Towson University’s Outreach Blog

Steve

In some of the remotest  areas of  North and South America the elusive peccary (known as  javelinas here in the US), a pig-like mammal about the size of a of a large dog, lives in closely knit social groups. Peccaries once roamed most of the Americas in a nearly unbroken band from north to south. What is the situation today?

Am I peaking your interest? It does mine. Perhaps you are more interested in human geography, literature, sociology, anthropology, biology, or history. All of these topics and more have been covered bi-weekly in the basement of Linthicum Hall as part of the “What Matters” speaker series hosted by the  Department of Geography and Environmental Planning (G&EP).

Photo Credit: Getty Images

The series is the genesis of Dr. Jeremy Tasch, G&EP. Dr. Tasch started the series last year as way to engage G&EP students and department faculty and spur interest in geography research projects. Initially, the series was a means for G&EP faculty to share their research interests among themselves and their students. This year the focus has shifted to the convergence of geography and other academic disciplines. Professors from outside of G&EP have been asked to share their cross-discipline interests with geography enthusiasts and others at Towson University. Ultimately, the hope is to find common ground among the various disciplines and encourage new explorations and research.

Topics this year have covered seemingly disparate disciplines and have traversed the globe. The peccary discussion was given by Dr. Harald Beck, Department of Biology, in mid September and covered his research in the remote Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Manu National Park, Peru . Two weeks ago Dr. Dana Phillips, Department of English, gave a talk focusing on eco-criticism and discussed topics exploring individuals’ relations to nature and place within the context of contemporary literature. The talk focused on a piece of “found” literature, a haiku poem stumbled upon while fishing in the region’s Gunpowder River.

This week’s talk is scheduled for Friday November 12 at 3:30pm in room 014 Linthicum Hall. Dr. Matthew Durington, Department of Sociology, will present “Walking the new Media City of Baltimore,” which explores the dilemmas of community historic designation.

About those peccaries. Today, over-hunting and habitat destruction has led to their absence in a growing number of locations. The  loss of this one species has profound impacts on the biodiversity and health of local environments. Peccaries  have been found to consume over 200 different plant seeds, affecting the distribution and success of various plant species. In some areas of  they create mud wallows which provide better habitat then naturally occurring vernal ponds for various amphibians.

Please join me and others at upcoming talks.