Europe should not be a continent

[Basstrap]

the making of the European continent is one of the most Eurocentric and arrogant acts of world history.

Europe is a continent while India, which is much more geographically seperate, and China, which is much larger and ethnically unified, can at best be called 'sub-continents'

there is something not quite right with this picture

and we don't even pause to think of this.

 

[Laura M]

Are continents really that important?

 

[AM]

Iceland is where the european and american mainland met. I?m actually sitting on the american mainland right now.


and does it mean anything???


nope


cause it doesn?t matter!!!!!!








the earth is but one country and mankind it?s citizens

 

[Laura M]

am i loike the way u tink

 

[Vorsprung]

Why shouldn't europe be a continent!!! It has quite distinguished geographical borders hasn't it? (atlantic in the west, arctic in the north, Ural Mountains in the East, Caspian Sea in the South-East, Mediterranean, Black Sea and Caucasus in the South). OK, it shares it's tectonic plate with parts Asia, but then you could just as well say that Asia as a continent doesn't exist, since it's scattered over (sometimes parts of) different plates.

Europe isn't just Western Europe!

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

ach was.

 

[Vorsprung]

ach ja......

 

[Rono]

the making of the European continent is one of the most Eurocentric and arrogant acts of world history.

Europe is a continent while India, which is much more geographically seperate, and China, which is much larger and ethnically unified, can at best be called 'sub-continents'

there is something not quite right with this picture

and we don't even pause to think of this.

Bwahahahahahahahahaha

I think Canada should be a part of Europe, we stole it from the Indians.

 

[Basstrap]

I actually brought it up because it was made a continent NOT because of its geographical distinction but because the people who made the distinction thought they were more important than China or India.

Recently we have been learning about eurocentrism in history

look at the Mercator prjection as well
made by people who, again, believed that Europe was the be all and end all. It shows the tiny island of britain as being comparable in size to India

I suggest a reading of "Real World History" by Guthand Frank

We need to change the way we think of ourselves. The west is not the center of the economic universe; it has been predominant for the past 100 years after it exploited the americas to advance its own industrial revolution

but Asia, which had for most of history been the most important center on earth, is going to make its return to the top. That assured.

You know Time magazine in 1997 made a list of the top 100 most important people on earth...only 17 were non-westerners...only 10 were women.

this is ridiculous...Asia, Asia Minor, Persia, etc have all been MUCH more historically important than anyone from Europe.
We think the printing press was made first in Britain??
nope...thin again...but that is what we are taught

hence, my logic for this thread

f course Europe will remain a continent but we should think about why this small, low populated, completely attached region is on at all!

 

[speedracer]

Re: Re: Europe should not be a continent

Bwahahahahahahahahaha

I think Canada should be a part of Europe, we stole it from the Indians.

You can have them. Then we Americans can eliminate any ambiguity over the term "America," and we can get rid of Celine Dion and Alanis to boot.

 

[deep]

Good points, Basstrap.

Was the former USSR in two continents?
In what continent is Russia?

 

[Too Much Asleep]

look at the Mercator projection as well
made by people who, again, believed that Europe was the be all and end all.

and who apparently were from Greenland.

 

[Se7en]

We think the printing press was made first in Britain??

I think Johann Gutenburg would take offense to that.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

ach ja......

 

[Salome]

Recently we have been learning about eurocentrism in history

I do believe by now most European countries are aware of their place in history and the part they play in the present

I can't think of many acts of eurocentrism that occured the last 15 years

 

[zoomerang II]

If you want to talk about continents you gotta go for the theory of plate tectonics.

Indeed Australia and India are therefore one continent, whilst little vancouver island would in fact be its on little Juan de Fuca continent.

Its all a bit meaningless unless you are into geodynamics (and less face it who the hell would want to), except for the fact that Europe is comprised of continental crust and therefore does have some claim to being referred wither in whole or in part as a continent.

May i take this opportunity to say that geology can be sooooooo boring.

 

[Basstrap]

I do believe by now most European countries are aware of their place in history and the part they play in the present

I can't think of many acts of eurocentrism that occured the last 15 years

it's not acts per se
just the way we are taught things

When I was taught world history NONE of it talked about asia or africa

I was embarresed when my professor walked into class and told us to name nine countries in our lifetimes that have lost over 500,000 due to war - I could only really think of Rwanda and Afghanistan to be sure.

This semester has really got me interested in REAL world history. In the history deprtment here, there are 20 professors, only 2 teach courses outside of European or 'new world' history.

 

[Salome]

hmmm, I see your point
but I don't think the situation in Asia and Africa is much different
history lessons there probably also focus on their own continent, I guess

though I do agree it is important we learn in to see things in a world wide perspective

 

[Rono]

it's not acts per se
just the way we are taught things

When I was taught world history NONE of it talked about asia or africa

I was embarresed when my professor walked into class and told us to name nine countries in our lifetimes that have lost over 500,000 due to war - I could only really think of Rwanda and Afghanistan to be sure.

This semester has really got me interested in REAL world history. In the history deprtment here, there are 20 professors, only 2 teach courses outside of European or 'new world' history.

Maybe the reason is that the history is written by the winners. The European had ( have ) a aggresive religion, are explorers and always wanted to proof we are supirior to other cultures an religions. We did that by killing, robing country`s from their treasures. We colonized, we spread our religion ( sometime by force ) and we sold slaves. And all this made our historybooks, well,.. western orientated.


Ehhh, do this make sense ?

 

[melon]

A little geology lesson in an image for everyone...lol.

Melon

 

[diamond]

A little geology lesson in an image for everyone...lol.

Melon

looks like play-doh to me
db9

 

[AJT123]

Re: Re: Re: Europe should not be a continent

You can have them. Then we Americans can eliminate any ambiguity over the term "America," and we can get rid of Celine Dion and Alanis to boot.

HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

My thoughts exactly!

 

[christiana]

but I don't think the situation in Asia and Africa is much different
history lessons there probably also focus on their own continent, I guess

Hm... not really. We have to study the industrial revolution, the French revolution, the independent war, the history of the Roman Empire, blar blar blar... in Secondary School.

though I do agree it is important we learn in to see things in a world wide perspective

 

[U2girl]

What a nice thread.

I guess 2000 + years of history is nothing? And the fact that Greek/Roman culture is considered the foundation of modern Western civilization?

Not to say anything of all the discoveries Spanish, Portugal, English made during their travels overseas. (even something that would eventually be called US)

 

[Vorsprung]

Come on U2girl....Everybody has to know that the Sumerians founded western civilization around 6,000 years ago when they discovered the beautiful golden fluid that now goes by the name of beer.

And that alone is reason enough not to bomb Iraq!!!! (I though I had to give this post a bit more FYM-related-conten)

 

[U2girl]

Come on U2girl....Everybody has to know that the Sumerians founded western civilization around 6,000 years ago when they discovered the beautiful golden fluid that now goes by the name of beer.

Yes i know of the Sumerians and Asirians (African territories no?)

 

[Vorsprung]

No, more like ancient Iraqis

 

[U2girl]

No, more like ancient Iraqis

Ummm, my mistake there. Does Iraq qualify as Europe though? Where do those Middle East&co. fit? Europe or Asia, or Arabian peninsula?

 

[Vorsprung]

Generally it's regarded as Asia

 

[U2girl]

Generally it's regarded as Asia

Well then.