MOAR Re-Centering Geography!
Because it's way too much fun!
So I was looking up some post-grad degrees and I saw one which was called "East Asian Studies" and I clicked through to check it out, right? Because I wanted to know what counts as East Asia, because, after all, Malaysia and the rest of us in the Maritime Asian countries, we're considered South East Asia.
And turns out that East Asia is China and Japan.
And I thought, wait a minute, but those places so far up north of the Equator! We in SEA are pretty much right smack on or around the Equator, so why do we say we're South East Asia?
Think about South America and North America! South America is Equatorial America and down south! North America is the land mass on northern side of the equator!
So why are we, in SEA, south, whereas China and Japan, clearly further up north, are considered just plain East Asia?
The mind, it boggles!
And then atlasien tweeted at me, "bigger question: why is 'Europe' its own continent when it should really be 'Northwest Asia'?"
This is true! Well, I don't know if it makes sense culturally, but purely geographically-wise, it's a good question!
I feel like T-Rex in Qwantz now!
So I was looking up some post-grad degrees and I saw one which was called "East Asian Studies" and I clicked through to check it out, right? Because I wanted to know what counts as East Asia, because, after all, Malaysia and the rest of us in the Maritime Asian countries, we're considered South East Asia.
And turns out that East Asia is China and Japan.
And I thought, wait a minute, but those places so far up north of the Equator! We in SEA are pretty much right smack on or around the Equator, so why do we say we're South East Asia?
Think about South America and North America! South America is Equatorial America and down south! North America is the land mass on northern side of the equator!
So why are we, in SEA, south, whereas China and Japan, clearly further up north, are considered just plain East Asia?
The mind, it boggles!
And then atlasien tweeted at me, "bigger question: why is 'Europe' its own continent when it should really be 'Northwest Asia'?"
This is true! Well, I don't know if it makes sense culturally, but purely geographically-wise, it's a good question!
I feel like T-Rex in Qwantz now!
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