The National Geography Standards

The National Geography Standards for this program include standards 6, 10, and 13. You may read in-depth descriptions of specific standards by clicking on the links below. All of the standards are available here.

Standard 6: How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions.

Standard 10: The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.

Standard 13: How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface.

The case study Strasbourg: Symbol of a United Europe provides an excellent example of how and why cooperation and conflict are involved in shaping the distribution of social, political, and economic activities. Slovakia: New Sovereignty sheds light on some of the spatial and territorial processes of cultural divergence that resulted in the splitting of the former Czechoslovakia. The case study also investigates the views of different ethnic groups about the separation.

While the leadership of each government supported the peaceful separation that led to the formation of two independent countries, the major question is whether the separation was based on the will of the people. The new border affects not only the lives of local inhabitants, but also the economic and political spheres that long operated in the old Czechoslovakia.