Writers abroad now have a spot to gather on Expat Saturdays for writing and publishing tips at repat Kristin Bair O'Keeffe's Writerhead, and expat publisher Jo Parfitt is hosting the Writers Abroad radio program for Women's International Network.
Inspired by a 17th century Ottoman traveler Evliya Celebi, The Book of Travels is a virtual exhibit that aims to highlight the "sharing of ideas between Muslim and European individuals and societies."
Brooklyn-based jewelry designer Sara Pfau's work aims to explain why "marking, separating, naming plays into a primal urge for self definition according to location." (See illustration for this post, it's Pfau's work.)
When you're strange: author Paul Theroux muses at the New York Review of Books about how otherness is viewed as an afflictionin most cultures around the world -- and throughout history. Check out this intriguing excerpt from his new book The Tao of Travel: Enlightenment from Lives on the Road.
On a related note, we wonder, is culture only skin deep? Even if we think that culture is like clothing -- when we take off our costume we're all the same underneath, right? -- a new study reveals that cultural differences are detected deep in the brain.
What does it mean to think globally? Educational psychologist Linda Elder stresses the need for a critical thinking revolution in order for us to survive, and sustain the planet. "Our lives our interwoven in ways we don't even understand." It's no longer enough to be skilled at thinking about our own vested interests -- "sociocentric thinking". We need global critical thinking, to ask "what's in this for everyone relevant to the situation?"