GEO4421 Final Exam Study Guide 3 26 Religion and Culture Culture a set of behaviors socially constructed not natural and grouped together to divide people Laden with power dynamics and often used as a means to exploit people It is a product of a long series of conquests throughout history It is geographically determined by the way individuals divide situate themselves Sense of place a reason for someone to identify w a place create an emotional connection to it It is not necessary to live near someone to have the same sense of place ex Amish communities around the US share a sense of place It is a social construct an artifact of power relations The world is incredibly complicated with varying webs of interactions and connections that are represented in shorthand partial views to model space time compression SPT In an attempt to represent define ourselves in this complex world we relate to a sense of place It serves as a simplified way to represent a complex series of connections It also divides people by distinguishing who is included excluded and why Ex West v Rest norm v racial other chick fil A debate o Certain representation get the upper hand and are more widely accepted o Neil Ferguson argued that certain cultures are demonstratively better o Sowell argued that bad behaviors will be weeded out through social evolution 3 28 What is Religion Kaba God Hijj Ihram arguing Plain of Arafat sermon Jamarat Tawaf Sa i Mina feast Fest of sacrifice Religion a means to explain the world where people fit into it their identity community divides ppl explains the unexplained Serves as a connection to extra social identities NOT a social production when referring to a higher power National Geographic documentary on Islam don t need to know the order but need to know the terms symbolizes the worship of God Allah at the heart of Mecca Saudi Arabia Referred to as the house of sacred pilgrimage to Mecca Saudi Arabia only Muslims are allowed into the Holy City state of being calmness respect patience Men must wear 2 pieces of white cloth no sex grooming or chance for absolution can climb mountain of Mercy Where Mohammad delivered his last stoning of Satan 3 pillars circling the Kaba 7 times striding between the 2 hills representing Ishmael s feat to find food water Tent city figures twice on the way to Plain of Afrafat and after Jamarat heading back to Mecca for the largest sacrifice of sheep in the world can get your hair cut last stop on the Hajj Why did we watch this The world is a complicated place and in order to determine our place we create a sense of place One of the easiest places to see this establishment of sense of place is through religion and the Hajj is a prime example 4 2 Sense of Place and the Hajj Place making process of negotiating our experiences to determine what commonalities we share 1 2 Agonistic 3 Informed by experience Influenced by power place making is argumentative negotiated through our experiences knowledge authority presentation in the world and our daily life Hajj example of one effort to place making Informed by experience being the primary focus and Ismael from Malaysia executive golfer large family 1 Dr O Leary from Texas Dr in Neuroscience Halel from S Africa radio host w Islam a What did they share in common They were all on their first pilgrimage performed the same actions engaged in Ihram cut their hair at the end and share the same beliefs faith b How did their experiences differ i O Leary constantly questioned on truly being Muslim Didn t fit into to the masses was a white woman with blond hair and blue eyes ii Halel felt he was discriminated against for being black Struggled at Mina tent city 2 Agonistic negotiate debate experiences O Leary and Halel negotiated to fit in feel accepted a Halel left his assigned tent and moved into a predominantly black tent with individuals who accepted him b O Leary found acceptance towards the end of her pilgrimage when a Muslim man engaged with her at they prayed together She constantly had to prove her self as a devote Muslim c All were fundamentally challenged through their agonistic experience of going through the Hajj 3 Influenced by power the social constructions created through race distinctions create the influence of power a O Leary was discriminated against for being blonde with blue eyes b Halel was discriminated against for being black i Both felt like outsiders were cast into different categories distinctions based on race appearance Is Sense of Place for the Hajj global or local Dr O Leary Mostly Global Texas is very Catholic few Muslims so she is seen as an outsider Ismeal Global and local High concentration of Muslim s in Malaysia gov t established set protocol for Hajj Halel Global and slightly local Slight representation on Islam as seen through his Islamic focused radio station According to the theory of Sense of Place all pilgrims come from around the world with different experiences cultures and languages so they pilgrimage together to one global sense of place Mecca Religion and sense of place created Through the practice of religion establishing a certain belief system acting upon it ex Hajj sense of place is BUT each individual experience is different due to their informed experiences Sense of place cannot simply be one category it must be linked by geographic locations Out of religious practices other realms of life society are impacted that may not have direct religious ties o State governments for the Hajj Saudi Arabia had to build up an infrastructure to handle influx of people Malaysia developed a formal system to transport pilgrims o Family dynamics altered by individual relations with other religions Dr O Leary as an outsider of her family Jesus Campus Documentary Key Characters o Levi Boy with the Rattail singled out in the film as a leader of his generation Spoke of his conversion to Evangelism at age 5 for he felt he didn t have anything else to live for o Pastor Becky The Pastor in charge owns run Jesus Camp Stated her main focus is on the younger generation because they are the most malleable models the concept of suicide bombers who feel so strong about their cause they are willing to give up their life for it Culture wars Reclaim America for Christ Profound moment before camp started when Pastor Becky prayed over the room and the technological equipment to prevent the Devil from interfering Great deal of screaming proclamations crescendos speaking in tongues Unique sense of place