Class 6b: Intro to Cultural GeographyWhat is culture?What does culture include?Artifacts of cultureEnvironmental influenceArchitectureSlide 7Slide 8Slide 9Slide 10Slide 11Slide 12ClothingSlide 14Slide 15FoodSlide 17Slide 18American foodwaysSlide 20Slide 21Slide 22Slide 23Food and place identityPineapples and HawaiiLobsters and MaineWine geographySlide 28Slide 29Slide 30Introduction 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 distributionWhat does culture include?•Language•Religion•Architecture•Clothing•Food•Gender relations•Music•Agriculture•Art•Tolerance•Education•TechnologyArtifacts 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 nomadsSyriaDominican RepublicNewfoundlandNebraskaArchitecture•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 areasAmsterdamMassachusettsChinaArchitecture•House form and orientation as sociofacts–Front porches, front stoops–Sacred direction, sacred wall–Sleeping orientationBrooklynGuyanaPolandYemenKoreaClothing•Based on climate–Warm or cold–Wet or dry•May reflect occupation/status•Also reflect values, traditionsSamoaNetherlandsChinaGuatemalaMoroccoFood•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)•Food hearths mapAmerican 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 salad bowlVinegarTomatoMustardFood 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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