By: Priscilla Yu,
on 12/31/2015
Just before noon on 25 April 2015, a violent 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Nepal, killing almost 9,000 people and injuring more than 23,000. Hundreds of aftershocks followed. Entire villages were razed, destroying communities and leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless.
The post Traveling to provide humanitarian aid: lessons from Nepal appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Lizzie Furey,
on 12/24/2015
With the devastating earthquake in Nepal on 25 April 2015, not only humans but also gods became shelterless. The famous Car Narayan or Fourfold Vishnu Temple in Patan is one of the many temples that completely collapsed. It was constructed in the classical Newar “pagoda” style with two pyramidal roofs and an inner ambulatory by a local ruler, Purandara Simha, in 1565.
The post When gods become shelterless: rituals and reconstructing temples in post-earthquake Nepal appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Priscilla Yu,
on 12/17/2015
This July, a NASA space probe completed our set of images of the planets, at least as I knew them growing up. New Horizons, a probe that launched back in 2006, arrived at Pluto and its moons, and over a very brief encounter, started to send back thousands of images of this hitherto barely known place.
The post Place of the Year nominee spotlight: Dwarf planet Pluto appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Priscilla Yu,
on 12/10/2015
Nepal has had an extraordinarily eventful 2015. It has been rocked by catastrophic earthquakes and burdened by a blockade from India, but it has also (finally) passed a new constitution and elected its first female head of state, Bidya Devi Bhandari, who took office in October.
The post Welcome to Sital Niwas, Madame President appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Connie Ngo,
on 12/3/2015
With the ballots cast and the year winding down, we recognize Nepal as Oxford's Place of the Year 2015. The country came into the global spotlight back in April, when a devastating earthquake took over 9,000 lives and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Months later, critics point at the slow-moving recovery process that has still a far way to go before Nepal can resume normal operations.
The post The Oxford Place of the Year 2015 is… appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Connie Ngo,
on 11/26/2015
Earlier in the year, Greece faced some unsettling economic troubles. The country voted on a referendum that would decide whether they would pull their membership from the European Union (and thus, the union's currency and economic system). It's a wonder to think that this country, less than a decade ago, was among one of the richer nations.
The post Place of the Year 2015 nominee spotlight: Greece appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Connie Ngo,
on 11/19/2015
This week, we're shining the spotlight on another one of our Place of the Year 2015 shortlist contenders: Cuba.
The post Place of the Year 2015 nominee spotlight: Cuba appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Connie Ngo,
on 11/12/2015
As voting for the Place of the Year 2015 continues, we would like to take a moment to highlight one of the shortlist nominees: Nepal.
The post Place of the Year 2015 nominee spotlight: Nepal [quiz] appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Connie Ngo,
on 11/5/2015
Thank you to those of you who participated in the voting period for our Place of the Year 2015 longlist. The top five contenders have moved on to the next round into our shortlist, and we need your help again. If you're interested about each place and why each has been nominated for Place of the Year 2015, read back on our previous blog post. Vote for your pick in this year's shortlist by 30 November. The Place of the Year 2015 will be announced 3 December.
The post Announcing the Place of the Year 2015 shortlist: vote for your pick appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Connie Ngo,
on 10/29/2015
Last year in 2014, Ukraine made its way into our Place of the Year shortlist, garnering 19.86% of votes. Though Scotland beat out Ukraine for the top spot (with its impressive 37.98% of votes out of five on the shortlist), that by no means undermines everything this Eastern European country has gone through. Serhy Yekelchyk, author of The Conflict in Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know, reflects on how Ukraine has transformed in recent years.
The post Ukraine’s two years of living dangerously appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Connie Ngo,
on 10/22/2015
You don't need to follow the news too closely to know that 2015 has been a roller coaster of a year. Last week we announced our longlist for Place of the Year 2015, but since then some of you have been asking, "why is x included?", or "why is y worth our attention?"
The post Place of the Year 2015: behind the longlist appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Connie Ngo,
on 10/15/2015
Today we officially launch our efforts to discover what should be the Place of the Year 2015, coinciding with the publication of the Atlas of the World, 22nd edition--the only atlas that's updated annually to reflect current events and politics.
The post Announcing Place of the Year 2015 longlist: vote for your pick appeared first on OUPblog.
