ESPM 50AC Midterm Flashcards

What does 'site' refer to in urban geography?

The actual place described by its environmental qualities.

What is the 'situation' of a city?

An urban area's relative advantages compared to other places.

What are the environmental challenges of New Orleans' site?

It lies largely below sea level, on a high water table, lacking natural drainage.

What is the significance of the Southeastern Louisiana wetlands?

They are vital for the economy, industry, infrastructure, fisheries, and culture.

What has caused catastrophic land loss in the Mississippi River Delta?

Oil and gas infrastructure, navigation channels, and levees preventing sediment from reaching the delta.

What is the 'Levees Only' system of water management?

A policy focused on creating earthen embankments to contain the Mississippi River.

How did the 'Levees Only' approach impact Louisiana's coast?

It contributed to coastal erosion and land loss.

When was New Orleans founded?

1718.

What was the sociocultural geography of New Orleans in the antebellum era?

A Creole lower city and an Anglo-dominant upper city.

What was the impact of the Civil War on African American settlement in New Orleans?

Blacks settled in the least desirable, highest-risk areas.

What was the effect of the drainage system implemented in the 20th century?

It allowed the city to expand into low-lying areas, concentrating African Americans in risky zones.

What environmental impacts did Hurricane Katrina have?

Destruction of wetlands, saltwater inundation, and toxic pollution from levee failures.

What combination of factors led to the Hurricane Katrina disaster?

Environmental degradation and policy failure, particularly the 'Levees Only' approach.

How did racial geography change after Hurricane Katrina?

African Americans were disproportionately affected, with 60% of their homes inundated.

What were the main focuses of the rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina?

Levee reinforcement and market-based approaches prioritizing private sector control.

What is the goal of community-based approaches in recovery?

To recognize structural inequality and empower communities through inclusive decision-making.

What does Donald Worster's environmental history framework include?

Nature, social organization, and culture.

What is the instrumentalist perspective on nature?

It views humans as active subjects controlling nature as a passive object.

What does the intersubjective perspective on nature emphasize?

A collaborative relationship between society and nature.

What is the intra-subjective perspective on nature?

It views society and nature as a unified whole, often rooted in indigenous beliefs.

What does 'racial formation' refer to?

The sociohistorical process of creating, transforming, and destroying racial categories.

What are hegemonic narratives?

Processes through which dominant culture maintains its position by projecting its worldview.

What are counter-hegemonic narratives?

Opposing narratives that challenge structural and cultural racisms.

What was the impact of socioeconomic stratification in New Orleans?

It concentrated poor people of color in low-lying areas, leading to increased suffering during disasters.

What percentage of flood victims in the tri-parish metropolitan area were African Americans?

65%.

What was the economic impact of rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina?

Increased economic and racial polarization, gentrification, and reduced housing stock.

How did media coverage during Hurricane Katrina portray race?

It presented starkly contrasted narratives, labeling black individuals as 'looters' and white individuals as 'finders'.

What is ideological racism?

A perspective that sees racism as a matter of discriminatory intent and prejudiced attitudes, often viewed as static.

What is structural racism?

A system of power manifested in institutionalized forms of inequality, such as residential segregation and economic stratification.

What challenges did post-Katrina rebuilding efforts in New Orleans face?

They had to confront the legacy of residential segregation and balance the rights of displaced residents with affordable housing development.

What is sovereignty in the context of property rights?

Supreme political authority held in a geographic region or over a group of people, granting the ultimate authority to manage property.

What does the 'bundle of rights' refer to?

It refers to how property rights are divided among individuals or the community.

What are the types of property rights?

Private, state, common, control, use, and usufruct rights.

What is private property?

An individual right to exclude others from the use or benefit of something.

What is state property?

An institutional or corporate right to exclude, where the state exercises exclusive rights over assets.

What are common property rights?

Rights of community members not to be excluded from using a resource or benefit.

What are control rights?

Rights that confer authority to make decisions about how a property may be used.

What are use rights?

Rights that confer the ability to use a property in ways specified by the holder of control rights.

What are usufruct rights?

Limited rights that allow individuals or communities to use a property without owning it or being able to alienate it.

What are Locke's first rights?

The idea that every person has a property in their own person, justified by their labor on the land.

How did the introduction of money affect property rights according to Locke?

It transformed the right to the fruits of labor into a right of unlimited accumulation, as money is durable and does not spoil.

What is property as a social process?

The concept that property is a man-made, political institution that creates and maintains relationships between people and things.

What are collective claims in property rights?

Rights related to the collective interests of a group, such as the right not to be excluded in common property systems.

What are de jure claims?

Formal property rights established by law.

What are de facto claims?

Informal property rights established by practice.

What is the Lockean social contract?

The idea that men in the state of nature are free and equal but live in insecurity, leading to the formation of governments by consent.

What is possessive individualism?

An early American interpretation of the social contract prioritizing the protection of individual property rights.

What is populist agrarianism?

An interpretation of the social contract that focuses on a broad distribution of rights, including health and well-being.

What is acculturation?

The adoption of dominant American cultural values and practices.

What is assimilation?

The incorporation into mainstream American social, economic, and political institutions, often involving the loss of one's own cultural past.

What was the takeaway from the lecture on Hurricane Katrina?

A combination of neglect for infrastructure and decision-making led to the disaster.

What is the difference between 'site' and 'situation' in the context of events?

'Site' refers to details about the event's location, while 'situation' refers to the context surrounding the event.

What is the impact of environmental segregation post-Katrina?

It led to a disproportionate effect on disadvantaged communities.

What is racial formation?

The idea that race is a dynamic social construct influenced by evolving powers and cultures over time.

What are racial projects?

Ways in which racial structures are organized, such as through protests, activism, or laws like Jim Crow.

What is hegemony?

A dominant social structure that takes control of an entire population and encourages assimilation and acculturation.

What did Michelle Norris discuss in her opinion piece?

The importance of six words in understanding race and identity in America.

What is a common sentiment among people discussing race?

People are eager to discuss race, but it remains a sensitive topic.

What does the term 'hyphenated Americans' refer to?

Individuals who identify with multiple cultural backgrounds, often feeling divided between them.

What is required for progress in racial development?

Collective realistic work to discuss and overcome barriers of sensitivity.

What did john a. powell discuss in 'Race: The Power of an Illusion'?

The complexities of race and its implications in society.

What does structural racism refer to?

A systemic form of racism that is embedded in the policies and practices of social institutions.

What perspective does powell provide in 'Towards a Transformative View of Race'?

Racism is a structural, multi-person idea, and solutions should target root causes like poverty.

What was a key criticism in the Democracy Now segment about government response to Katrina?

Elected officials were more concerned about their political positions than the needs of disaster victims.

How did mainstream media portray hurricane survivors during Katrina?

They exaggerated claims of violence and lawlessness, reinforcing racist stereotypes against Black Americans.

What were the outcomes of racial disparities after Hurricane Katrina?

Continued gentrification, population shifts, and community resistance.

What does the video 'New Orleans: Recovery or Removal?' highlight?

The difficulties faced by different people in recovering and adapting after Hurricane Katrina.

What is the focus of Josh Lewis's article on New Orleans?

The interaction of water, technology, and bureaucracy in serving people and nature.

What did certain Congressional Republicans advocate for in response to Hurricane Katrina?

A response based on deregulation and tax incentives to stimulate private investment.

What is the concept of property as discussed in Lecture 7?

Property is viewed as a human-made institution that grants rights to individuals.

What are the different types of property rights mentioned?

Exclusion/non-exclusion, control rights, use rights, transfer rights, de jure and de facto rights.

What does C.B. Macpherson argue about property?

Property is an evolving concept that gives people rights to ideas representing property.

What is the significance of Locke's 'Second Treatise on Government'?

It lays the foundation for contract theory regarding property rights.

What is the primary focus of the Declaration of Independence?

It serves as the basis for the American government, emphasizing rights over property.

What characterizes Northeastern woodland Indigenous societies?

A subsistence horticulture and hunter-gatherer culture with a focus on reproduction.

What is the significance of corn, bean, and squash horticulture?

It was the basis of New England tribes, utilizing slash and burn agriculture for crop rotation.

What does Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) encompass?

Factual observations and cultural practices for managing community resources and values.

What does the Corn Mother myth represent?

It emphasizes women's roles in food production within Indigenous cultures.

How did English colonists organize their production?

They combined subsistence and market-oriented production, circulating surplus for trade.

How did colonial ideas shape perceptions of nature?

Nature was viewed through religious lenses, often seen as hostile and needing to be subdued.

What does Thomas Cole's 'The Oxbow' depict?

A contrast between raw nature and landscapes shaped by human intervention.

What was the impact of the fur trade on Indigenous societies?

It led to social dislocation, ecological change, and increased dependency on trade.

What is the 'Ecological Indian' narrative?

A stereotype portraying Indigenous people as inherently in harmony with nature.

What is the implication of the stereotype regarding Native American governance?

It may de-legitimize the efforts of tribes to govern themselves if they are not perceived as traditional.

What burning practices did Native Americans employ?

They used burning to clear underbrush, promote grasses favorable to animals, and increase farming yield.

What does Kat Anderson argue about Native Californian resource management?

She argues that Native Californians developed a sophisticated understanding of nature and lived in ecological harmony.

What is Shepherd Krech's argument regarding Indigenous peoples?

He argues that Indigenous resource management sometimes led to ecosystem degradation and that they were not true ecologists or conservationists.

What does the term 'Frontier' refer to in American history?

It refers to the image of settlers characterized as crude backwoodsmen engaging in production west of the Appalachian Mountains.

What is the Agrarian Myth?

The ideology that sweat mixed with soil provides the basis of American democracy, with the yeoman farmer as a central figure.

What does Manifest Destiny entail?

The belief that American expansion across the continent to the Pacific was predetermined by God.

What is Thomas Gast's 'American Progress' (1870) about?

It is a prominent artistic representation of Manifest Destiny.

What did Fredrick Jackson Turner define as the 'frontier process'?

He defined it as taming the frontier being in every American's interest to develop the American character.

What is the focus of New Western History?

It rejects Turner's terminology and focuses on place and process, emphasizing invasion, conquest, colonization, and exploitation.

What does Indigenous scholarship assert about U.S. history?

It asserts that U.S. history is a history of settler colonialism, characterized by white supremacy and violence against Indigenous populations.

What are the six stages of the social construction of Native Americans?

1. Noble Savage, 2. Brutal Savage, 3. Conquered Peoples, 4. Dependent Indian, 5. Ecological Indian, 6. Independent Indian.

What does Albert Bierstadt's 'Indian Canoe' (1868) portray?

It emphasizes the vastness of nature and portrays the Noble Savage.

What question does Charles Bird King's painting raise?

It questions what is considered 'civilization' versus 'savage'.

What does Theodore Kaufmann's work depict?

It relates to the Brutal Savage period, showing Native peoples as impediments to progress.

What does Anton Gag's 'Attack on New Ulm' (1904) illustrate?

It depicts Native Americans attacking a white settlement, belonging to the Brutal Savage stage.

What does W. H. Childs' 'Execution at Mankato' (1862) show?

It shows the mass hanging of thirty-eight Dakota Sioux men, restoring order by removing the Native threat.