Layers of Tradition:
Culture Regions at Different Scales
Chapter 2
What is culture?
a people's way of life
their behavior
shared understanding of themselves
shared understanding of the world
a guide for how we act and interpret the world
(p. 34)
Regions
Formal
Perceptual
Functional
Figure 2.1 (p. 35)
Formal, Functional, or Perceptual?
park
space
usage
classroom
seating
pizza
delivery
areas
most
common
with a
meal
soda
bottlerstore
linkages
What formal, functional, and
perceptual regions are we in?
Formal
Local
scale
National
scale
International
scale
Functional
Perceptual
Vernacular Regions
Figure 2.2 (p. 36)
Symbols in the cultural landscape creating a regional identity
Figure 2.3 (p. 38)
Culture Regions
• Culture traits
• Symbols
• Regional identity (awareness of belonging
to a group united in a common territory)
• Ways of life and the culture /
landscape interface
Cultural Symbols
map outlines
flags
from
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
plants & their
representation
license plates
courtesy of
http://www.worldlicenseplates.com/
Cultural Landscape
• Cultural values and the landscape
• Symbols
• Regional identity
Downtown Milwaukee
& Lake Michigan
Cultural Landscapes
LDS (Mormon)
Meeting Houses
Snowflake, Arizona
Windmill and Restaurant
Three Rivers, Texas
Cultural Landscapes
Statue and Hotel
~
Puerto Penasco,
Sonora, Mexico
Loess Hills of Western Iowa &
Missouri River Flood Plain
Cultural Landscapes
Niagara Falls
Defining Culture Regions
Core
Domain
Sphere
Core / Domain / Sphere
of a Culture Region
Figure 2.4 (p. 39)
Syncretism
Distinct Culture A
New
Hybrid
Trait
Distinct Culture B
Name That Key Term
An area characterized by similarity
or by cohesiveness that sets it
apart from other areas.
Region
A region created by the interactions
between a central node and
surrounding locations.
Functional Region
An area of near uniformity (homogeneity)
in one or several characteristics.
Formal Region
An area defined by subjective
perceptions that reflect the feelings and
images about key place characteristics.
When these perceptions come from the
local, ordinary folk, a __________
______ can be called a vernacular
region.
An awareness of being a part of a group of
people living in a culture region.
Perceptual
Region
Regional Identity
The shared understandings that guide
behavior and values and condition a
group’s perception of the world.
_______ is learned from one generation
to the next and evolves over time.
Culture
Modifications to the environment by
humans, including the built
environment and agricultural systems,
that reflect aspects of their culture.
Cultural Landscape
A defining characteristic of the culture that
is shared by most, if not all, members.
Culture Trait
A region defined by similar culture traits
and cultural landscape features.
Culture Region
A material object that represents some
greater meaning or refers to something else.
Symbol
The zone of greatest concentration
or homogeneity of the culture traits
that characterize a region.
Core
The area outside of the core of a
culture region in which the culture is
still dominant but less intense.
Domain
The zone of outer influence
for a culture region.
Sphere
The fusion of two distinctive cultural
traits into a unique new hybrid trait.
Syncretism
The traditional symbiotic relationship among
villages, cities, and nomadic tribes in the
Middle East, in which villages grow irrigated
crops, cities provide the central mosque and
bazaar, and tribes herd livestock and provide
transportation and protection.
Ecological
Trilogy
Layers of Tradition:
Culture Regions at Different Scales
Case Study
Chapter 2
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
• Evaluate map layers using a geographic
information system (GIS).
• Define the core of a culture region on the
basis of its main cultural traits.
• Define the domain of a culture region based on
the degree of agreement between culture trait
boundaries.
• Discuss the history and geography of the
Middle East and/or American Southwest.
• Identify the cultural traits that make your subregion
distinctive versus those that are shared with the
entire North American culture region.
• Recognize symbolism as it is used to
promote regional identity.
• Recognize that regional imagery often promotes one
group’s identity while excluding that of others.
Activity 1: The Middle East
• Media stereotypes and perceptions
• Terrorism and U.S. armed intervention
• Fertile Crescent and empires
• Judaism and Islam
• Ecological Trilogy
• Natural landscapes
• Colonialism
Figure 2.6 (p. 42)
Fertile Crescent
Figure 2.7 (p. 43)
Figures 2.5, 2.8-2.11 (pp. 41 & 43-45)
Online Activity
Activity 1: The American Southwest
• Vegetation and climate
• Topography and physiographic provinces
• Three cultures:
- Native American
- Hispanic
- Anglo-Americans
• Economy
Physiographic Regions of the Southwest
Figure 2.13 (p. 46)
Figures 2.12, 2.14-2.16 (pp. 45-47)
Online Activity
Activity 2: Culture Traits of
Your Culture Subregion
(p. 53)
Colloquialisms are vernacular phrases that vary by region.
Map courtesy of Dr. Greg Plumb, East Central University.
Are you in the soda, pop, coke, or mixed region?
Activity 3: Regional Imagery
Many regions have symbolic
landscapes that bind people
together with a shared set of ideas
and memories. They create a
regional identity and represent
human attachment to place.
Many cities and regions preserve
historic landscapes or seek to
construct a new landscape that is
different from anywhere else in
order to attract tourism, jobs, and
promote consumption.
Many regions use more than just the cultural landscape to
construct a unique identity—they often use symbols or
other imagery that is marketed to represent place.
How are these postcards
similar to or different from
contemporary postcards which
portray your local region?