LOCAL CULTURE, POPULAR CULTURE, AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPES

What Are Local and Popular Cultures? Local culture: A group in a particular place that sees itself as a community, shares experiences, customs, and traits, and works to preserve those traits and customs to distinguish the group from others Popular culture: A large, heterogeneous population, typically urban, with rapidly changing culture

Local Cultures Acceptance vs. rejection of popular culture traits Impact on the landscape Nonmaterial culture: Beliefs, practices, aesthetics, values Material culture: Constructed items, frequently expressing nonmaterial culture Establishment of neighborhoods, construction of places of worship and community centers

Popular Cultures Practiced by large, heterogeneous group Rapid spread of new traits, often by hierarchical diffusion from a hearth, through transportation, communication, and marketing networks Interaction between local and popular cultures Patronage by local cultures of popular culture services Adoption by popular culture of local culture traits

How Are Local Cultures Sustained? Assimilation policies: To force people of indigenous cultures to adopt dominant cultures Preservation of customs: Practices that people routinely follow Preserving boundaries to keep other cultures out Avoiding cultural appropriation to keep control over their own culture Importance of place

Commodification Process of making something that was not previously bought and sold a commodity in the marketplace Material culture objects for sale to outsiders Tourist value of culture as a whole Question of authenticity of places Mystical images Creation of identity from cultural traits

How Is Popular Culture Diffused? Distance-decay: More interaction between closer places than between more distant places Time-space compression: Interaction dependent on connectedness among places

Stemming the Tide of Popular Culture Rapid diffusion of popular culture from major hearths United States Europe Japan Resistance Government subsidies: Media in local languages Dominant cultures of wealthy countries: Fundamentalism Minorities in wealthy countries: Cultural preservation Political elites in poorer countries: Nationalist ideologies Social and ethnic minorities in poorer countries: Greater autonomy

How Can Local and Popular Cultures Be Seen in the Cultural Landscape? Visible human imprint on the land Placelessness: Similarity of places of popular cultures everywhere

Cultural Landscapes of Local Cultures Persistence of local cultural landscapes Presence along “back roads” of wealthy countries

IDENTITY: RACE, ETHNICITY, GENDER

What Is Identity, and How Are Identities Constructed? Identity: “How we make sense of ourselves” – Rose How identities are established Through experiences, emotions , connections, and rejections A snapshot of who we are at a point in time Fluid, constantly changing, shifting, becoming Vary across scales, and affect each other across scales Identifying against (defining the other and then defining ourselves as “not that”)

Gender “A culture’s assumptions about the differences between men and women: their ‘characters,’ the roles they play in society, what they represent.” – Domosh and Seager

Race A categorization of humans based on skin color and other physical characteristics Social and political constructions Based on ideas that some biological differences are more important than others Major element in colonialism and imperialism Typically imposed on people through Residential segregation Racialized divisions of labor Racial categories defined by governments

How Do Places Affect Identity, and How Can We See Identities in Places? Sense of place: Infusion of places with meaning and feeling, with memories and emotions Becomes part of our identity Effect of identity on ways we define and experience place

Ethnicity A constructed identity that is tied to a place Comes from idea that people are closely bounded, even related, in a place over time Often result of migration May change in meaning with migration

Changes in Ethnic Space Few Chinese residents in Mexicali’s Chinatown Continued important place for the region’s Chinese population

Identity and Space Space: “Social relations stretched out” Place: “Particular articulations of those social relations as they have come together, over time, in that particular location” Massey and Jess Place making in the context of surrounding social relationships

Women in Subsaharan Africa Populate much of the rural areas, as men migrate to cities for work Produce 70% of the region’s food Small percentage of women have legal title to their land

Dowry Deaths in India Murders of brides (often by burning) when a dispute arises over a dowry Difficult to “legislate away” the power relationships that lead to dowry deaths Female infanticide also tied to the disempowerment of women

Ethnic Groups in Los Angeles Barrioization: When the population of a neighborhood changes over largely to Hispanics. Changes in cultural landscapes to reflect changing populations. Strife usually tied to economic change

LANGUAGE

What Are Languages, and What Role Do Languages Play in Culture? Language: A set of sounds, combinations of sounds, and symbols used for communication Standard language: A language that is published, widely distributed, and purposefully taught Role of government in standardizing a language

Non-English Speakers Political issue of speakers of Spanish and other languages vs. those desiring English only

Mutual Intelligibility Criterion for a language: Speakers can understand each other Problems Measuring “mutual intelligibility” Standard languages and government impact on what is a “language” and what is a “dialect” Dialect: variant of standard language by ethnicity or region Vocabulary Syntax Cadence, pace Pronunciation

Example of Dialect

Nigeria More than 400 languages Nigeria a colonial creation Choice of English as “official” language rather than any indigenous language

How Do Languages Diffuse? Human interaction Print distribution Migration Trade Rise of nation-states Colonialism Elizabeth J. Leppman

Effects of Spatial Interaction Lingua franca: A language used among speakers of different languages for trade and commerce Pidgin language: A language created when people combine parts of two or more languages into a simplified structure and vocabulary Creole language: A pidgin language that has developed a more complex structure and vocabulary and has become the native language of a group of people

Multilingualism Monolingual state: A country in which only one language is spoken Multilingual state: A country in which more than one language is in use Official language: Government-selected language or languages to try to enhance communication in a multilingual state

Global Language English as lingua franca for Commerce Science Travel Business Popular culture Continued use of native languages for day-to-day activities

RELIGION

What Is Religion, and What Role Does It Play in Culture? Religion: “A system of beliefs and practices that attempts to order life in terms of culturally perceived ultimate priorities” -- Stoddard and Prorak “Perceived ultimate priorities” often Things a follower “should” do Ways a follower “should” behave

Manifestations of Religion Worship Belief that certain people possess special divinely granted abilities Belief in one or more deities Practices Ritual and prayer Marking life events Rituals at regular intervals Secularism: Decline in organized religious observances

Where Did the Major Religions of the World Originate, and How Do Religions Diffuse? Concepts of divinity Monotheistic religions: Worship a single deity Polytheistic religions: Worship more than one deity, even thousands Animistic religions: Belief that inanimate objects posses spirits and should be revered

Classification of Religions Universalizing religions: Religions that actively seek converts because members believe they offer belief systems of universal appropriateness and appeal Ethnic religions: Religions whose adherents are born into the faith and whose members do not actively seek converts

Religions of the World

Diffusion of Religions

From the Hearth of South Asia Hinduism Originated in Indus River Valley over 4000 years ago Practices and beliefs: Ritual bathing, karma, reincarnation Sacred text: Vedas Sacred site: Ganges River Social manifestation: Caste system Diffusion South Asia Southeast Asia

From the Hearth of South Asia Buddhism – Splintered from Hinduism 2500 years ago Originated in a region from Nepal south to the Ganges River area Beliefs: Anyone can achieve salvation, reach enlightenment Founder: Siddartha (the Buddha) Sacred sites: Stupas Diffusion Tibet in the north East Asia

In Japan, Buddhism has mixed with Shinto, which originated in Japan. A Shinto shrine in Kyoto Buddhist stupas in Indonesia

From the Hearth of Huang He (Yellow) River Valley Taoism Originated in China more than 2500 years ago Belief in oneness of humanity and nature Founder: Lao-Tsu (Laozi) Sacred text: Book of the Way (Daode Jing) Social manifestation: Feng shui Diffusion: East Asia

From the Hearth of Huang He (Yellow) River Valley Confucianism Originated in China about 2500 years ago Belief that the real meaning of life lies in the present Founder: Confucius (Kong Fuzi) Sacred text: Confucian Classics Diffusion: East Asia Southeast Asia

From the Hearth of the Eastern Mediterranean Judaism Originated in Southwest Asia about 4000 years ago Beliefs First major monotheistic religion, Covenant between God (one God) and Abraham (the chosen people) Sacred text: Torah First patriarch, or leader: Abraham

Judaism (continued) Jerusalem (Western Wall) Sacred sites Jerusalem (Western Wall) Land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River Social manifestation: Zionism Diffusion European cities during the diaspora Ashkenazim: Central Europe Sephardim: North Africa and Iberian Peninsula North America Return to Israel over last 100 years

From the Hearth of the Eastern Mediterranean Christianity Originated in Southwest Asia about 2000 years ago Beliefs Monotheistic religion Follow teachings of Jesus to achieve eternal life Sacred text: Bible Founder: Jesus Christ

Christianity (continued) Sacred sites Bethlehem Jerusalem Divisions 1054: Split into Eastern Orthodox Roman Catholic 1400s–1500s: Protestants Diffusion: Western Europe World wide during colonialism and after

Divisions in Christianity First division (1054) Western Roman Empire: Roman Catholic Eastern Roman Empire: Orthodox

From the Hearth of the Eastern Mediterranean Islam Originated on Arabian Peninsula about 1500 years ago Beliefs Monotheistic religion Revelations Muhammad received from Allah (God) Five Pillars Sacred text: Qu’ran Founder: Muhammad

Islam (continued) Sacred sites Mecca Medina Jerusalem Divisions: Shortly after Muhammad’s death Sunni Muslims (great majority) Shi’ite Muslims (concentrated in Iran) Diffusion Arabian peninsula Across North Africa, into Spain East to South and Southeast Asia

The Diffusion of Islam

Indigenous Religions Local in scope Passed down in families Under pressure from global religions

Shamanism A community faith tradition Shaman: A religious leader, teacher, healer, and visionary Have appeared in Africa Native America Southeast Asia East Asia Lack elaborate organization

Secularism Indifference to or rejection of organized religious affiliations and ideas The case of the Soviet Union Had an official policy of atheism Discouraged religious practice Drew boundaries for political control that separated ethnic groups in small areas (Armenia and Azerbaijan) Revival of religion after fall of communism

How Is Religion Seen in the Cultural Landscape? Sacred sites: Places or spaces people infuse with religious meaning Pilgrimage: Purposeful travel to a religious site to pay respects or participate in a ritual

Sacred Sites of Jerusalem Sacred to three major religions Judaism (Western Wall) Christianity (Church of the Holy Sepulchre) Islam (Dome of the Rock)

Sacred Landscapes of Hinduism Pilgrimages along prescribed routes, and rituals by millions Varanasi, India on the Ganges River where Hindus perform morning rituals

Sacred Landscapes of Buddhism Swedogon Pagodo in Yangon, Myanmar Eight hairs of the Buddha are preserved under the dome (chedi)

Sacred Landscapes of Christianity Catholic churches are often located in the center of European cities, with spires reaching far above other buildings.

Sacred Landscapes of Christianity Protestant Churches This church in Singapore is a Church of England church in a city surrounded by Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims

Religious Distribution in the United States

Sacred Landscapes of Islam Muslim Mosques Dome of this mosque in Isfahan, Iran, demonstrates the importance of geometric art evident in Muslim architecture.

What Role Does Religion Play in Political Conflicts? Interfaith boundaries: Boundaries between the world’s major faiths Intrafaith boundaries: Boundaries within a single major faith

Interfaith Boundary in Africa

Israel and Palestine British mandate of Palestine Partition of Palestine by United Nations Israeli state Palestinian state 1967: Israeli control over West Bank, Gaza 2005: Withdrawal from Gaza Control over movement Multitude of interfaith boundaries

Religious Fundamentalism and Extremism A return to the basics of a faith Found worldwide Religious extremism: Fundamentalism carried to the point of violence. Impact of globalization Increased conservative reaction Increased liberalism and accommodation

Fundamentalism in Christianity Catholicism Birth control, abortion, and family planning Role of women Sects that continue to use Latin in services Protestantism Literal interpretation of the Bible Opposition to abortion Opposition to gay marriage Political influence

Fundamentalism in Judaism Orthodox Judaism Most conservative Includes several varieties Kach and Kahane Chai Followers of Rabbi Meir Kahane Anti-Arabism

Fundamentalism in Islam Shari’a law Rule by ayatollahs in Iran Rule by Taliban in Afghanistan Jihad Wahhabi Islam (hearth in Saudi Arabia) Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda