Tag / David Klayton
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When One Nation Becomes Two
On January 9th, citizens living in southern Sudan will vote on a referendum to secede from the northern part of the country. A clock in the town of Juba, the political center of southern Sudan, counts down to this referendum, symbolical of the locals’ excitement to part from the hegemonic north. Nearby, the Darfur genocide…
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What to Make of National Borders
In the age of globalization, ideas, commerce, capital, and information can flow across national borders before you can say “damn, that was fast.” Why can’t people cross borders so easily? Here is how I see national borders: they are arbitrary lines drawn to establish who belongs and who does not. Let’s take a look at…
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Gender and Identity in a Globalizing World
Although gender disparities tend to manifest themselves in different manners, they exist from culture to culture across the entire globe. Consider Afghanistan, where society places a much higher value on having a son than having a daughter. Families unable to birth sons commonly choose one daughter to turn into a mock son of sorts—a practice…
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Knowledge for Knowledge's Sake
In Orientalism, Edward Said lays the groundwork for his theoretical views of how the West has come to dominate and control the global perception of the East. In his own words, “Orientalism can be discussed and analyzed as the corporate institution for dealing with the Orient—by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing…