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Rationale: Students' first exposure to world geography is commonly presented via continents/oceans and political geography. Both frames are self-limiting: The continents' divisions are not only geographic but also political (e.g., Europe vs. Asia) and also obscure important comparisons (e.g., Egypt and Jordan are geographically similar but in different continents; Asia contains many different components with high levels of geographic, cultural, and political diversity). An emphasis on political geography creates a sense of determinism that is quite separate from the economic and cultural realities (e.g., post-colonial Africa, the Himalayan regions of Asia). This overlay cuts each continent into components that reflect their geographic / cultural characteristics. For example, Africa is divided into North (Mediterranean-adjacent), Saharan, West, East, Central, and Southern Africa. This is a VERY incomplete and tentative project; feel free to adapt / critique / suggest.
Political geography
Google Earth file created by Matt Fox (building upon others' work): world-borders.kml.
Description: Overlay that colors each nation (following the national borders, with some errors), making Google Earth's satellite data more closely resemble a traditional globe that displays political geography. Note that it has some mistakes / lack of current data (e.g., Ireland is unified; Sudan isn't split).
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