Cultural Geography
Fall 2004
Test 1(September 21, 2004): Review
Structure: 30 points multiple choice (etc.) and 20 points essay
Geographers- interested in how things are interrelated- look for evidence of spatial systems
Geography- the spatial science, "description of the earth." The study of spatial variation- in terms of human and physical space - the study of relationships and connections between places or events and within space and systems.
Dominating interests of Geography:
1. Aerial variation on the Earth's surface (human and natural environments)
2. Focus on spatial systems
3. Regional analysis
Human Geography- study of the world and environments that humans have created- the links to the physical world, our impacts and spatial/regional variations.
Core Geographic Concepts: Basic approach- spatial focus based upon systems and analysis (identifying and interpreting spatial patterns is fundamental to understanding human culture and environmental impact.)
Geographers are concerned with-
1. Spatial behavior
2. Spatial relationships
3. Spatial processes
Basic ways to assess the space around us:
§ Location- Absolute- uses a coordinate system to give precise measure or Relative- position of a place relative to other places
§ Direction- based on cardinal points (N,S,E,W) and cultural/place related
§ Distance- measured between - used for movement
Elements common to spatial distributions:
Human Impact- almost no areas exist that have not been impacted by humans Human methods of impact include:
1. Fire-
2. Agriculture-
3. Industry- pollution, deforestation (early power was wood-based), mining, etc.
4. Built landscape
Tobler's First Law of Geography- near things are more alike
Accessibility- overcoming "friction of distance" (distance decay)
Connectivity- tangible and intangible ways that places are connected (telephone lines, retail outlets, roads, rivers, language, families, etc.)
Network- routes connecting places- structured and channeled flows
Spatial Diffusion- dispersion of an idea of item from a central point (hearth)
Globalization- world-wide interconnection of people and societies- culture, politics, economics, environmental quality, etc.
Formal Region: Regions with measurable and internal homogeneity.
Spatial System: Organization and identification of regions based upon functional integration. An example is a city with suburbs and farmlands.
Functional Region: A structured (urban-centered) system of interaction. It has a core and a periphery.
Perceptual (Vernacular) Region: Defined by the perceptions of a people.
Maps: tools we use to show and determine geographic classification. They represent the earth's surface at different levels of generalization- a model of the 3-D earth in 2-D
Main Map Properties- Area, shape, distance and direction
Map Scale
Geographic Information System- computer-based analysis tool that combines digital maps and database for the production of maps, resource management and research-based analysis.
CULTURE
Traits of culture- learned behaviors, attitudes and group beliefs, behavioral patterns, social structure, environmental/social perspectives and knowledge of technologies
Basic Observations:
1. Societies have a limited number of identifying cultural characteristics
2. Human spatial behavior has common patterns and processes
3. Variation are rooted in the distribution, numbers and movement of people
Culture- specialized behavior patterns, understandings, beliefs and social systems that summarize a people's learned way of life.
Culture Traits- units of learned behavior (language, objects, tools, sports, beliefs, etc.), basic building blocks or culture
Culture Complex- functionally inter-related cultural traits (US and the automobile)
Globalization- mobility of people, goods, money and ideas (distinction of cultural realms is blurred as regions are becoming more connected.)
Environmental Determinism- belief that the physical environment shapes humans, their actions and thoughts (relative to technology, cost, national goals and links to the world
Possibilism- people, not the environment, are the dynamic forces of cultural development.
Cultural divergence- differences in cultural development in different realms
Carrying Capacity- # of people supportable within an area given the available technologies
Agricultural Origins and Spread- no agreement whether plants or animals domesticated first.
Domestication- Mexicans- first true farmers (5,000 years ago)
Women were major innovators in agricultural crop production, food preparation and clothing
Innovations- baskets, clothing, poison, dye, medicine, recreational drugs (grain for beer before bread)
Culture Hearths- Centers of innovation and invention with key cultural traits- cradle of civilizations
Agricultural Society- created sedentary residences, labor specializations, religious structures (fertility/harvest rites)
The Structure of Culture
Ideological Subsystem- consists of ideas, beliefs and knowledge of a culture
· Mentifacts (legend, theology, mythology, etc.)
Technological Subsystem- material objects and the means of their use
· Artifacts (tools, etc to feed, clothes, shelter, transport, defend and amuse)
Sociological Subsystem- patterns of interpersonal relations
• Sociofacts- (concern economics, politics, military, religion, kinship, etc.)
Nothing in a culture stands totally alone
Cultural change is induced by diffusion and innovation
Innovation: cultural change initiated within the social group itself.
Cultural Lag: Resistance to useful innovation
Spatial diffusion process where ideas or innovations are transmitted between groups across space.
Relocation diffusion- people move and take their culture with them
Expansion diffusion (contagious/hierarchical diffusion): spread of an idea
Stimulus diffusion: implies imitative response to a new idea by a receptive population not able to fully adopt the specific trait itself.
Acculturation is exhibited when a culture group adopts characteristics of another, dominant group.
Diffusion can be accelerated and facilitated by improvements in transportation and communication and by the intermixing of peoples and cultures. It can be limited and inhibited by diffusion barriers that may be physical or cultural in nature
Diffusion Barriers: friction of distance, time-distance decay Barriers: mountains, oceans, cultural obstacles
Syncretism: Fusion of old and new
Spatial Interaction and Spatial Behavior
Flow-determining factors:
Complementarity: conditions of supply at one point and effective demand elsewhere. (Core/periphery relationships, etc.)
Transferability: statement of the cost of movement relative to the value gained from it- expression of commodity mobility. Inter-related conditions:
1. Characteristics/value of product
2. Movement distance (time, money, other factors)
Ability of commodity to bear cost of movement
Distance Decay: decline of an activity or function with increasing distance from point of origin (assures the greatest intensity of interaction over short distances.)
Friction of distance: distance has a retarding effect on interaction due to increasing penalties in time and cost
Gravity Model: (model of spatial interaction) The attractive force existing between areas is related to force of gravity. Distance is calculated as travel time or cost. Suggests that the size of interacting places as well as the distance separating them is important in predicting spatial exchanges
Law of Retail Gravitation- explains how large cities have greater drawing power than smaller ones.
Movement bias: resulting aggregate regularity of flow
Distance bias- short distance over long.
Direction bias- actual flows are restricted to a few directions
Network bias- the presence or absence of connecting channels
MobilityTypes: Circulation- daily/temporary uses of space (no relocation of residence) and Migration- Permanently leave a territory (a place)
Activity Space: Area in which each person operates whose extent differs in accordance with that person’s age, sex, wealth, employment, or other personal variables. Daily activities are both space and time consuming.
Space-time Prism: the volume of space and length of time within which activities must be confined. See figure 3.10 on page 74.
Critical Distance- distance where cost, effort and means strongly influence willingness to travel- the constraint of distance decay is evident.
Space-time Convergence- result of technological advance allowing information, goods and people to be transported at increasingly shorter time frames
Space-Cost Convergence- Cost reaches a distance where any further distance is the same price (cost of letter across town is same as across country, etc.)
Radio has been the most successful information transmission tool in history
Flows between points are and over area are influenced by:
§ Distance decay
§ Explained by gravity/potential models
§ Determined by life stage, mobility and socioeconomic characteristics
Mental maps: summarize a person’s acquired information and perceptions. Near places are better known and preferred to distant ones.
Migration- permanent relocation of a residential place- contributed to the evolution of human culture.
Principal Migration Patterns: Intercontinental, Intracontinental/Interregional and Rural-to-Urban- poor farmers move to cities to look for jobs or escape unrest)
Types of Migration
Forced- 12 million Africans brought to Western hemisphere as slaves
Reluctant- international refugees or government colonization plans
Voluntary- majority of migration
Motivation: Poverty- 30% of world population make less than $1/day, Environmental refugees abandon land that can no longer support them
Push & Pull Factors Controlling migration- Negative factors (environment, political or economic) versus attractive opportunity somewhere else.
Sample Essay Questions for the Test:
1. What is a geographer? What are the core geographic concepts and what tools/techniques do geographers use to explore these?
2. Review and illustrate the definition, content, and means of transmittal of a culture through an example of a culture complex. Describe a culture including traits, complexes, regions and realms.
3. Explain how the concept of Retail Gravitation works in relation to the gravity model and distance decay (page 70 - "breaking point" equation between cities. How does a person’s Time-space prism figure into these decision?