PHI THETA KAPPA International Honor Society of the Two Year College

What is the relationship between geography and affluence?

Study Questions

1. To what extent have more temperate climates promoted or produced affluence?
2. In what ways does a nation’s lack of affluence catalyze geographic patterns of immigration of its citizens to other countries? To what extent has this been true historically?
3. Why has the development of affluence evolved differently on different continents?
4. How do you explain resource-rich nations that are not wealthy while countries that lack resources can be wealthy?
5. To what extent do technology and intellectual capital outweigh geography and natural resources to produce affluence in the 21st century?
6. How and why does ethnic diversity in a culture affect affluence?
7. To what extent are the world’s natural resources able to sustain affluent societies?
8. To what extent do perceptions of the affluence of neighboring nations affect internal political, economic, and social choices?
9. What is the responsibility of affluent nations to developing and undeveloped nations?
10. How does the “tragedy of the commons” affect affluence in societies?

Honors in Action

Project description: Investigate and locate a geographic area in need of a resource (i.e. school supplies, eye glasses, food). Develop a letter documenting specific information about the need, and solicit donations in your community and Phi Theta Kappa Region. Collect and send or deliver what you collect, and share your reflections on what you learned about affluence, resources, and servant leadership in the process with fellow Phi Theta Kappa members by submitting an article for a Phi Theta Kappa publication. Hallmarks addressed: Scholarship, Leadership, Service, Fellowship

Project description: Plot affluent nations against annual temperatures and examine the correlation. Plot those same nations against the abundance of their natural resources and examine the correlation. Analyze your data, draw conclusions, and publish your results on your chapter, college, or regional web site. Hallmarks addressed: Scholarship, Leadership, Fellowship

Project description: Conduct a study of your college’s cafeteria, Student Union, or other commons area. To what extent does this area suffer from the “tragedy of the commons”? What factors contribute to the tragedy of the commons? Identify those factors, meet with college administrators to discuss your findings, and develop a plan of action to distribute resources to minimize the negative effects of the tragedy of the commons (e.g., napkins distributed behind the counter versus on a counter where people take more than they need.) Share your results in a Phi Theta Kappa educational forum. Hallmarks addressed: Scholarship, Leadership, Service, Fellowship

Project description: Sponsor a “postcard contest” in your region by inviting chapters to submit a “postcard photo” of a community landmark or some other geographical feature that is unique to their community. Ask chapters to submit an explanation for each “postcard photo” that explains its connection to the paradox of affluence in their community. Host an exhibit of the cards and/or compile them for each chapter to view on a web site your chapter has developed. Hallmarks addressed: Scholarship, Leadership, Service, Fellowship

Project description: Research an area of your community in need of a facelift. Ask the public works department or parks department in your community if your chapter can adopt a street, median, park or other area and pledge to keep it clean for one year. Hallmarks addressed: Scholarship, Leadership, Service, Fellowship

Project description: Review existing surveys explaining why people immigrate to the United States. From your research, develop a survey to distribute to English as a Second Language (ESL) students on your campus. Compare the existing research to your findings and share them with the ESL classes. Join with the ESL students to write an article about your research for your college newspaper. Hallmarks addressed: Scholarship, Leadership, Fellowship

Project description: Research both the patterns of immigration to and economic opportunities available in developed nations. What does your research show about the relationship between immigration and rates of economic growth? Does limiting immigration help or hurt a nation’s economy? Organize and lead a letter-writing campaign to your Congressional representatives and senators using your research and analysis to support changes in immigration policy. Hallmarks addressed: Scholarship, Leadership, Fellowship

Project description: Examine life expectancy in nations from each continent. What factors contribute to longevity? What factors diminish a human’s chances to achieve longevity? How has this changed over time in the nations you selected? Consider factors related to the local and global environments. Share your research with fellow Phi Theta Kappa members at your Regional Leadership Conference. Hallmarks addressed: Scholarship, Leadership, Service, Fellowship

Project description: Create-a-Culture with a team of chapter members. Decide where you would like to create your culture and the time period between 3100 B.C.E. and 1800 C.E. in which you would place your culture. Write a creation myth, law code, language, and biographies for everyone on your team who “lived” in the culture. Create a ritual (i.e., birth, marriage, death ritual), a work of art, and piece of music that represents your culture. Share the culture you’ve created and the reasons for your choices with your chapter. Work with elementary school students on a similar exercise designed for them by your chapter. Hallmarks addressed: Scholarship, Leadership, Fellowship

Bibliography

Davis, Mike. Planet of Slums. 2006.

Davis takes a global look at the impact of desperate policies in the world’s largest urban centers, and how current and past policies have done little to alleviate problems of violence and ill health in these slums. He examines issues of justice and access to services for the people who live in these areas and the role global politics and emigration
play in keeping them poor.

de Blij, Harm. Why Geography Matters: Three Challenges Facing America: Climate Change, the Rise of China, and Global Terrorism. 2007.

de Blij argues that ignorance of geography is a potential threat to America, Americans, and to all other peoples in the world. Using the topics of global climate change, the rise of China as a major economic and political force, and the threat of Islamic extremism, de Blij presents the reader with an overview of the role geography plays in understanding these and other forces.

Fagan, Brian M. The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300-1850. 2001.

A solid companion piece to The Long Summer, Fagan discusses the role the Little Ice Age played in the development of European culture, moving western society from a Relative cultural backwater to a preeminent powerhouse in world trade and culture. Climate changes, Fagan argues, are often overlooked as key pieces of what makes societies rise, and what can make them fall.

Fagan, Brian M. The Long Summer: How Climate Changed Civilization. 2004.

Anthropology professor Brian Fagan discusses the changes in the earth’s climate over the last 15,000 years, and how this warming trend has affected the development of world cultures. He pays special attention to the past 150 years, which have shown an acceleration in the warming trend.

Harris, Marvin. Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches: The Riddles of Culture. 1989.

Anthropologist Harris takes a look at some of the more interesting cultural traits (i.e., prohibitions on eating pork, sacred cows in India), and discusses the roots of these beliefs and behaviors. He further examines the difficulties involved in trying to change the behaviors of cultures, and how these behaviors shape and are shaped by
people.

Hudson, Ray. Economic Geographies: Circuits, Flows, and Spaces. 2005.

Hudson explores the various aspects of economic geography, including modern theories of market forces, Marxism, and political economy. He also examines the process of production and supply, governance and political controls, and diverse effects of market on trade and economic development in various locales.

Jackson, John Brinckerhoff. Discovering the Vernacular Landscape. 1986.

Jackson discusses the factors that have worked to shape the rural, suburban, and urban landscapes of America in its various forms. He looks at how demographics, ethnicity, and affluence have helped shape the landscapes, and also how the landscape provides potential for affluence in its various forms.

Kotkin, Joel. The City: A Global History. 2005.

Kotkin analyzes the development of urban life over the millennia, and asks the fundamental question: What makes a city great? Tracing the city from its roots in Mesopotamia to the contemporary age, Kotkin examines the effects of demographics, technologies, and other trends that have built the urban landscape. He also considers the effects of terrorism and modern religious ideologies and their potential impact on the future of urbanization.