The Myth of Continents

A re-examination of the basic geographical divisions we take for granted, this work challenges the unconscious spatial frameworks that govern the way we perceive the world. Arguing that East versus West, First World versus Third World, and the sevenfold continental system are simplistic and misconceived, the authors trace the history of such misconceptions. Their study reflects both on the global scale and its relation to the specific continents of Europe, Asia and Africa - actually part of one contiguous mass. This work sheds light on our metageographical assumptions grew out of cultural concepts: how the first continental divisions developed from the classical times; how the Urals became the division between the so-called continents of Europe and Asia; how countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan recently shifted macroregions in the general consciousness. The analysis also explores the ways new economic regions, the end of the Cold War, and the proliferation of communication technologies change our understanding of the world.
It should stimulate thinking about the role of large-scale spatial constructs as driving forces behind particular world views and ecourages readers to take a