize will be the warm glow of satisfaction that comes from being the best. If the winner has a blog site, web page, or Twitter account, if you win I will throw in a free mention of your Twitter name and/or a link to your website.

The deadline

48 hours after the 307GeoQuiz! tweet is sent. You may, if you wish, continue to post answers, comments, or thoughts after the deadline, although they won’t earn you the prize (your quizmaster will consider them, though, when assessing the Contribution portion of your grade.)

The Big Announcement

Your quizmaster will deliver his judgement within 24 hours of the deadline by adding the announcement to the 307GeoQuiz! question. He will also explain his decision, and perhaps ramble on for a while (as is his wont) about it. You are welcome – indeed, encouraged – to add your by comments, complaints, and corrections l beneath the appropriate 307GeoQuiz! post.

Questions about 307GeoQuiz! ?

Post them here, and your quizmaster and perhaps your fellow contestants will do their best to give you an answer.

 

Posted in 307GeoQuiz!, Administrative, Education | Leave a comment

Scenes from a Bangkok shopping mall

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Donald Rallis

Bangkok

Over the past weekend, I spent some time wandering around and taking photographs in two of Bangkok’s upmarket shopping malls. I would like you to take a look at the photographs I have posted on my Picasa site. Pay particular attention to the images in the advertisements; what do you notice about them? Is this significant? Why?

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Thailand | 5 Comments

Summer 2012 course on the Geography of Asia, taught online from Asia

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Donald Rallis

During the Summer Session, 2012, I will teach a new online version of Geog 307, the Geography of Asia, online from Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Classes will meet once and sometimes twice a week live and online, via web conference, for discussions and presentations, and students will conduct online group work as a central part of the course. Since I will be in Southeast Asia, the course will focus mainly on this part of the continent, but we will also devote some time to a discussion of China.
I am currently in Southeast Asia, and while I was in Bangkok I made this short video, I talk about the course, and the approach we will take. If you have questions about the course, please don’t hesitate to contact me at dnrallis@umw.edu.

Posted in Administrative, Summer online course | Leave a comment

“The world looks different, depending on where you look at it from.”

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Donald Rallis
Two small barefooted black boys, in long shorts and to-shirts, stand in front of a red-painted wall. On the wall. painted in black, is a piece of graffiti which reads "You all laugh because I am different. I laugh because you are all the same."

Perspective is everything (unknown source; posted on Facebook)

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My latest attempt at movie making: A temple in Cambodia

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Donald Rallis

Cambodia is best known for Angkor Wat, the vast temple built in the first half of the 12th century by King Suryavarman II to honor the Hindu goddess Vishnu (and, more than incidentally, himself too.) Angkor Wat, though, is by no means the only temple dating back to the days of the Angkor empire. Nearly a hundred other temples dot the landscape around Angkor, and many others are to be found in other parts of Cambodia.

Phnom Chiso is one of these temples, located atop a hill in Takeo Province, about 60 km south of Phnom Penh. This temple is older the Angkor Wat; it was built in the 11th century. Though damaged by American bombing during the war in Southeast Asia in the 1970s, much of the temple still stands.

You can see some of the remains of the temple in this short video I made in December 2011. In the opening segment, I try to give an idea of the landscape around the temple; a landscape very typical of much of southern and central Cambodia. It is flat, and sugar palms dot the landscape, surrounded by rice paddies (most of them recently harvested when the video was taken.)

(You can find more of my videos from Cambodia – and elsewhere – on my YouTube channel.)

 

 

Posted in Cambodia | 1 Comment

Japan’s Killer Quake (PBS Nova documentary)

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Donald Rallis

Watch Japan's Killer Quake on PBS. See more from NOVA.

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English is so global, so why learn another language?

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Donald Rallis

We had a discussion in class a while ago about the value of learning another language other than your own home tongue. An interesting discussion of this very topic was posted yesterday on the New York Times website.

The discussion begins with a point made by Lawrence Summers, former President of Harvard University, in a recent article. Summers argues (as I do) that it is more important than ever that education ‘breeds cosmopolitanism,’ and that students have international experience. He goes on to write

English’s emergence as the global language, along with the rapid progress in machine translation and the fragmentation of languages spoken around the world, make it less clear that the substantial investment necessary to speak a foreign tongue is universally worthwhile. While there is no gainsaying the insights that come from mastering a language, it will over time become less essential in doing business in Asia, treating patients in Africa or helping resolve conflicts in the Middle East.

Short pieces by six other people on the Times page express varying views on the subject; it’s well worth reading what they have to say.

Do you agree that it is becoming less important for English speakers to learn another language?

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Book reviews

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Donald Rallis

Please remember to get my approval for the book that you have chosen to review. If it looks good, I will post it on this site, so that the rest of the class can see what you are reading. This isn’t just because I don’t want more than one person reviewing the same book, it is also so that you can discuss what you are reading (and share references and resources) with others who are reading books on similar topics.

Important: When you send me your book choice, please make sure to include all essential bibliographic information (author, date of publication, title, publisher, and place of publication), just as you would in a formal reference list.

Posted in Book review | Leave a comment