Landmine Assistance in Peru -- December 3

Michael Lundquist is a BSC graduate (sorry to say that the geography department cannot take any credit, though) who is CEO of the Polus Center for Social and Economic Development. On Thursday morning, December 3, he will be speaking to students in Dr. Hayes-Bohanan's Geography of Latin America course, meeting from 9:30 to 10:45 in Science 128. Afterwards, he will meet informally with students who are participating (or have participated) in the January 2009 and 2010 study tours in Nicaragua. Mr. Lundquist will actually be joining part of the 2010 study tour, which includes Polus Center projects in Leon: PLUSAA, Walking Unidos. He was also instrumental in the founding of the Ben Linder Cafe, which is the inpsiration for the seond Ben Linder cafe proposed for the new Science and Math Center.

On December 3, however, his focus will be on his recent visit to Peru, where he began preparations for victim assistance and development. Community Announcements for more information.

HumPhy Follow-up

For those who took part in HumPhy -- and even for those who did not -- this Thanksgiving Day story on NPR is a useful follow-up to our Pilgrim Monument visit in Provincetown. As the centennial of the monument's construction approaches, Provincetown boosters are re-asserting its role as the real birthplace of democracy in what was to become the United States.

Congressional Visit Thursday

Thanks to the Political Science Department, one of our geography classes will have two distinguished guest speakers this week. As part of the Stennis Center's Congress to Campus program, Rep. David Skaggs and Rep. Jack Buechner will be visiting Dr. Hayes-Bohanan's Geography of Latin America class.

The class will be held jointly with another class from 9:30 to 10:45 Thursday morning, November 19 in the Moakley Auditorium. All are welcome.

Students are encouraged to read the biography of each retired Congressman in order to be prepared to ask questions relevant to the experience and expertise each of them brings to the discussion. An open forum with the same members will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 18 in the large ballroom of the campus center.

Dr. de Blij's 2006 Visit

The Bridgewater campus is still buzzing about Dr. Harm de Blij's recent visit to deliver the Class of '42 Lecture. The current revival of geography at BSC can be traced at least in part to an earlier visit by Dr. de Blij. In 2006 he made a brief visit in which he spoke in two classes and then attended a reception in President Mohler-Faria's office. He is shown here presenting a copy of his Atlas of North America to the president.

Following the reception, the president's chief of staff, Mr. Bryan Baldwin, interviewed Dr. de Blij -- along with department members Dr. Domingo and Dr. Hayes-Bohanan -- about the importance of geographic education. Learn more about that visit and hear the interview on bPOD.

Extrajudicial Killings in Colombia -- Nov 10 program

U.S. involvement in Colombia is an important foreign-policy problem that gets very little attention. This is a chance for the campus community to learn what is happening in Colombia first-hand. It is appropriate that this event is being held in the Moakley Auditorium. Rep. Moakley was a leader in promoting humane, reality-based policies in Latin America.

Extrajudicial Killings in Colombia...Not In Our Name!
Martha Lucia Giraldo Villano
from Cauca, Colombia
Moakley Auditorium
Tuesday, Nov. 10th, 2009, 7:00pm

The speaker is a daughter of a small-scale farmer who was the victim of an extrajudicial killing by the National Army, which is partially funded and supported by United States.


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This event is sponsored by Social Justice League, the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program, and La Sociedad Latina. Ms. Giraldo Villano's visit is organized by Witness for Peace.

Sue the cartographer!

Verizon's "There's a map for that" ads have triggered a lawsuit from AT&T.

Based on a cursory reading, it seems that the complaint is not that the maps used in the ads are inaccurate; rather the complaint is about what the maps show and what consumers can be presumed to think they show.

Thanks to Dr. Rao for bringing this story to our attention. If anybody notices the outcome when a decision is reached in this case, please post it as a comment below. Or use the "comments" button to share your ideas on this lawsuit.

The Analytic Strength of Geography

Dr. Harm de Blij -- the "rock star" of our profession -- captivated a capacity crowd in the John Joseph Moakley Auditorium as this year's featured speaker in the Class of '42 Lecture Series.

The author of The Power of Place wove together economic geography, plate tectonics, climate change, and the widening gap between the rich and poor -- all the while showing the campus community why geography is essential to understanding these connections.

Faculty members were gratified by the enthusiastic turnout of students, alumni, area educators, and college faculty and administrators. Dr. de Blij graciously signed autographs and engaged in a number of fascinating discussions before and after the main event.