GEOG 340: Day 13 Finish Chapter 11; start Chapter 12

Pictures courtesy of Thanh…

Housekeeping Items  We’re half a week ahead of ourselves, so Tara may not be ready to present yet.  A reminder that the neighbourhood exercise is due on Thursday, and that there will be no mid-term. However, we have re-weighted the other assignments as per what was in the slides last class.

Chapter 12: Residential Kaleidoscope  While the U.S. has had the myth of the cultural ‘melting pot,’ the reality has often been far different. This is also true in Canada where multiculturalism is an official doctrine, and where Toronto is said to be the most multicultural city in the world.  In Canadian cities, one can essentially function in one’s mother tongue without ever learning English (or French). In some cases, as in the case of the French Muslim rapper profiled in the textbox on p. 293, new cultural amalgams emerge even as immigrants remain effectively ghettoized.  In Canada, less ghettoization seems to occur as children of immigrants assimilate and mingle with children of other ethnic backgrounds.  I will leave the whole social distance model for Tara.

Chapter 12: Residential Kaleidoscope  In the past, social bonds were formed on the basis of ‘propinquity’ (territorial closeness). This is still the case in many parts of the world (see Thanh’s photos). However, nowadays, people are apt to bond more closely with people who share their interests regardless of location using the Internet to communicate over distance or getting together periodically at central locations.  Territoriality – “the tendency for particular groups of people to attempt to establish some form of control, dominance, or exclusivity within a local area” – is a key concept and practice. What are some different examples?  Territoriality is related to notions of class, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, lifestyle, and taste preferences.