My experience with teaching a coursework on Afghanistan has been quite refreshing. I had to venture in those areas which are considered rather unconventional for a geographer. I had took up the issues of ethnicity and conflict in the region and worked out the social system modules in which these relations lie. This has been very informative and learning experience for me. I have also been able to have a good repository of articles database that I find handy while referencing my work.
But, I feel that area studies apart from what they have become as territorial studies de facto, should conisder to venture into those areas or phenomenon, which are trans-boundary in their impact. This not only brings into focus the geographical forces, but also the nations and their polity in the geopolitical environment. Documentation of foreign policy and history of relations is only one part of the story. The real objective of any area studies research shold be to provide across the board analysis of various segments of a part of political landscape, defined as, the nation. In this, one must consider the dynamics of people's moving around the nations and their in carrying these influences to a signficant stage.
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