Introduction to Geography People, Places, and Environment, 4e Edward F. Bergman William H. Renwick

1. Introduction to GeographyPeople, Places, and Environment, 4eEdward F. BergmanWilliam H. Renwick Chapter 6: Cultural Geography Victoria Alapo, Instructor Geog 1010

2. Cultural Geography • Describes everything about the way people live, in a spatial dimension. • Clothes • Diet • Articles of use - artifacts • Customs – patterns of behavior • Interpersonal arrangements, family structure, educational methods

3. Cultural Geography • Culture is not static (it changes) • Theories and forces of cultural change: • Evolutionism – that the most impt. sources of cultural change are imbedded in cultures and change is internally determined. • Environmental determinism – Human events explained by environment (we have no control). E.g. housing styles, clothes, farms, etc. • Diffusionism – emphasizes how various aspects of cultures spread out from the places of origin and are adopted. • The process of spreading is called cultural diffusion and the process of adopting some aspect of another culture is acculturation. Diffusion can be actively imposed by a colonial power or freely chosen (e.g. today).

4. Cultural Diffusion • Cultures have spread via global communication, transportation, trade – for centuries and even more recently. See picture of Bhutanese boy, pg 221 (also, see video). • Clark Wissler (1870-1947) • Geographical culture centers (sometimes called “Culture Hearths” – these are places where cultures are developed and spread (see next slide).

5. CULTURE HEARTHS • The source areas from which radiated ideas, innovations, and ideologies that change the world beyond

6. Folk Culture • Cultures that preserve traditions • Characteristics • Conservative, resistant to change, distinctive religions e.g. Amish. However, see picture of Amish boy (pg 222). • Urban folk cultures • Sometimes found among immigrant groups e.g. China Town, Little Italy, African, Caribbean neighborhoods, etc.

7. Popular Culture • Culture of people who embrace innovation and conform to changing norms. • Characterized by: • Rapid diffusion and “Mass Culture” • E.g. food, clothing, items that are mass produced (real life examples?) • “Mass taste” = loss of individuality. • The U.S. is the world’s largest homogenous consumer market (very much unlike traditional cultures). • Marketing of popular culture – very aggressive. Not just within the originating countries, but also to foreign countries (e.g. Bhutan).

8. Behavioral Geography • Subfield of cultural geography – studies our perception of the world around us, and how that influences our behavior. • Mental maps • Pictures in our heads or our opinions of places, are called mental maps – could be based on preconceptions, misconceptions or incomplete understanding. Opinions about places we’ve never been (e.g. Africa). The cure may be a trip. How do we get these images in our heads?? • See next slide.

9. Content of New York Times cover page. What do you think???

10. Identity & Behavioral Geography • Many Americans wrongly use “race” & “ethnic group” interchangeably the way they use “denomination” and “religion”. • What’s the difference? • Ethnic groups / Culture groups • Your ethnic group is your culture/languagee.g. German person, Yoruba person, Cherokee person. In other words, what used to be called “tribes”. • You can have people belonging to the same race, but not the same ethnic group. E.g. not all white people are German. Not all Blacks are Yorubas. Not all Native Americans are Cherokee, not all East Asians are Chinese, etc…Ethnic groups are based on cultural affiliation, not on color. • On the other hand, race is your SKIN COLOR (i.e based on genetics, not culture). See next slide.

11. Identity & Behavioral Geography • Races • Even though there is just a single species of humans, Anthropologists use secondary biological characteristics e.g. skin color, eyes, hair, etc to classify the human race into different racial groupings. This is not the same as “racism”. Racism is when people carry these classifications (and their “perceived implications”) too far. E.g. presuming human ability, potential, etc. on color. • Examples of races: White, Black, Asian, Native American, etc. What about Hispanics? Actually, “Hispanic” is not race, it’s an Ethnic Group. Why? • As Census 2000 shows though, sometimes people are hard to classify (if they have a mixed racial heritage, e.g. our President. Unless you use the dominant features of the individual).

12. Culture • Visual clues of cultures: • Settlement patterns e.g. cities, housing in Yorubaland, Asia, etc. • Architecture e.g. in Mali, pg 231 & this bungalow, pg 232. • Clothing, Language, food

13. Impact of World Trade on Culture • Impact of trade on culture – What do you think? Many folk cultures intermingled this way. E.g. the Ethiopians & Jews (Queen of Sheba visited Solomon). • Colonial masters and culture change. Dependency created by Europeans for imported goods, at the expense of local goods e.g. in Africa and other places. Usually because of plantation cropping, which took over local economies. • Acceleration of Diffusion: • Travel and transportation has greatly improved worldwide • Friction of distance – was a real obstacle in the past. See next slide. The world has “shrunk”, when it comes to movement of information, as a result of: electronic highway – internet, e-mail, phones, satellite TV, etc. And this has led to the “clash of civilizations”…(e.g. Bhutan)

15. Voyages of Contact • World exploration and conquest • Impact of Chinese initiative, many evidences of contact in East Africa. Their prowess in ancient voyages was showcased during 2008 Olympics. • European seaborne empires (influences are much later) • Europe’s increased power was due to: • Agricultural Revolution • Created labor supply for industry that was no more needed in agriculture. And this led to the: • Industrial Revolution • Increased productivity and led to colonialism (need for raw materials not available in Europe).

18. Cultural Imperialism • This is the systematic eradication of native culture, see textbook. Pg 246-247 • Imposition of Western culture • In colonies by force, by degrading and punishing those who do not change, and by rewarding those who do. • Leading to “reference group behavior” – wanting to be so much like the colonizing power (“if you can’t beat them, join them”, mentality). • Self-Westernization (as a Defense Mechanism) • Japan, Thailand (Siam), Turkey, China – See movie, “Anna and the King” (about Siam).

19. European Culture • Pervasive Western model (found everywhere) • Consumer goods • Education • Technology • Housing • Presumption of superiority among Westerners • Leading to rapid acculturation of “all things Western”, around the world. Unfortunately, the effects of colonization now continues, psychologically.

20. Westernization Today • Western dress and lifestyle as status symbols • Role of media • Implanting Western values • TV programs, movies, videos, e.g. Hollywood, MTV, etc. • Tourism – Western intrusion into traditional cultures. • Education – worldwide (mostly based on Western education)

21. America’s Role • World view of America (“everything from the U.S. must be good, or even better, culturally speaking”). What do you think?? • Military Power/ Political Influence • Sole superpower • Role of global peacekeeper • Role in democratic ideas, women’s rights, etc • Economic power • One quarter of world economy • Popular culture • Most recognized brands around the world, e.g. Coca-Cola, MacDonalds, etc • Challenging local traditions