Chapter 4
“Folk and Popular Culture”
“Culture is the agent, the natural area is the medium, the
cultural landscape is the result’
- Carl Sauer
Culture – …
Popular Culture:
Folk Culture:
Folk Culture:
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Pop Culture:
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The following was developed by Sir Julian Huxley
Artifact – ... – eg. Spoon - Anthropology
Mentifact – … – eg. Religion, language and laws - Ideology
Sociofact – … – eg. Families, politics, economics and tribes –
Sociology
“A dwelling, for example, is an artifact providing shelter, it can
be a sociofact reflecting the nature of the family and it can be
a mentifact summarizing a cultural groups convictions shown
by design, orientation and building materials.”
One more example:
Clothing:
Artifact – offers protection
Sociofact – identifies an individual’s role in society –
especially a uniform
Mentifact – reflects the values of the wearer – religious
clothing, baggy pants, cowboy hat and boots, colour of
clothing etc.
Other Key Terms:
•Cultural convergence
•Cultural divergence
•Acculturation
•Cultural Innovation
•Cultural Realm
•Cultural Region – Core, domain, sphere
•Syncretism – eg. Greek music is a combination European
and Middle Eastern music.
•Taboo
Geographers are interested in the origin, diffusion and
integration of culture with other social characteristics.
Geographers are also interested in the relationship
between culture and the physical environment.
What do you see in
this landscape?
A geographer sees:
•Nature: …
•Habitat: …
•Artifact: …
•System: …
•Problem: …
•Wealth: …
•Ideology: …
•History: …
•Place: …
•Aesthetic: …
Article: “The Beholding Eye, by D. W. Meinic
Discussion:
How is culture reflected in the following:
•Music – all the types and styles
•Sports - Soccer
•Food – Italian, French, Chinese
•Clothing – drive around and see all the different kinds
among young people
•Housing styles- colour, material
•Role of Women – empowerment, status
Cultural landscape: The visible, material landscape that
cultural groups create as they inhabit the earth.
Write down the aspects of Culture you see in the next few
slides?
Culture is very visible in the style of homes that dot the
urban landscape. Please view the slide show on home
styles and view the many architectural styles seen in
Toronto
Vocabulary List
Unit III. Cultural Patterns and Processes, Part 1—Basic Vocabulary and
Concepts
Concepts of Culture
Diffusion types
Acculturation
• Expansion—hierarchical,
Assimilation
contagious, stimulus
Cultural adaptation
• Relocation
Cultural core/periphery pattern
Cultural ecology
Innovation adoption
Cultural identity
Maladaptive diffusion
Cultural landscape
Sequent occupance
Cultural realm
Culture
Culture region
• Formal—core, periphery
• Functional—node
• Vernacular (perceptual)—regional self-awareness
Folk and Popular Culture
Adaptive strategies
Anglo-American landscape
characteristics
Architectural form
Built environment
Folk culture
Folk food
Folk house
Folk songs
Folklore
Material culture
Nonmaterial culture
Popular culture
Survey systems
Traditional architecture
The End