Zelinsky Reading

.....This excerpt comes from a 1951 publication, a time when the Civil Rights Movement edges toward a critical point. What were the reason for this research? Was is strictly scholarly or did it have other motives behind it? As a general rule, the geographer or other researcher needs to give some serious considerations to the uses and consequences of their work. As we identify and observe a phenomenon and bring attention to it, are we also creating or recreating it?

.....The survey has become significant mostly for historical purpose. The mobility of the American population, the influx of immigrants, the changing nature of the economy have transformed the South, so that it would be interesting to compare "The concept of the Solid South [that] is firmly entrenched in the public consciousness," (178) with the reality of the current South, and to determine where and how much this Solid South is still prevalent.
..... The nature of the changes in the region demands very different categories to define the region. Vehicle choices should replace the mule/horse debate. Mobile homes and trailers used as residence, as well as air conditioned homes designed at the national level would have to be included. There is in this article no use of patterns in food or drink selections, something which can still be effectively done today. There would also need to be a specific treatment of large urban areas to see how they differ among themselves and from their counterpart elsewhere.

.....Of interest in this article is also the reminder of how far we have come in graphic presentation : we have been mostly liberated from the use of hachures in maps. But we should also appreciate the difficulty and the work involved in these maps.
.....Of special interest, is the use of an Edward Tufte sparkline (173) much before Mr Tufte advocated their reincarnation. This little gem will be forwarded to him.

.....The main lesson to be drawn from this article is the questions of boundaries. As we create or firm up delineations, are we creating a source for problems? See the partition of the Middle East after WWI, various demarcation lines, and the break up of Yugoslavia. Can a boundary even be all inclusive, or will it always have an element of arbitrariness?