The Myth Of Continents Jared Diamond Summary

McCallon, Jacob

History 201

19 September 2016

Response Paper 1 The way we study world history is influenced by the way we perceive the world. That is the point that Jared Diamond, Martin Lewis and Karen Wigen try to make in their excerpts. The direction that the two articles, “Yali’s Question” and the Introduction of ”The Myth of Continents: A Critique of Metageography,” differ widely. Jared Diamond’s article argues that the hunter gatherer tribes of New Guinea are viewed as inferior due to their lack of technological and infrastructural advancement. The problem is that our view of other societies is skewed by our perception of the way the world is. Similarly, Lewis’ and Wigen’s article focuses on the inequality of world perception by analyzing

We create these perceptions based on the knowledge we have established for ourselves to be true. They go on to say that our view of the world is influenced by European ideals and that conceptions of geography are overly biased (Lewis and Wigen p 10). If we can stop viewing the geography of the world in a way that elevates European society and degrades less acknowledged societies, we will then be able to clearly participate in the academic discussion of what is world history. I think that this is interesting as they use maps as a way to prove that society has biased opinions of how the world is. The whole idea of continents is an idea that allows for the generalization of world perception. Lewis and Wigen say that “continents are much more than the gross elements of global cartography” but they “also [guide] our basic conceptions of the natural world” (p. 2). Continents are used as scapegoats to generalize our understandings and feed our stereotypes. This argument is quite unique in that geography is used to show the ineptness of human perceptions in and pertaining to the world as it is. We all have ideas on what the world is and we all allow that to get in the way of true learning. When I think of Africa, I think of harsh climates, lions and zebras. That is unfair because there are so many different diverse climates that make up the African continent and the animals we see at the zoo only live in certain parts of it. That is just an example of what Lewis and Wigen are talking about. When I received a mission call to Russia, I had all of these notions of soviet union era espionage films and preconceived ideals. When I got there, I was shocked to learn that not every part of Russia is like the Europeanized cities of St. Petersburg or Moscow. The region I was serving in was more like China or Korea. The Sea of Japan bordered the region where I served