Introduction to Geography
People, Places, and Environment, 4e
Edward F. Bergman
William H. Renwick
Chapter 6: Cultural
Geography
Victoria Alapo, Instructor
Geog 1010
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
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).
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).
CULTURE HEARTHS

The source areas from which radiated ideas,
innovations, and ideologies that change the world
beyond
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.
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).
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.
Content of New York Times cover page.
What do you think???
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/language e.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.
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).
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
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)
Voyages of Contact

World exploration and conquest




Europe’s increased power was due to:
Agricultural Revolution


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)
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).
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).
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.
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)
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




Economic power


Sole superpower
Role of global peacekeeper
Role in democratic ideas, women’s rights, etc
One quarter of world economy
Popular culture


Most recognized brands around the world, e.g. Coca-Cola,
MacDonalds, etc
Challenging local traditions