These geographical essays are dedicated to Dr. Robert H. Stoddard in honor of his many years of exemplary service to the people of Nebraska, the world, and the discipline of geography. Dr Stoddard has taught at Nebraska Wesleyan University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Essays in this volume have been contributed by Michael R. Hill, Carl Ritter, Nainie Lenora Robertson Stoddard, Thomas Doering, Steve Kale, Carolyn V. Prorok, and Surinder M. Bhardwaj. The book includes Dr. Stoddard's essay "Regionalization and Regionalism in Sri Lanka," as well as a bibliography of his writings and professional papers, a chronology of publications and papers presented, and a list of dissertations and thesis supervised.

While participating in a Teacher Workshop organized by Georgina Valverde at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2013, Michael Hill began a one-year artistic and pedagogical odyssey making original images (always featuring some aspect of one or more athletic shoes) and posting them daily to a visual blog he created to help kick-start writing projects among the many student athletes he tutored at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He started the year self-identifying as "scholar/teacher," but at year's end Michael looked in the mirror and said, OK, still "scholar/ teacher," but also "artist." Here are the workshop organizer's foreword, the scholar's introduction, the teacher's formal lesson plan, 52 plates from the artist's blog, and a proxy example of student work.

Sacred places are not static entities but reveal a historical dynamic. This volume explores both the cultural developments that have shaped them and their varied multidimensional levels of significance.