Category Archives: Region

What becomes of the Old South with the rise of the New North?

Contrary to the usual talk about the rise of the Global South, The New North: The World in 2050 by Laurence Smith argues that climate change will favour the development of the Arctic region, where there is more land than the south. From his RSA talk In 2050, Northern countries – notably Canada, Russia and [...]

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From heresy to beauty products–the idea of South in France

It is tempting to position the South as a victim of the North. Certainly, the conflict between the French North and South appears to be a story of ruthless oppressor that violently subjugates a peace-loving and tolerant victim. Is that necessarily so? Whichever way, French history straddles a cultural fault-line that continues to move in [...]

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John Stanley Martin – Australia as an Iceland of the south

One way of reading an antipodean country like Australia is through the lens of its symmetrical opposites. For many, Australia has been compared to Nordic countries. One of Australia’s leading Nordicists, John Stanley Martin, unfortunately passed away this week. Here he talking about the commonality between Australia and Iceland. John Stanley Martin, descendent of the [...]

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Why ‘Up in the Air’ should be grounded

New critique or old myth? You could be forgiven for thinking that the recently released Up in the Air heralds a new wave of American films that reflect the real social realities of America exposed by the Global Financial Crisis. ‘ target=_blank>Rolling Stone claims that ‘Up in the Air is a defining movie for these [...]

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Spain as South – the Black Legend has a warm heart

‘Africa begins at the Pyrenees.’ Voltaire “Whatever has black sounds has duende.” Garcia Lorca Spain seems an exception to civilised Europe. While the Enlightenment promoted the pursuit of reason based on natural order, Spain remained captive to a theatre of violence as it persecuted heretics and bulls. Is this a true image of Spain? What [...]

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