A Thematic Introduction to
Cultural Geography
As organized by Joe Naumann
Adjunct Associate Professor –
Geography
UMSL
MANY PEOPLE &
MANY CULTURES
The Human Mosaic
CHAPTER 1
THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY
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INTRODUCTION

Humans are by nature geographers
 Possess
awareness of and curiosity about the
distinctive character of places
 Can think territorially or spatially
 Each place on Earth is unique
 Places possess an emotional quality and significance
that contribute to our identity as unique human
beings
 Geographers, over the centuries, generated a number
of concepts and ideas that literally changed the world
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SEVEN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHICAL IDEAS
THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
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 Maps
 Human
adaptation to habitat
 Human transformation of the earth
 Sense of place
 Spatial organization and
interdependence
 Central place theory
 Megalopolis
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GEOGRAPHY AS AN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE
 Natural
human geographical curiosity
and need for identity
 First arose among the ancient Greeks,
Romans, Mesopotamians, and
Phoenicians
 Arab empire expanded geography
during Europe’s Dark Ages
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3 OF THE OLDEST MAPS
The inate geographic
interest inspired the
first attempts at
mapping the world.
 These were produced
between the 7th and 6th
centuries B.C.E.

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LET’S CONSIDER THE TYPICAL
AMERICAN LEVEL OF GEOGRAPHIC
KNOWLEDGE AND CONCERN. CHECK
THE FOLLOWING FEW SLIDES.
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WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?

The study of the spatial characteristics of the
interaction between humans and the physical
environment through time with a particular
emphasis on understanding the spatial
characteristics of the present world in which we
live.
 The
processes which shape the earth both natural
and human.
 Identify cause and effect relationships
 Identify and project trends
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THE 5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY
Source: National Geographic Society
 The Five Themes

 LOCATION
 PLACE
 MOVEMENT
 HUMAN/ENVIRONMENT
INTERACTION
 REGIONS
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LOCATION – DETERMINING THE POSITION OF A
PLACE ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE
1.
Absolute location – precise positioning –
latitude and longitude are the best.


2.
GIS gives this new meaning
Automobile systems linked to satellites
Relative location – describing in relation to
other, known places such as landmarks and
unusual, easily recognizable features.

Used by most people in giving directions
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PLACE – THOSE FEATURES THAT GIVE CHARACTER TO A
LOCATION (A DEGREE OF UNIQUENESS).
1.
2.
Physical place – natural features – what nature
provides – climate, landforms, vegetation, etc.
 Can many places no longer be called physical
places – where might the human influence be
absent today? This relates to the theme of
human/environment interaction.
Human (cultural) place – features added by humans
– distinctive dress, architecture, language, religion,
burial practices, agricultural practices, etc.
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HUMAN/ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION
1.
Human adaptations to natural conditions.


2.
Heavy coats in winter
Elevated housing in areas prone to flooding
Changes (Alteration) in natural conditions
made by humans.


Digging canals
Changing the vegetation – farming, etc.
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MOVEMENT – THE TRANSFER OF MATERIAL AND NON
MATERIAL THINGS FROM PLACE TO PLACE
1.
Material things – involving tangible
objects transported in a variety of ways


2.
Animal and animal-powered means
Land, water, and air vehicles
Non-material things – information,
power, culture traits


Fashions, trends, fads, etc.
Electronic media, etc.
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REGIONS – MENTAL CONSTRUCTS EXPRESSING
SOME COMMONALITY OR UNIFORMITY
1.
Formal Regions – possesses a single
common feature or a limited combination of
features throughout the area

2.
Political units such as states and counties
Functional Regions – An operational unit
based on organization, structure, and
interactions – an area organized around a
node.

The hinterland of a major city
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THE FIVE THEMES IN EDUCATION
All elementary and
secondary
textbooks currently
are built around the
Five Themes of
Geography
 The Five Themes
are easy to
remember and use

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DESCRIBING UNIQUE LOCATIONS


SITE: Physical
character of a place.
Important
characteristics: climate,
water sources,
topography, soil,
vegetation, latitude, and
elevation

SITUATION: the location

of a place relative to
other places.
Situation helps us
understand the
importance of relative
location.
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INTRODUCTION CONTINUED

A. The concept of region
 An
important tool for geographic study
 Basis for comparing and contrasting different
parts of the Earth

B. Defining culture
 Culture
is the learned, dynamic, and
generally accepted way of life of a group of
people which results from the accumulated
and ever changing world view, attitudes,
objectives, and technical skills of the group.
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WHAT IS CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY?
 A.
The meanings of culture
1. Learned consciously and
subconsciously (unconsciously?)
2. Culture as a process
3. Human-Environment interaction
 B.
Cultural (Human) Geography
focuses on the spatial nature and
expression of the items above.
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CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Focuses
on cultural phenomena that
may vary or remain constant from place
to place
Language
& religion
Deep culture
Surface culture
 Explains
how humans function spatially
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ICEBERG OF
CULTURE
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Surface Culture
DEEP CULTURE:
Slow to change –
often operates in the
subconscious

When dealing with
other cultures, one
may have problems
because one may
be aware of the
surface culture
traits and may not
be aware of very
significant elements
of “deep culture.”
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SURFACE CULTURE & HUMAN PLACE
Language
 Religious mannerisms, rituals, celebrations
 Ethnic dress
 Architecture
 Cuisine
 Public gender roles
 Social manners
 Status symbols
 Technology

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ARCHITECTURE – SOUTHEAST ASIA
Distinctive
religious dress
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LATIN AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE
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NORTH EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURE
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DISTINCTIVE DRESS & MUSICAL INSTRTUMENT
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DISTINCTIVE DRESS
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CLUES TO: ECONOMIC SYSTEM & GENDER ROLES
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DEEP CULTURE

World view
 Foundational
attitudes
 Ranking of life goals
 Foundational religious assumptions or “realities” –
cosmology
 Foundation for social mores

The “roots” that support and nourish surface
culture
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Culture
region
 Formal
culture regions
Most
commonly based on more than one
cultural trait
Example of an Inuit culture region
Similarities and differences between
Greeks and Turks
Cultural borders as transition zones
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FORMAL REGIONS – ONE CRITERION OR SET OF CRITERIA
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ONE OR MORE CRITERIA FOR A FORMAL REGION
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TRANSITION ZONE BORDERS
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TRANSITION FROM CBD TO RESIDENTIAL
CBD
Transition Zone
Residential
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 A.
Culture region
 Functional
culture regions
 Organized
to function politically, socially, or
economically
 Nodes
 Core-periphery configuration
 Example of newspaper circulation area
 May not coincide with formal region—example of
Germany
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POSSIBLE CRITERIA FOR GERMAN
CULTURE REGION
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Culture
region
culture regions: Vernacular regions
are those loosely defined by people's perception (i.
e., The South, The Middle East).
 Vernacular
 Perceived
existence
 Generally lack sharp borders
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DECREASING INCIDENCE IN TRANSTION ZONE
Direction of Decrease
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VERNACULAR REGIONS OF N. AMERICA
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NORTHWEST, NEW ENGLAND, & THE SOUTH
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MIDWEST & SOUTHWEST
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Cultural
diffusion
 Independent
invention
 Types of diffusion
 Relocation
diffusion
 Expansion diffusion—can be divided into three
subtypes
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III. THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Cultural
diffusion
 Time-distance
decay
 Absorbing and permeable barriers to
diffusion
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A SHRINKING WORLD
Travel is easier,
cheaper, and
faster today.
 New York to
Paris by
passenger jet
today takes
about 6 hours

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ACTORS PROMOTING DIFFUSION
Internet
 Satellite Television & Radio
 Faster, cheeper, easier transportation
 Relative affluence of people in the developed
countries

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III. THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
B. CULTURAL DIFFUSION
5. STAGES OF ACCEPTANCE OF INNOVATION
6. GLOBALIZATION
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Cultural
ecology
 Concept
of the human ecosystem
 Meeting ground of cultural and physical
geographers
 Environmental determinism
 Humans
molded by nature
 Had serious consequences—example of European
colonization
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Cultural
ecology
 Possibilism
 Environment
gives people choices
 Higher level of technology weakens influence of
environment
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Cultural
ecology
 Environmental
perception
 Choices
by people made on their perception of the
environment
 Perception of natural hazards
 Organic view
 Mechanistic view
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Cultural
 Humans
ecology
as modifiers of the Earth
 Opposite
of determinism
 Past effects of environmental alteration by
agriculture and livestock
 Gender differences as Earth modifiers
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Cultural
interaction
 Cultures
are complex wholes
 One facet of culture influences other facets
 Culture determinism
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Cultural
 Spatial
interaction
models
 Model
building
 Example of a model for Latin American cities
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III. THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Cultural
 Sense
interaction
of place
Topophilia is described in Webster's New
International Dictionary of the English Language as
literally love of place. It is a term used to describe the
strong sense of place or identity among certain peoples.
 Among the geographical ideas that changed world
 Topophilia:
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CULTURE & HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

Clues to past cultural influences
 Architecture
– house types & architectural style
elements (onion domes in Slavic architecture)
 City or town layout – i.e. the Romans built towns
with the streets laied out in a rectangular grid
pattern.
 Toponyms – a toponym is the name given to a place
on the earth. Example: many rivers and older
towns in Missouri have French names (often
saints), and the first European settlers in Missouri
were French Christians (Catholics).
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ELEMENTS OF SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION

Density, concentration, & pattern
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Cultural
 Power
interaction
and ideology
 Power—
what groups have it
 Ideology—dominant ideas and beliefs
 Understanding diversity within a culture
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GLOBALIZATION

A forcer or process that involves the entire
world and results in making something
worldwide in scope.
 Global
economy
 Worldwide
recession of 2008-2009
 Multinational corporations – even operating in China
 Access to money worldwide via ATM cards
 Worldwide recognition of products – i.e. Coca Cola logo
 Entertainment
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WORLDWIDE MARKETS
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Cultural
landscape
 Reflects
the most basic strivings of
humankind
 All bear cultural meaning
 Symbolic and ideological qualities
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Cultural
landscape
 Settlement
forms
 Land-division patterns
 Architecture and style
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THE MAP IS THE MEDIUM OR LANGUAGE OF
GEOGRAPHY
Created by cartographers
 Help display information & assist location

 Grid
essential for location
 Latitude & longitude grid allows absolute location

Maps need to be critically “read”
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THE MAP AS A TOOL
Can convey much information quickly and
effectively
 Can be used to establish theories
 Can be used to solve geographic problems
 May reveal possible interactions and
connections
 Can illustrate patterns, flows, distributions,
connections, sequent occupance, etc.

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THE GEOGRAPHIC GRID (ABSOLUTE)
 Longitude
 Measures
distance east to west around the globe
beginning at the Prime Meridian
 Prime Meridian
 International Date Line
 0-180 degrees East or West
 Latitude
 Location
on the Earth’s surface between the
equator and either the north or south pole
 Parallels
 0-90 degrees North or South
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FIVE REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD MAP
Grid – to facilitate locating places
2.
Direction arrow or compass rose – to orient the
map to the real world
3.
Scale – to translate map distances to real-world
distances
4.
Key or Legend – to interpret symbols used on
the map
5.
Title – to alert the map reader to the topic or
theme of the map
Other useful information: Copyright date &
Projection used
1.
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LONGITUDE
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LATITUDE
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
Latitude and longitude may be combined on a
globe or map to create a grid. One specific
parallel will only intersect a specific meridian at
one place on the earth. Using the two together
allows for locating places precisely.
A GRID
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ALPHA-NUMERIC GRID – COMMONLY USED IN
ATLASES AND ON ROAD MAPS
St. Louis is located in section D8
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SMALLEST
SCALE
MAP SCALE
 Scales
Of Area Shown –
inverse relationship between
scale and area shown.
 Large
Scale Maps – show small
areas in great detail
 Small Scale Maps – show large
areas with less detail
LARGEST
SCALE
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MAP PROJECTIONS
 Scientific
(mathematical) method of
transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a
flat map
 4 types of distortion – all maps are distorted
in some way or other!
 Shape
 Distance
 Relative
size
 Direction
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TYPES OF MAP PROJECTIONS
Cylindrical
 Conic
 Planar
 Equal Area
 Equidistant
 Conformal
 Special cases

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MERCATOR PROJECTION: CONFORMAL –
USEFUL FOR NAVIGATION
Proportional areas!
Distorted areas
Equal-area Projection: good for
spatial comparisons.
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REMOTE SENSING
Acquisition of data
about Earth’s
surface from a
satellite orbiting the
planet or from highflying aircraft
 Remote sensing
data plus GIS
software = great,
accurate maps.

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REMOTE SENSING (GPS)
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GIS
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THEMES IN CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Conclusion
 Close
relationship of themes
 Geography bridges social and earth sciences
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