AIM: What does the study of
Human Geography involve?
Do Now: Take a minute to write
down all of the food and drink you
ate before coming to class today.
The Geography of Breakfast
Take a minute to write down all of
the food and drink you ate before
coming to class today.
Breakfast Foods
Food
Place of Origin
Current Production
coffee
Ethiopia
Tropics
oranges
South Asia, India
US, Mediterranean
pork
China, South Asia
Worldwide
wheat
Near East
US, Russia, Argentina
tea
China
Asia
oats
Near East
Temperate Climates
pepper
South America
S. America, Worldwide
COFFEE
Top Ten Coffee Growing Countries (Yellow)
First domesticated in Ethiopia, coffee has come to be a major export crop for
colonial countries and continues to provide much of the export income in
these less developed countries. In Uganda, 70-80% of export revenue is
generated by coffee. Many issues are raised by the continuation of such
colonial economics.
www.coursesmart.com
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Author: James M. Rubenstein
Book Title: Human Geography: The
Cultural Landscape
Read the introduction to chapter one, as
well as “Key Issue 1: How do Geographers
Address Where Things Are”.
Complete the outline for homework over
the weekend. Be prepared to discuss the
information in class on Monday.
Divisions of Geography
Physical Geography
Rocks and Minerals
Landforms
Soils
Animals
Plants
Water
Atmosphere
Rivers and Other Water Bodies
Environment
Climate and Weather
Human Geography
Population
Settlements
Economic Activities
Transportation
Recreational Activities
Religion
Political Systems
Social Traditions
Human Migration
Agricultural Systems
Geography is a bridge between the natural and social sciences.
Geography is a holistic or synthesizing science.
Fieldwork: Geographers as
Modern Explorers and Observers
Israel 1998
Paris 2001
Costa Rica 2006
Mexico 2010
Puerto Rico 2011
California 2011
Introduction to Cultural
Geography
Definition of Cultural
Geography
 History of the Discipline
 Fundamental Concepts
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What is CULTURE?
What are its elements?
•Language
•Religion
•Food
•Clothing
•Art
•Music
•Rituals and Customs
How is it transferred?
•Parents to Children
•Schooling
•Television, Films, Radio, and Internet
What is CULTURE?
Culture is learned behavior that is passed on
by imitation, instruction, and example.
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Culture is almost entirely relative. Proper
behavior shifts from culture to culture.
U.S. current problems: 1) little shared culture;
2) no one is teaching culture.
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For example: sex education - Home? School?
Note: experiencing another culture is useful
for gaining perspective on your own.
Harshest punishment in history?:
banishment in “primitive” cultures.
Geographic Importance of
Culture
Geographers study culture because it leaves
dramatic imprints on the earth, both physical
and cultural.
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Language: a crystal ball into culture.
Religion: strongest determinant of ethics.
Nationalism and Borders
Material Culture: tools, clothes, toys, etc.
Architecture: Suburban garages vs. earlier porches
Religion: affects societal choices; creates sacred
space
The Cultural Landscape
The result of the natural environment and
all of the changes to it as a result of a
particular culture. In other words, it is
cultures imprint on the land. (Carl
Sauer)
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Environmental Determinism: environment
is primary determinant of culture.
Possibilism: humans are primary
determinant of culture, within limits set by
the environment.
N.Y.C.
Environmentally Determined?
What about Bali,
Indonesia?
Key Concepts: Space
Latitude and Longitude - a reference system
designed to provide “absolute” location (as
opposed to relative locations). A system used
to designate space.
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Parallels of Latitude
Meridians of Longitude
The Geographic Grid
Latitude - angular measurement of distance north
or south of the Equator.
Range: 0 - 90
degrees N or S
1o latitude =
approx. 69 miles
(25,000 mi. /360o).
The Geographic Grid
Longitude - the angular measurement of distance
east or west of the Prime Meridian.
Maximum value
reached at
International Date
Line - 180o
Range: 0o 180o E or W
Key Concepts:
Tobler’s 1st Law of Geography
All things are related. However, all other
things being equal, those things that
are closest together are more related.
Related Concepts:
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Distance Decay / Friction of Distance
Spatial Interaction
Movement
Key Concepts
REGION – an area defined by shared
characteristic
 3 Types of Culture Regions
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Formal - all members share a characteristic
Functional - defined by a node of activity and
distance decay from center
Vernacular - perception of cultural identity
Overlapping Formal and
Functional Regions
Vernacular Regions
Diffusion
The spread of people, customs, phenomenon, objects, or ideas.
Four Types:
•Relocation
• Hierarchical
• Contagious
• Stimulus
Use these terms to explain
the spread of:
•Diseases
•Popular Music
•Democratic Revolutions
•Religious Practices
Sense of Place
Every place is unique. Imagine where you
lived as a child. Where is home?
Why and how do places take on meaning
for human individuals?
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Sensory
Architecture
Symbolic
Why is each place unique?
Key works: Place and Placelessness Relph, 1978
Topophilia - Tuan, Yi-Fu
Sense of Place
Groveland, CA
Bourbon Street
What kinds of
cultural values are
reflected in each of
these American
houses?
Gated community?
Where are we? What values are reflected
in each? What relation to physical
environment?
Timber House, Switzerland
Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey
Yurt on Mongolian Steppe
Suburban Home, Chicago
Human-Environment Interaction
(Cultural Ecology)
Successful cultures are those that adapt
well to their environments. (Chaco
Canyon, North Africa, Fertile Crescent,
Easter Island)
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico
Easter Island, Polynesia
Key Concepts:
Core-Periphery
Core
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Periphery
U.S., Europe, Japan,
Australia
Wealthy
Powerful
Controls Media and
Finance
Technologically
advanced
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Less Developed
Poor
Dependent upon
Core countries for:
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Education
Technology
Media
Military Equipment
Key Concepts:
Core-Periphery
Geography and Politics
Ties to Military
Role in Colonization
Role in Imperialism
Role in Cold War
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Ethnocentrism
Masculinism
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Foreign - 4) Situated in an abnormal or
improper place. 5) Not natural: alien.
The American Heritage Dictionary
Globalization
The increasing
interconnectedness
of different parts of
the world through
common processes
of economic,
political, and cultural
change. Economic
globalization is
happening fastest.
Panama, 1997