Cultural Geography

Fall 2004

Seminar One: Essay

Due: October 5, 2004

Task: Write an essay (2-3 pages) from the point of view of a Cultural Geographer regarding Dr. McEvaine’s lecture. Your essay should identify the main points of the talk and discuss the talk in terms of cultural principles (traits, complex, etc.), spatial relationships and other geographic principles (space-time or space-cost conversion, etc.)

Include this in your paper:

1. Overview of talk

2. Relevance of talk as a geography concept

3. Identify cultural traits and complexes that can be identified as part of the talk

4. What geographic principles could have been used to improve the talk?

5. What geographic principles will inter-relate with this topic (space-time convergence, etc.)

6. Summarize your views as a geographer

Topic: (Mis)understanding History: Shaping Modern Myth and Popular Values

Presentation Preview

Dr. McElvaine will begin his exploration of the impact of twentieth-century popular culture on mass (mis)understanding of history with an examination of the extraordinary influence of two films, D.W Griffith's Birth of a Nation (1915) and Oliver Stone's JFK (1991). These movies were cinematic masterpieces that persuasively presented extremely misleading versions of history. Utilizing additional examples from film, music, and television over the past half century, Dr. McElvaine will consider the role of popular culture in shaping American values. He argues that the "culture war" that has raged since the 1960s is a phony war in which the forces of popular culture, so often vilified for undermining traditional values, have in fact been working in concert with American business to maximize consumption.

http://www.ptk.org/nchcss/seminars/1.htm