Combating the Orientalist Mental Map of Students, One Geographic Imagination at a Time

Many students enter classes with a very Orientalist mental map of the region usually called the Middle East. This is understandable considering the information and images of the region that pervade our media landscape. In an effort to teach student how to critically examine media sources themselves, the author utilizes a blog format for student participation and discussion. The article describes how the geographic imaginations of the students involved became more nuanced through the process of finding, analyzing, and critiquing various media sources in a small online community.