Dear Readers,
The GeoCurrents series on Siberia is now finished, the various posts in the sequence bundled together for future access. The main section of the website will now take a two-week vacation; the Stanford University academic year is coming to an end, generating a mounting backlog of grading. During this brief period, GeoNotes and news-map posts will continue to appear regularly.
When the main posting section resumes activity, it will no longer concentrate on particular parts of the world. Three GeoCurrents series have now been completed, examining the Caucasus, Northern California, and Siberia. We have enjoyed delving into these regions, but we fear that we have neglected other places in the process. As can be seen on the excerpt of the GeoCurrents Master Map posted here, some places — such as northern South America — have received very little coverage on the site.
As a result, the main section of the blog will once again wander over the world, exploring the geographical, historical, and linguistic dimensions of places in the news, supplying the background information that is often left out in conventional reporting. Both major and minor stories will be considered. When a major event occurs, GeoCurrents will seek to map it. Seemingly obscure items will be selected to the extent that they reveal significant geographical patterns or contribute to the understanding of important current events. Mini-series of three or four posts will appear from time to time, but we do not anticipate running any more month-long sequences for the time being.
We would also like to use this opportunity to solicit our readers’ opinions on issues that GeoCurrents might cover, and on ways in which the website might be improved. Criticisms and suggestions are more than welcome.
Martin & Asya