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The Human Mosaic A Cultural Approach to Human Geography 12th Edition
Mona Domosh Roderick p. Neumann Patricia L. Price Terry G. jordan-Bychkov C W.H. Freeman & CO.
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Chapter 1 Human geography: A cultural approach
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Geography: The study of spatial patterns and of differences and similarities from one place to another in environment and culture.
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What is geography? The study of spatial variation
How – and why – things differ from place to place on the surface of the earth The study of how observable spatial patterns evolved through time
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What is Culture? Culture The specialized behavioral patterns, understandings, adaptations, and social systems that summarize a group of people’s learned way of life. (whew!) Buildings (architecture, materials) Farming Patterns (subsistence vs. corporate) Language Ways of earning a living
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Culture (1) A total way of life held in common by a group of people, including such learned features as: Speech Ideology Behavior Livelihood Technology Government
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Culture HUMAN Geography:
(2) The local, customary way of doing things—a way of life; an ever-changing process in which a group is actively engaged; a dynamic mix of symbols, beliefs, speech, and practices. HUMAN Geography: The study of the relationships between people and the places and spaces in which they live.
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What is Culture? (cont.) Imitation Instruction Example
Culture is transmitted by: Imitation Instruction Example Culture is NOT biological, it is LEARNED The visible and invisible evidence of culture are all parts of spatial diversity
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Structure of Culture Ideological
Any Culture can be viewed in three subsystems: Ideological Mentifacts – “ideas, beliefs, knowledge” Technological Artifacts – “stuff” Sociological Sociofacts – “expected/accepted behavior”
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Spatial variation: predominant religion
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Why spatial variation exists: earthquakes
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What is geography? Geography is a spatial science Spatial behavior of people Spatial relationships between places Spatial processes that create or maintain those behaviors and relationships
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How to Understand Human Geography: Space and Place
Term used to connote the objective, quantitative, theoretical, model-based, economics-oriented type of geography that seeks to understand spatial systems and networks through the application of social science. Or… A scientific approach to cultural geography
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How to Understand Human Geography: Space and Place
Term used to connote the subjective, idiographic, humanistic, culturally oriented type of geography that seeks to understand the unique character of individual regions and places, rejecting the principles of science as flawed and unknowingly biased. Or… An approach that focuses on each individual situation
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Example of Model Building: The Latin American City (Fig 1.3)
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Themes in Human Geography
Region Mobility Globalization Nature-Culture Cultural Landscape
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Region Formal Functional Vernacular
A grouping of like places or the functional union of places to form a spatial unit. Formal Functional Vernacular
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Regions Formal, or uniform, regions
Areas of essential uniformity in one or a limited combination of physical or cultural features The characterizing features are most clearly defined at the core (node) The characterizing features lessen in dominance toward its periphery
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Wheat-farming formal regions (Figure 1.2)
Formal Regions Inhabited by people who share one or more cultural traits. Wheat-farming formal regions (Figure 1.2)
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Regions Functional, or nodal, region
A spatial system defined by the interactions and connections that give it a dynamic, organizational basis Also follows core/periphery patterns Example: Deerwood has both Brainerd and Aitkin papers Example: Minnesota
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Denver, Colorado (Figure 1.5)
Functional Region Functions as a unit politically, socially, or economically. Denver, Colorado (Figure 1.5)
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East v. West/North v. South in Germany (Fig. 1.6)
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Vernacular Region A region perceived to exist by its inhabitants.
“THE VALLEY” (san fernando, northwest l.A.) (Figure 1.7)
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Regions Vernacular, or perceptual, regions
Less rigorously structured than the formal and functional regions Reflect feelings and images rather than objective data Little Italy, Chinatown, gang ‘turf’ Boundaries depend on the perception of the individual
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Vernacular Region Twins’ Territory Brainerd Lakes Region
cab.blog.gustavus.edu brainerddispatch.com
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3-10 Palestinian Student’s View of the World Figure 3.20
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. Palestinian Student’s View of the World Figure 3.20 3-10
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Mobility Mobility: Diffusion:
The relative ability of people, ideas, or things to move freely through space. Diffusion: The movement of people, ideas, or things from one location outward toward other locations.
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Mobility through diffusion
Relocation diffusion Expansion diffusion Hierarchical diffusion Contagious diffusion Stimulus diffusion
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Diffusion of HIV in Ohio (Fig. 1.9)
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Barriers to Diffusion Time-Distance Decay Absorbing Permeable
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Diffusion or Circulation?
Implies an ongoing set of movements of people, ideas, or things that have no particular center or periphery. Migrations
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Globalization Binding together of all the lands and peoples of the world into an integrated system driven by capitalistic free markets Cultural diffusion is rapid Independent states are weakened Cultural homogenization is encouraged
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Human Development Index (Fig 1.11)
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Nature-Culture REFERS TO THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
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Schools of Thought in Nature-Culture
Environmental Determinism: Cultures are shaped directly or indirectly by the physical environment. Possibilism: Humans, not the physical environment, are the primary active force; any environment offers a number of different possibilities for cultures to develop; choices among these possibilities are guided by cultural heritage.
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Schools of Thought in Nature-Culture
Environmental perception: Culture depends more on what people perceive the environment to be than on the actual character of the environment; perception is colored by culture. Humans as modifiers of the earth: Humans mold nature.
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L: Chongqing (Chungking) and R: San Francisco (Figure 1.13)
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Post-Katrina New Orleans (Figure 1.14) Environmental Perception
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Cultural Landscape Roads Cities Houses Parks Commercial buildings
All the built forms that cultural groups create in inhabiting the Earth (visible imprint) Roads Cities Houses Parks Commercial buildings
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Cultural Landscape cont.
Reflects a culture’s: Needs Values Attitudes towards the Earth Contains valuable evidence about the origin, spread, and development of cultures
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Cultural Landscapes cont.
Ecological events Not all early societies lived in harmony with their environment!!!! Hollywood misconceptions Real examples of ecological disasters Pleistocene overkill Roman granary of North Africa Easter Island Modern issues
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Modern Issues In the past people have misused the land Dust Bowl
Over-farming Deforestation
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Some Cultural Landscapes Yunnan Province, China (Fig. 1.16)
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Yokohama, Japan (Figure 1.19)
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Cultural Landscape cont.
Symbolic Landscape Landscape that expresses the values, beliefs, and meanings of a particular culture
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Chinatown, San Francisco (Fig. 1.17)
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Prague (Figure 1.20)
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Cultural Landscape cont.
3 principles of CL: Settlement forms Land-division patterns Architectural styles
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Settlement forms Spatial arrangement of buildings, roads, towns, and other features Nucleation – a dense settlement form Dispersed – people are more spread out
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Settlement Forms Grid layout vs. Organic
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Westmoreland, Imperial Valley, California (Fig. 1.22)
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Land-division patterns
Reveal the way a culture has divided the land for economic, social, and political uses Towns in the U.S. Residential areas Industrial areas Government areas
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Land-division patterns
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Architecture Exterior materials Decoration Layout
Is there a purpose to the the design? Examining architecture of a culture reveals a lot about the people
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American Ranch House (Figure 1.21)
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Canadian Log House (Figure 1.23)
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