Cultural Geography

Cultural Landscape

unique interaction between people and environments

Sense of place

direct experience leads to understanding a place; must interact with it

Placelessness

occurs when a place has no special meaning to the place they are or could be; ex. Strip malls

Carl Sauer

coined the term cultural landscapes at Berkeley

JB Jackson

believed that landscapes can be understood as a reflection of human identity

Life world geography

go out and collect the information; experience, diverse

Official geography

learning geography through a class; objective, scientific

Genius loci

refers to a protective entity that watches over a place

Tasteful landscapes

places deliberately designed to reflect ideas of beauty and good tastes

Taste-free Landscapes

places shaped mainly by practical needs with little attention to appearance

Two levels of taste

Fundamental Taste, ephemeral taste

Fundamental taste

deeply rooted cultural preferences that shape landscapes over long periods

ephemeral taste

short-lived fashions or trends that influence how landscapes look

Vernacular landscapes

everyday places shaped by ordinary people's activities, needs, and local traditions

the wax argument

our senses tell us hard wax and melted wax are 2 different things, but we must use logic and deduction to tell us that they are one in the same

Gyo Obata

architect of SIUE

Prairie style

the Midwest style home with porches and balconies with low horizontal lines and dark wood

Usonian style

the style after prairie but before ranch style, common in the 1930-50s

Dingbat house

a utilitarian, basic community style of living quarters found commonly in California, which has now become a staple for the area.

Gentrification fence

fences that have, over time, gotten larger to keep your land in and others out as people move into new homes in LA

Residual cultures

historical cultures that have disappeared or are in the process of fading away, ex. Little Hati

Emergent cultures

cultures that are appearing, ex. Bosnian in STL

excluded cultures

cultures that are actively or passively excluded by the dominant culture, ex. Sundown towns

Site of conscience

where large-scale human suffering that deserves to be marked

Climate gentrification

in the case of Little Haiti, where people are moving inland to get away from rising sea levels and are then buying up land from inland neighborhoods

Cultural hegemony

when one social group dominates the social and cultural landscape

Border guard dogs

dogs that in the past would run rounds around the borders looking for escapees, an example of place annihilation

Hop alley

a specific place name rather than a general landscape term

Place annihilation

the purposeful destruction of a place, often as a political strategy

Leona Tate

Desegregation pioneer who preserved the school she once attended as one of the first black students in New Orleans

Naming as symbolic capital

naming a place to be associated with the status and prestige of the ruling power

naming as symbolic resistance

named to challenge the dominant control over the landscape

Racialized landscape

places whose appearance, organization, or meaning reflects racial identities, decisions, and unequal power

Courthouse Square in Lexington

this acted as a city center with rich history. This was the historic site of much of Kentucky's historic politics and also acted as a place for normal livestock sales and basic trading. But it was also the site of slave auctions and whippings. Lexington is struggling with how to remember the space in a way that is inclusive to everyone

What role does the natural environment play in the creation of the cultural landscape? (You should be able to provide specific examples from class; think about constraints and modifications.)

• Natural environment shapes landscape

• environment is unique to a certain place

• fences, ex: upper east coast large stone walls

What evidence is there in the built landscape that there is one American culture?

• lewis: much of the US looks alike from coast to coast

• shared sense of taste

• fondness for rural over urban

• love for private property, ex: lawns

Lewis refers to Russel Lynes 1949 essay on class and taste in America. Lynes identifies three levels of taste (p. 12-13). Identify and define each of the three levels of taste

• upperbrow, middlebrow, lowerbrow

• Upperbrow: small cultural elite group whose main emphasis is on creating new tastes and styles

• middlebrow: much large group that tries to imitate the upperbrow in hopes of moving up social status and appearing higher than they are

• lowerbrow: ignores the elite tastes and makes their own tastes and preferences

Lewis writes, “To question those tastes is to rock the cultural boat – a dangerous and unsettling act. All societies have a host of built-in mechanisms to punish threats and protect themselves against danger” (p. 7). Why is questioning taste dangerous and unsettling? (Be sure to include some examples of taste-questioning as support for your answer.)

• taste is tied to cultural identity. not just personal preference

• challenging ones taste is challenging their own way of life

• ex: lawns, grass vs native plants

• HOAs punish

Choose either romanticism or rationalism and describe how it is evident in the cultural landscape.

• romanticism was a direct response to neoclassicism

• characterized by emotion, individuality, love for the past and nature

• large parks in nature

• NYC building refers to old cabinet style

Choose one of Lewis’ axioms for reading the landscape and explain how it can help us interpret the cultural landscapes

• cultural unity and landscape equality

• everything must be viewed as equal value

• mcdonalds is as important as Empire state building

• when things are unique, it is often due to crazy creator

Alderman in Place, Naming and the Interpretation of Cultural Landscapes states, “The landscape, rather than merely reflecting culture, participated in making certain cultural relations and identities appear to be normal” (198-199). Explain how the landscape is more than just a reflection of culture.

• landscape does more than just exist, it maintains meanings

• names are spoken, displayed landscape;

How has the presence of minority/alternative cultures been minimized on the landscape? How have alternative cultures asserted their impact on the landscape?

• lexington minimized history of the square

• integrated school left after hurricane

Explain how the revitalization plan in Richmond illustrates a struggle to control the landscape.

• richmond was a place for a large domestic slave trade

• it had confederate momuments

• transformed the landscape into a burial ground

Describe the characteristics of utopian societies. Why do they exist?

• they are experimental in social and econiomic terms

• self-sufficent on ag and crafts

• shakers and wood

• creates a sense of saftey and freedom

Mitchell (2001) argues that the landscape is the result of struggle, negotiation & conflict. Explain what Mitchell means, drawing on specific examples from readings and class.

• china towns

• city wanted them to relocate

• transformed their landscape

• also negotiated between city and china town

How does Albrecht Dürer’s engraving Melencolia I (1514; shown below) reflect the tension between romanticism and progress

Picture overall point: even having everything, a loyal servant (the dog), protective entities, she is still unhappy and full of melancholy