Walls divide, and act as boundaries. Walls protect, but walls also exclude people. They were, and still are built for various reasons. Peace Walls in Northern Ireland still exist in some places in Belfast. They are part of the fabric of the city, and also remain in people's heads (the phrase 'walls in the head' is sometimes used)
Readers of LivingGeography blog (which includes you I hope) may remember some previous postings taken from Lynsey Hanley's excellent book 'Estates', which looks at the Cutteslowe Walls
I read an extract from the book to Year 9 just before half term as part of the Reading festival, to show how a place can be described in fiction.
There are also walls such as the ones marking the edge of the West Bank, part of the disputes in the Middle East (an area that is mentioned in the new KS3 programme of study)
Migration has also been connected with the idea of borders. Often migration means crossing a border.
I noticed recently a review of a book in the Observer about walls. It's written by Marcello de Cintio. We have a copy of the book in the department.
This book is going to form part of the unit, and we have been collating a range of materials.
An extended extract from the book is also included in a recent issue of Geographical magazine
(remember from an earlier recent post that King's Ely students have access to this in various forms)
The interactive linked to above provides some really interesting and fascinating stories, and is very well put together. This could form the basis for an independent student enquiry, which we shall look to develop through the next term.
Also sometimes, it's the walls that are in the head... the invisible walls that matter, just as much as the physical boundaries.
And finally, water can create boundaries and borders which are all too visible from the air (but not necessarily the ground) as well as other physical processes....
Image: Alan Parkinson
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