Class 6b: Intro to Cultural GeographyWhat is culture?Artifacts of cultureEnvironmental influenceArchitectureArchitectureArchitectureClothingFoodFoodAmerican foodwaysAmerican foodwaysAmerican foodwaysAmerican foodwaysFood and place identityPineapples and HawaiiLobsters and MaineWine geographyWine geographyIntroduction to cultural geographyClass 6b: Intro to Cultural GeographyWhat is culture?• Material objects (artifacts)• Interpersonal relations (sociofacts)• Ideas and beliefs (mentifacts)• Each element has a spatial distributionArtifacts of culture• Survival vs. leisure activities– Housing, food, clothing– Arts, recreation• Folk vs. popular culture– Local, homogenous groups– Large, heterogeneous groupsEnvironmental influence• Old: environmental determinism– Physical environment shapes everything– Prone to racist conclusions• New: possibilism– People are the driving force– But environment shapes cultural activityArchitecture• Building materials based on environment – Wood in forested areas– Brick in hot, dry places– Grass or sod on prairies– Skins for nomadsArchitecture• House shape may depend on environment– Interior courtyards for privacy– Open plan for letting in air– Tall, narrow to maximize land– Steep roofs in snowy areasArchitecture• House form and orientation as sociofacts– Front porches, front stoops– Sacred direction, sacred wall– Sleeping orientationClothing• Based on climate– Warm or cold– Wet or dry• May reflect occupation/status• Also reflect values, traditionsFood• Strong part of group identity• Demonstrates innovation, diffusion, acculturation, and assimilation• Can be part of place identity• Back and forth between culture and placeFood• Preferences may depend on environment– Staple foods: rice, sorghum, maize, wheat– Salted meats, fish– Fresh vegetables• Or genetics (lactose intolerance)American foodways• Colonial foods (Thanksgiving)• Foods diffused back to New World– Potatoes to Ireland– Tomatoes to Italy– Chocolate to Spain– Peanut and sweet potato to Africa• Mixing of foods (creole)American foodways• Acculturation (or not)• Southern cooking retains strong regional identity – African slaves cooked on plantations– Less urban influence– Anti-North attitudes discouragedAmerican foodways• More immigrants mean more foods• Similar diffusion pattern to place names• Anti-immigrant attitudes through dieticians– Chili power bad for stomach– Common pot unsanitary– Pickles unhealthyAmerican foodways• Towards “fusion cooking”• Depression, wars encouraged thriftiness• Soldiers ate same food, encountered diversity• Middle class: “exotic” foods• Melting pot Æ salad bowlFood and place identity• Historical connections• Deliberate marketing• Tourism and place “consumption”– Pineapples and Hawaii– Lobster and Maine• Wine appellations and terroirPineapples and Hawaii• Originally South American• Plantations since 1800s• Dole’s national ad campaign in 1907: Hawaiian pineapple• Cheaper to grow in Thailand, Philippines• Hawaii focuses on fresh fruit for touristsLobsters and Maine• Originally food for poor, or fertilizer• Wealthy New Englanders in 1860s– Summering in Maine– Imitating the locals– Only for wealthy vacationers• Now negative symbol for localsWine geography• Production based on environmental factors– Temperate climate (hot summer, wet winter)– Hillsides allow drainage, sunlight– Coarse, well-drained soil• And social factors that determine consumptionWine geography• Terroir: how environment shapes wine flavor– Soil, sunlight, slope, rainfall, etc.– Varies at the vineyard scale• Appellation: place-of-origin label– Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc.– Parmigiana Romano, Stilton, CamembertIntroduction to cultural geography• Material, social, ideological expressions• Spatial distribution of culture traits• Folk vs. popular, survival vs. recreation• Environmental influence on culture• Diffusion and acculturation• Food and place
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