Religion (Conflicts)

RELIGION AND POLITICAL CONFLICT

* Many settings in the world today exemplify POLITICAL expressions of religious differences. Conflicts often involve disputes over POLITICAL geographies (territory) get turned into IDEOLOGICAL wars.

 

* Conflicts (regional / global) over SOCIAL change involve religious boundaries / schisms.

 

* IMPORTANT: You MUST separate, at least initially, POLITICAL and RELIGIOUS tradition and sentiment. Can’t be seen as one (on most occasions).

- In other words … while many conflicts become framed in religious differences, there are USUALLY political, resource, economic etc. motivations …

- Passion to attain political goals.

 

RELIGION AND POLITICAL CONFLICT

• Examples
  • Fracture Zone of E. Med, E. Europe into SW Asia.
    • An OLD zone of conflict between Judeo/Christian/Islamic worlds.
    • Legacy of MANY transfers of territory
    • Recent (1948) creation of Israel has been a focus of tension between Jews and Islamic Palestinians
    • Jerusalem in microcosm – a city of MANY special religious localities
    • Nearby Lebanon also has great diversity.
      • Created in 1940s as Christian enclave, but Islamic pop. Has grown rapidly
    • Other manifestations of “fault zone” between Christian/Islamic worlds include
      • Cyprus (Islamic Turks/Greek Ortho)
      • former Yugoslavia (Serbian Ortho, Islamic Bosnians, Catholic Slovenes/Croats)
      • Armenia/Azerbaijan and elsewhere
  • INTRAFAITH boundary of tension – Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland
    • An issue of colonialism and colonization. (Prot became numerically dominant)
    • Sinn Fein and IRA … political
  • INTRAFAITH conflict is not always the fact…see Switzerland, USA.
  • South Asia – increasing zone of conflict often focused on the many religions (sects) there. Tension INTERNALLY and EXTERNALLY.
    • Ongoing tensions in India and between India and its neighbors focused on Hindu / Islamic split.
    • Resulted in Partition
    • Muslims remain a big (>10%) minority in India today. Dominant in KASHMIR.
    • Sikh desire for more autonomy.
    • Sri Lanka religious and political split between Buddhist majority and Tamil Hindu minority (ties to India)
    • Others as well…Tibet, in former and current Communist world etc.
  • Western and the Islamic Worlds
    • Complex story that definitely involves religion on MANY levels.
      • Used as a rallying cry on both sides
      • My question … is it a primarily political, ideological, or religious war?
        • Depends on who you ask…
  • Religion and politics in the USA
    • How do they intersect in the USA?
      • Over the past decade – INCREASE in that intersection. An increase in FUNDAMENTALISM in the US has translated into political power.
      • Is religion a “centripetal” or “centrifugal” force in the US?
        • centripetal = 1 Nation Under God
        • centrifugal = injection of religious rhetoric into many political issues (or vice versa)

 

COMPLEX ISSUE! to say the least…

Religion Part 2 (Current Patterns – Landscape)

 

• Modern Global Patterns
  • Christianity – 33% of world pop (slightly down). Widely diffused beyond original hearth. – Europe, the Americas, Oceania, S. Saharan Africa.
    • A record of colonization – parallel to language map in some ways
    • Major Divisions
      • Eastern / Orthodox – 1/5th or 4-5%
      • Roman Catholic – 1/2 or 17%
      • Protestant – 1/3rd or 7-8%
      • Each reflect a different interpretation of Christian Dogma – Each has a distinctive geography, landscape.
    • Eastern / Orthodox – includes many autonomous churches.
      • Some of the oldest Christian Sects reflecting early diffusion patterns. Closest probably to old / original Christianity.
        • EX.             Egyptian Coptic, Ethiopian Christianity, Nestorians and Armenians
      • Larger #s in EASTERN ORTHODOX Churches. – Focused traditionally on Constantinople – 1054 AD – Great Schism
        • Not so close knit – fragmented. Still dominant in E. Europe. Further differentiation.
    • Roman Catholic – After 1054 AD – W. Europe, the Bishop of Rome (Pope) became supreme leader.
      • 1492, reconqured Iberia from Moors. Spread influence through N. Europe.
      • Catholic colonization – Latin Amer., Quebec, Philippines, 20th Cent. Africa (missionaries) – RAPID growth.
    • Protestant – 1500-1700 – RAPID growth in Europe. (a REJECTION of much of Catholic ritual, hierarchy, decoration. Striving for more simple, individual religion).
      • further, BLOODY subdivision occurred with rise of various protestant beliefs.
      • EX: Lutheran in N. Germ/Scandinavia, Calvinism in Switz, Low Countries, Anglican in England
      • itself QUITE fragmented
      • Most successful in N. Europe
        • Why? – less entrenched RC. Further from Hearth. Associated with CAPITALISM and ECONOMIC INDIVIDUALISM
      • Like Catholicism, where Prots. Colonized, took churches with them.
        • N. America – English, Dutch, French
        • S. Africa – Dutch, English
        • Further fragmented – Mormonism
  • Judaism
    • Smallest of the major religions on the map…but still very important.
    • Shifting concentration of the Diaspora
    • REGION            1825            1850            1930            1970

 

EUROPE            83%            78%            63%            29%

AMERICAS            <1%            8%            30%            50%

ASIA                        9%            8%            4%            19%

AFRICA            7%            6%            3%            1%

 

Total                        3.2m            5m            16m            13.9m

• Total population today … 13.5 m. 0.3 RNI
• Highly urban population outside of Israel
• 1948 – creation of the State of Israel … more to come…
• Modern Islam

o      Subdivisions – As in Christianity, fundamental subdivisions in Islam.

§       Occurred soon after founding of Islam and the death of Mohammed.

§       Two Key Subdivisions (although, there are more)

• Sunni Muslim – Largest single denomination in the world and 85 % of Islamic world. – Caliphate/heirs/1928
• Shia (Shiites) – an important minority – 15% of Islam. Geographically concentrated in Iran, E. Iraq, and newly dominant in Lebanon. Some in Egypt and Algeria.

o      Pre 9/11, much of “Islamic Fundamentalism” was Shia based. Not so now.

§       Druze – small groups. Not even considered Muslim by some.

• Occupy important strategic and political positions in certain areas – Lebanon for example. – Now?

o      Modern era of dominance – Old core, N. Africa, Turkey (remnant of further W. spread…Albania), Interior Asia, South Asia (Indus and Bangladesh), SE Asia (Indonesia to S. Philippines). Splinter groups elsewhere.

o      Undergoing a period of dynamic growth, also of “fundamentalism” and internal strife.

§       Trying to come to terms with the 20th century and some fundamental restrictions.

• Modern Hinduism

o      A large population base of almost 1 billion.

§       largely focused in S. Asia (India, Nepal, parts of neighboring states).

• there are outliers (Bali for example)

o      Division in Hinduism

§       Because of DECENTRALIZED nature of Hinduism, a GREAT DEAL of local and regional variation.

• Sikhs – 15th-16th cent. Attempt to blend Islam and Hinduism. (13 million)

o      Rejected polytheism and caste. Strong sense of regional consciousness.

o      Partition and the State of Punjab

o      PERIODIC migrations through Pilgrimage – hundreds of sites.

§       reinforces the Ethnic status of the religion and the internal diversity.

• Modern Buddhism

o      Population – 300,000,000. Not focused in HEARTH area.

§       Today found widely in parts of China, Mongolia, and SE Asia – Burma to Vietnam.

§       Smaller outliers in Sri Lanka (remnant) and some in Japan.

o      Subdivisions – they are notable today.

§       Theravada – Conservative. Roots in Buddhism’s monastic tradition. Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand.

§       Mahayama – Focus on mythology, devotional worship. Members do NOT serve as monks. – Vietnam, Japan, Korea (E. Asian)

§       Zen – Form of Japanese Buddhism. Incorporates much of traditional Japanese cultural elements. – Attractive in the West.

• Shintoism – A blend of native Japanese beliefs with later elements of Buddhism.

o      Very conservative views of man, nature, family, social structure.

o      Ethnic religion. 50 million people.

• “Chinese Religions” – Blending of traditional Chinese myths and beliefs with elements of Buddhism

o      Teachings of two particularly IMPORTANT thinkers – 270 million people!

§       Confucius – 5th and 6th Cent. B.C. – Ethical teacher. Focus is on this world, not next. Spirituality needs to happen here.

• Confucianism = ethical code – adopted as official “creed” of Chinese dynasties by 2nd Cent. B.C.

§       Lao-tsu -Same period. Ethical message that stressed simple life, return to nature.

• A need for humanity and gentleness. Skeptical of ceremony and authority
• Feng Shui
• Taoism – a more personal creed.
• Others

o      Other ethnic religions (largely in decline) in Africa, interior S. America, SE Asia.

o      African Animism – inanimate objects have spirits and conscious life

o      Local religions – shamans, divinities, spirits, earth (small overall, but still important)

• Secularism

o      A concern for life on this earth, not the afterlife; a lack of belief in traditional religion.

o      The non-practice of religion…not precisely “atheism” ie. rejection … simply the non-participation.

o      A shift has come with development, modernization, particularly among young.

o      Notable concentrations in Europe, especially N.

o      My question … as trends of urbanization and religious conflict rise, will secularism?

 

Religion on the Cultural Landscape

* Important to remember why the study of landscape is important

• Regional Character
• Sense of Place
• Basic Cultural Values

* Great deal of diversity in the features of the cultural landscape

• Buildings
• Settlement Patterns
• Place Names
• Symbols
• Foods
• Economies
• ETC

*Religion and religious practices have an impact on many of our cultural practices and are representative of our values to some degree.

 

Religion on the Cultural Landscape

• Case Studies…THINK ABOUT WHAT EACH SAYS ABOUT US!
  • SACRED EDIFICES
    • temples, churches, holy structures
  • RELIGIOUS TOPONYMS
    • Place names … dedications? Sites of holy experiences?
  • RELIGIOUS SIGNS and SACRED OBJECTS
  • SACRED SYMBOLS
  • SACRED TIME
  • RELIGION OF DEATH
    • Cemeteries, funeral ceremonies
  • SACRED LIFE
    • Animals and Plants (Cows, Banyan Tree)
  • FOOD PREFERENCES
    • Tied to ritual (fish, Eucharistic wine)
    • Avoidances (pork)
  • MIGRATIONS
    • Cyclical (Church on holy days, pilgrimages)
    • Permanent (Relocation…Mormon etc)
  • RELIGION AND LIFE STYLE

Religion Part 1

Defining Religion –

 

“a set of beliefs and practices by which humans seek mental and physical harmony with the powers of the universe.”

 

“the human attempt to come to terms with             the powerful forces on nature, including the knowledge that we are mortal.”

 

“the search for the meaning of life.”

 

Universal or Universalizing Religions (62% of world pop)

• Attempt to be global, to appeal to all people, wherever they may live in the world, not just those of one culture or location.

Ethnic Religion (24% of world pop)

• Appeals to one group of people living in one place, or one cultural/ethnic             group in/out of place.

 

Branch – a large fundamental division within a religion

• Ex. Protestantism is a BRANCH of Christianity.

Denomination – a division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body.

• Ex. Lutheran is denomination of Protestantism.

Sect – a relatively small group that has in some way broken away from an established denomination.

• Ex. Montana Synod is a sect of Lutheran.

 

Religion is a KEY culture trait

Can be studied geographically – hearths and paths of diffusion

Modern Global Patterns

Impact it makes on the landscape!

 

• SPREAD of Major Religions –
  • Can pinpoint TWO early hearth areas for 5 important world religions.
    • Middle East for 3, Interior South Asia for 2 more.
  • Middle East Religions Hearths
    • JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, and ISLAM are all originally Middle Eastern religions.
    • Judaism – By far the OLDEST of the 3. Evolved out of Semite tribes in Middle East. *2000-1500 B.C.
      • Early leader in Abraham – led migration out of Mesopotamia – Palestine, Egypt, back to Palestine
      • Stressed MONOTHEISM
      • Stressed strict MORAL/ETHICAL virtue.
      • Stressed close sense of COMMUNITY
      • PERSECUTION shaped tradition – geography. – Babylon (600 BC), Rome Empire (70 AD).
        • Jews spread through Europe – DIASPORA – lit.. “the scattering of seeds” – refugee mvmt of common culture.
      • Typical concentration at migration’s end. GHETTOS. – enclaves in the Middle Ages.
      • ETHNIC RELIGION. Not a great effort to universalize
      • 20th Century persecution continue to shape distribution.
    • Christianity – From same HEARTH as Judaism. An outgrowth of Judaism.
      • Followed the teachings/life of Jesus Christ (2000 yrs ago)
      • Stressed MONOTHEISM
      • Direction of Diffusion: Old forms diffused S into Egypt and Ethiopia
      • Vigorous diffusion through old Roman Empire and via Roman trade routes
        • Empire dies, religion stays
      • Relocation diffusion (like Judaism), but much more UNIVERSAL.
      • Process accelerated with colonialism. Like language, diffused to New World.
        • MISSIONARY – UNIVERSALIZING force. Promotes diffusion today!
    • Islam – Hearth slightly SE of first two. In W Arabian Peninsula.
      • Part of the Judaic/Christian family.
      • Monotheistic. Based on teachings of Mohammed. (600 AD). Mecca and Medina
      • Diffusion – EXTREME VIGOR. W and E. Rapid process via trade and political expansion
        • W – all across N. Africa, across Sahel into N. Nigeria.
        • 700 AD – Iberian Peninsula of Europe “Moors.” Presence until 1492.
        • N into Turkey and Asian interior
        • E across S. Asia, heavily adopted in Indus and lower Ganges Valleys.
        • SE Asian trade routes in 1200s.
      • Universal Religion
  • Interior South Asian Religious Hearths
    • Hinduism and Buddhism
    • Hinduism – Quite different. No founder. No well defined church dogma, no elaborate hierarchy of church administrators etc.
      • Polytheistic
      • Many different levels of intellectual participation
      • Like Judaism – closely bound culturally, socially – A “Cultural Religion”
      • Historically status driven – linked to caste system, a rigid social hierarchy
        • ethical, good life key to climbing the hierarchy.
      • Diffusion: largely remains an “ethnic religion.” – mainly diffused by S. Asians. Some transfer by traders.
    • Buddhism – also from S Asia hearth. Himalayan foothills.
      • Younger than Hinduism. 6 cent. BC
      • “teacher” – Gautama – A wealthy noble in Nepal. Critical of caste system.
      • Creed – salvation to anyone regardless of caste.
      • His teaching form offshoot religion of Buddhism.
      • Spreads slowly in N. India until 3rd c. BC
      • More rapid growth in 3rd C – Indian Emperor was converted
      • 300-400 AD – Entered China by trade routes. Via Tibet. Even blended with Nestorian Christianity
      • 500-700 AD into Japan and SE Asia
      • Changes – Diffusion changed religion. Lost ground in original hearth – Example of a modern religion that is important, yet not near hearth. Similar to Christianity in that sense.

 

* These diffusions have created huge legacies on the landscape, modern patterns

Notes on Language

Language

BETWEEN 2000 – 4000 LANGUAGES GLOBALLY…Historically???

 

Language is…A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF CULTURE, OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN!

 

Language

• BASIC DEFINITIONS
  • LANUAGE – a “system of words, grammar, and gestures used to express ideas to others.”
    • Conventionalized, agreed upon
    • NOT fixed … can evolve internally … yet remain distinctive.
    • Fundamental Culture Trait
    • Shapes the way we see the world … by how we describe it
  • LANGUAGE FAMILY – A set of languages that have a shared origin or HEARTH (A place where X originates).
    • ex. Common roots of Spanish and Hindi in the Indo-European Family
    • Shared roots and sounds.
  • SUB-FAMILY – A branch of a language family. Shared roots / sounds
    • ex. Romance sub-family
  • LANGUAGE DIALECT – a subunit – regional or local – of a single language
    • American English as a language … dialects from the streets in NYC, rural SC, etc …
    • often understand each other … but different terms used, diff. pronunciations, diff. syntax, cadence
  • IDIOLECT – A variety of language unique to an individual. More locally influenced.
  • OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – simply a political or officially recognized designation of a language for GOVERNMENT BUSINESS and PRODUCTION OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS.
    • Often necessary in states (countries) where many languages exist.
    • Ex. US? Canada? California?
  • VERNACULAR LANGUAGE – Common daily language used by people. SLANG, IDIEOMATIC expressions. POP CULTURE expressions / references
  • LINGUA FRANCA – “Frankish Language”
    • Historic version – made of Italian, Greek, Persian, French, Arabic.
    • A mutually understood and utilized language.
    • Evolves out of multiple languages for common tongue purposes, business.
    • Ex. Pidgin English in SW Pacific, Creole
  • The COINCIDENCE of language / political borders: Varies Widely!
    • Monolingual Nations – One lang. dominant – Ex. Japan
    • Bilingual Nations – two lang. dominate – Ex. French/English – Canada, Belgium
    • Multilingual Nations – Several Languages Dominate! – Often seek to find a OFFICIAL or LINGUA FRANCA for business – Ex. Russia, China, Nigeria
  • FINAL “INITIAL” IDEAS
    • Language is a cultural phenomena, and is tied closely with ALL things cultural.
      • Two Ways to look at Language
        • How it is blended
        • How it is separated, preserved
    • Language is closely tied with IDENTITY. Both Political and Individual
    • Language has significant POLITICAL POWER.
      • Dominate class, culture, region etc over another … language of success
        • “Sticks and stones may break my bones..”
      • Can be UTOPIAN and IMPERIALIST
        • Esperanto … provide connections and eliminate differences…
    • Warfian Hypothesis – Links between language and thought process.
      • Fundamental patterns of grammar that are infused in your brain …
    • Some say differs based on class, ethnicity, gender – “You just don’t understand …“
    • Used daily … used universally …
• GLOBAL PATTERN OF LANGUAGE
  • Spatial approach (by continent) … characterize different parts of the world as to LINGUISTIC GEOGRAPHY and DOMINANT LANGUAGE FAMILIES.
    • Why?
      • LANGUAGE IS A KEY TO MUCH OF THE CONFLICT
      • CAN BE TRACED IN TERMS OF CONQUEST, MIGRATION, HEARTHS, DIFFUSION
  • EURASIA – Largest landmass on Earth
    • Western and Central Parts
      • Dominated by Indo-European Language Family
        • Most widely distributed family on Earth
        • 3+ billion … majority in Eurasia
        • Shared family roots from English to French to Russian to Hindi!
      • Closer look to come … but note, possible hearth … grasslands of the interior, Turkey?, or perhaps NE of Black Sea? .. Perhaps Danube Basin … SPREDS W and E.
      • Important INTERVENING ZONES of Uralic-Altaic
        • Large areas of interior Asia, Finland, Hungary.
        • 7,000 – 10,000 years old! Pre-IE remnant? … then much of its influence reduced through IE migration …
    • East Asia
      • Sino-Tibetan Family – Over 1 billion speakers!
        • Mainly China – NOT JAPAN and KOREA!
        • Mandarin is official language of China – largest in the world.
    • South Asia
      • Indo-European (many dialects) once again.
      • Sino-Tibetan in highlands
      • Dravidian – Once dominant, linked with ancient Indus Valley!
        • remained in S. Asia AFTER invasions by IE speakers.
        • KEY linguistic divide in India and Sri Lanka. Fundamentally different!
    • South East Asia
      • Sino-Tibetan (Burmese, Thai)
      • Austronesian – MIGRATION! Trade Routes
        • large spread from Madagascar to Indonesia and Philippines to Pacific Isles.
  • AUSTRALIA
    • A fairly simple pattern … story of SETTLEMENT
      • Isolated areas still dominated by native Australian Aborigine languages
      • Areas settled by English, other Europeans – dominated by IE
      • Note – area covered by native tongues is LARGE, # of speakers is small … density.
  • AFRICA and the MIDDLE EAST
    • North – From Sahara – north to Mediterranean and East to Middle East
      • Fairly clear pic. dominated by AFRO-ASIATIC family.
      • Dominated by Arabic language. Prob. Spread from Saudi Arabian or Tigris-Euphrates Hearth. Pre – 3,000 BC!
      • Hebrew – an old member of language family – official language of Israel after creation in 1948. Common roots to Arabic!
      • Nilo Saharan – also present. Perhaps remnants of an older, forced out language family.
      • Elements of Indo-European and Altaic as well … legacy of trade, Imperialism
    • South of the Sahara – Most Complex language geography on Earth.  A tale of ISOLATION by physical geography.
      • Niger-Congo – over 90% … but tremendous internal diversity!
      • Nilo Saharan – families in transition zone
      • Khoisan – MAY be a remnant of older, larger family reduced in size by more recent Bantu invasions (Bantu hearth in W. Africa)
      • Indo-European – Imperialism / Colonization
      • KEY POINT – the complexity … Over 1,000 languages still used there. Some by large numbers, others quite small.
  • The AMERICAS
    • A pattern similar to Australia in that aboriginal languages still spoken in more isolated sections
      • Amerindian – Amazon Basin, Central American Highland, N.Canada/Alaska (Eskimo-Aleut)
      • Legacy of migrant waves … dispute …
      • Most simple theory has 3 waves (linguistic) – “Amerind,” “Na-Dene” (Apache/Navajo), “Eskimo-Aleut”
    • Most speak Indo-European – an indication of successful colonization by various European groups
      • Legacies – Portuguese in Brazil, Spanish in Mexico, English in U.S., French in St. Lawrence Valley.
• GEOPOLITICAL LANGUAGE ISSUES
  • Language differences can contribute to GEOPOLITICAL CONFLICTS
    • Why?
      • Basic culture trait.
      • A part of national / ethnic identity
      • Resistance to language often             challenges that identity.
      • Basic issues of EDUCATION, COMMUNICATION, POLITICAL REPRESENTATION in society.
    • North America
      • French speaking Quebec – English/French – Germanic/Romance speaking subfamilies of I-Euro.
        • Strong geographic concentration of French speakers in this one Canadian prov.
          • Historical antecedents
          • Over 25% of Canada
          • Homogenous region (80-90%)
        • Political dimension seen in repeated calls for independence/autonomy
    • Europe
      • Spain – Key conflict: Basques vs Spanish – Basque = pre-Indo Euro Family
        • Basques in Pyrenees Mtns. Concentrated.
        • Many (esp. on Spanish side) want independence, autonomy
        • Basque terrorist group ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna) – Backlash!
        • Strong cultural heritage tied to diff. language
      • Spain – Also dialect differences in same family.
        • Less violent, but…
        • Catalonian, Galician groups -vs- Castilian
      • Belgium
        • Astride a major subfamily boundary in West Europe
          • (Romance – French Walloons to S)
          • (Germanic – Dutch/Flemish to N)
          • About = in numbers and geographic area.
          • Politically split along these lines.
            • Diff. regional assemblies have greater autonomy since 1980s
      • Wales – “colony” of Great Britain
        • Welsh Language a mix – Germanic (old Briton), spelled in Latin.
        • Identity and cultural aspect to language
        • being driven out through 1990s… Now a resurgence. WHY?
    • Africa
      • Nigeria – Exemplifies the complexity and issues of much of South Saharan Africa.
        • Challenge to cultivate a sense of “nationalism” in such a tribal context.
        • Quick History – Ancient history of habitation. Became early slave outpost for Portuguese/European. 1880s, became a British colony – border expanded / groups moved to create “harmony.” 1960 indep.
          • Result – Incredible language diversity, political instability
        • Linguistic complexity made unity MUCH more difficult
        • Fundamental Family divide (Afro-Asiatic/Niger-Congo) FRAGMENTATION within these basic family zones.
    • Asia
      • Kurds – SW Asia
        • Lang. loosely related to Farsi (Iranian) – Indo European.
          • QUITE different from neighbors
        • Concentrated in hill country of SW Asia, A Nation without a State.
        • Political boundaries to keep minority
        • Persecuted, discriminated against
        • Killed in Iraq and Turkey – Kurdistan?
      • Tamils – S. Asia
        • Tamil is Dravidian Lang surrounded by Indo-European. N/E Sri Lanka
        • VERY violent/unstable setting – movement toward independence – defeated May 2009 but…
      • Caucasus – Border of Europe and Asia
        • COMPLEX Linguistically – legacy of multiple conquests.
        • Strongly different ethnic/lang. identities produced a zone of tension.
  • Important too, however, to remember the case of Switzerland – PROFOUND difference in languages … yet great stability.
• Final Points …
  • Language is a key culture trait
  • Our identities and the way we see the world are imbedded in language
  • Has power

Notes on Historical Geography

Historical Geography

 

What is Historical Geography

• Historical studies are temporal … they ask temporal questions – How has time passed?
• Historical Geography … a spatial approach to studying history .. How has a place changed over time
  • Uses historical data, but asks questions that are geographic
• Types of HG studies
  • Snapshot – recreation of a past environment or ecosystem, a snapshot in time … 1491, snow science, climate change, hearth studies
  • Change over time – The wider view … asks questions of how the forces of time have acted to shape an area …
  • Again… the focus is on place, with time as an element
  • Ultimately, it’s all in the questions…
    • Human-Land Relationships
      • Human adaptations to various environments
        • Places are different, and HGs ask the types of questions about how people have adapted to and the environment
        • Bottom up approach, how individual people and societies influence…
        • Also a top down approach … how the larger forces of the world, capitalism, the federal government, nature itself, have shaped the human landscape
    • The Making of the Cultural Landscape
      • Focus on the landscape tradition (Lewis, Jackson)
      • Look at the diffusion of culture, the movement of ideas, religions, beliefs, traditions and their effect on place
        • Architecture and traditional urban landforms
        • The layout of cities, how we order our lives
        • How specific industries have ordered the cultural landscape, created institutions, etc
        • Folk landscape – what was there, what we interpret to be there, what we ignore that is ugly in our history.
    • Environmental Perception and Place Images
      • How people perceived / and perceive of a place… how people once viewed a place, and view today … and the power of that perception to shape a place.
      • Boosterism, mythmaking
      • The focus on stereotypical regional images
      • Mediated studies … how a place is understood through media
      • How people of different races, sex, background see a place
      • Applicable to settlement, advertising

 

• • • Cultural Diversity
      • How a mix of peoples have shaped a region.
      • Done at different scales – large, national such as migration, cultural, religious – to small, neighborhood, etc.
      • Role of NA, immigrant populations, different religions, beliefs, practices etc.
      • Movement of people and ideas
      • How different peoples shape different environments
    • The Change in Urban Geographies
      • Reconstruction of urban systems
      • Planning, the role of public space
      • The role of cities in the evolution of the larger economic and political forces…how a town shapes the outside landscape through the forces of capitalism
      • The origin and movement of social movements … where and why?
    • The Core / Periphery question
      • How a place is shaped by larger forces
      • Core / periphery
      • Networks of transportation etc…flows etc.
• Again, HG focuses on spatial questions…questions of place and time…

 

Case Study: The American West

• The American West has provided an ideal laboratory for the field of historical geography to explore its craft.
  • Why? – The rapid change, the “clear” slate, the West as “mirror.”
  • The Questions fit …
    • Human-Land Relationships
    • Cultural Landscapes
    • Environmental Perception / Place Images
    • Cultural Diversity
    • Urban Geography
    • Core / Periphery Relationship
  • The myth of the West and what it means to the human geography of the US.
• The Frontier Myth in American West Geography
  • World Columbian Exposition – 1893, Chicago (World’s Fair) – Chicago connected, remade…
    • Chicago as the ultimate symbol of the civilizing of the West… the processing and transportation, the cultural center of the West.
  • July 12, 1893 – Fredrick Jackson Turner – declares that the West, the Frontier, is now CLOSED…GONE. – Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show… Based his study on 1890 Census …
  • 1894 – Turner publishes The Significance of the Frontier in American History.
    • Reported census facts … 1880, there was a frontier of settlement … could be mapped.
    • Reported census facts … 1890 … no longer a frontier … population density greater than 2 per sq. mile
    • So What? – the history of America up to that time had been one of colonialism – The process of colonizing, of “civilizing” the frontier had shaped the American man. – Human/Land Relationship … Frontier “mastered the colonist as he then mastered it.” – “Uniquely American characteristics” – European = from rural to urban, pastoral to civilized – American – from civilization (Europe etc) to the rural …where he conquered!
      • INDEPENDENCE
      • HARD WORKING
      • SELF DEFENDING
      • RESOURCEFUL
      • OPTIMISTIC
      • COOPERATIVE
      • DEMOCRATIC
      • WASTEFUL
    • So What? – and now that it’s gone … “Think about the children!!”
  • Why has the Myth spread?
    • Creation of a cultural legacy.
    • The Age of American Exceptionalism
    • The power of literature, legends, FILM and TV!
      • at every crucial period in US recent history, the Western gains popularity
      • the cowboy as hero, the man in white
  • What has the Myth forgotten?
    • Women
    • Diversity / Racism
    • Environmental Degradation
    • “Conquest” of civilization?
  • Why is this geographic?
    • Human / Land Relationships – the conquering of land by man, the shaping of man by land.
    • The creation of a cultural landscape tied to the myth
    • The acceptance of the Core / Periphery relationship of East / West.
    • Those that are left out are not invisible in the landscape.
    • The lingering presence today…
      • Landscape features and Representative Economies
      • The debate over land use
      • The changing face, the use of the myth
  • The future of the myth…
    • definite imprint on the cultural landscape
    • Revisionist, “New Western” histories / geographies – EXPRESSION OF DOUBT?
      • CONCERN OF US ROLE IN THE WORLD?

 

The Historical Geographer and the American West … A love story…

Notes on Landscape

Some bits and pieces about landscape (not explicitly put on the powerpoints, but definitely discussed).

 

Why study the landscape

• Landscape elements can be used to trace the ORIGIN AND DIFFUSION of distinctive culture traits and entire culture groups
• Landscapes can help us define REGIONAL CHARACTER
  • Why is a region a region? Often because of the way it looks. How people have shaped the scene.
• Landscape can communicate some thin of BASIC CULTURAL VALUES
  • Helps us understand what a culture believes is important…who we are as a people.

 

The Cultural Landscape

• Emphasizes in large part the MATERIAL CULTURE component
  • Focus is on how features come together in places to form the “man-made” visible scene
• Includes a great DIVERSITY of features
  • Individual buildings – Form, building materials, style
    • Both public and domestic architecture can show the diffusion of cultural values over time.
  • Whole settlement patterns
    • Villages – layouts – square, circular, linear
    • Cities – plats, design
    • Rural Settlement – clustered, nucleated or isolated farming populations, township and range
  • Transportation – key to historic patterns, shows new needs, built for a purpose that reflects a felt need for accessibility and connection
    • Roads, railroads etc.
  • Economic Activities – industrial centers, crops and livestock on landscape, Shopping, main street etc.
  • Ethnic Communities – names, churches, foods, regional clothing
  • Place Names – reflect culture / history
• Each culture, even subculture produces its own characteristic ASSEMBLAGE of these features –
  • a function of the physical environment
    • Raw Materials available
    • Perceived needs and values
  • “On Display” values
• Dynamic and always changing
  • SPATIALLY
    • DIFFUSION to a new region
      • RELOCATION diffusion as people migrate and/or
      • EXPANSION diffusion – if new people like the trait and adapt it into their own culture. (many modern cultural landscape features diffuse via hierarchical expansion diffusion. Often via urban areas over long distances
  • TEMPORALLY
    • Also dynamic. SEQUENT OCCUPANCE concept. An area’s architecture can pass from a folk landscape into a popular landscape.

 

Notes for powerpoint.

 

We’ve shown how geographers answer the question of WHERE

We’ve shown how geographers answer the question of WHY

By answering these questions, we can get some idea of the question of WHAT IS IT LIKE THERE

- Many ways…

- Landscape

- Sense of Place

 

THIS IS WHAT WE’LL BE LOOKING AT THIS UNIT:

 

• The Vernacular Landscape
• The WHAT IS IT LIKE THERE QUESTION
• Landscape
  • Natural, Physical Landscape
  • Cultural, Vernacular Landscapes
    • Def., What and Why
    • Axioms for Looking at a Landscape
    • J. B. Jackson and the Vernacular Landscape
• A Sense of Place

 

• THE WHAT IS IT LIKE THERE QUESTION
• Landscape
  • Natural, Physical
    • ultimately, physical landscape has a HUGE impact on the cultural landscape
    • important, cultural adjustments made as a result of physical landscape
      • ex. Chinese agricultural terracing and Irrigation landscape
    • Physical, natural landscapes have great influence in the types of foods, festivals, settlement patterns, clothing,, occupations etc. that evolve in a culture.
    • Diffusion of tech, ideas allows for NEW ways to manage the physical world.
  • Cultural, Vernacular Landscapes
    • landscapes made by humans.
    • Vernacular = Everyday, common!
    • The word landscape
      • Landschaft – Cartographer, geographer Alexander von Humboldt
        • an attempt to classify a place for description.
        • broke down elements of the physical into descriptive classes. Idea of LOOKING and QUESTIONING
      • Landscape – to “prettify”
      • Landscape – the good, the bad, the ugly – Everything in the built environment
        • From monuments, to vernacular – everything in daily use.
        • Why? – “all human landscape has cultural meaning”
        • It’s one of the jobs of geographers to view the landscape, to ask questions of it.
        • Reading the Landscape – The landscape can be read… “our unwitting autobiography reflecting our tastes, our values, our aspirations, and even our fears in tangible, visible form.” ALSO “landscapes have no secrets” – they tell the story of a society.
          • Not always easy… The vernacular landscape is messy, disorganized, meant to be USED, not READ and UNDERSTOOD. ALSO – Americans are unaccustomed to reading as well … we don’t know how to see
          • The ultimate goal then, is to see like a “local.” To look and ask questions and look some more.
          • Essential skill, … – to learn to see what’s going on around you and ask questions.
    • Axioms for Reading the Landscape – Peirce Lewis, 7 Axioms for Reading the Landscape – (Axiom = a starting point to understanding a logical truth)
      • LANDSCAPE AS A CLUE TO CULTURE
        • The everyday things … strong evidence of the people we WERE, the people we ARE, and the people WE WILL BECOME.
        • Landscape is a major investment … people won’t change unless under pressure to do so … A significant change to the LOOK of the landscape = a significant NATIONAL change!
        • To the degree that two cultures begin to look like each other, we may believe that their CULTURES ARE CONVERGING
        • If one place LOOKS differently than another (significantly) that it stands to reason that the two places are DIFFERENT CULTURALLY AS WELL.
        • The look of a landscape is often IMITATED. The DIFFUSION of these ideas can tell us a lot about a culture… What they value, what they want to be…
      • LANDSCAPE EQUALITY
        • As all landscape is a clue to culture, NO one item in the human landscape is MORE IMPORTANT than the other.
          • However, if something is really UNIQUE, it may mean nothing at all.
      • COMMON LANDSCAPES
        • are inherently tough to study academically- easy to study the grand or ‘olde,’ but TOUGH to study the VERNACULAR…everyday
        • This is why it is important to use Pop Culture, Trade Magazines, Local Newspapers, Advertisements as evidence
      • HISTORY MATTERS
        • We do what we do, we make what we make, we act the way we act in large because of the WAY WE DID THINGS IN THE PAST.
        • Difficulty – After a change, history lingers
        • Technology
      • GEOGRAPHY MATTERS
        • Elements of a landscape make little sense studied outside of its geographic context.
      • ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
        • Most cultural landscapes are related to physical environment. Thus, the reading of cultural landscape also presupposes some basic knowledge of physical landscape.
      • LANDSCAPE OBSCURITY
        • All though the landscape carries a message, they don’t convey them in an obvious way.
        • It’s all about the questions – What does it look like? How does it work? Who designed it? Why? When? What does it tell us about the way our society works?
      • Final Notes – One can teach oneself how to see, and that is something that most Americans have not done and should do. ALSO The Landscape is not Innocent
    • The Landscape according to John Brinkerhoff Jackson (J.B. Jackson)
      • Landscapes are physical documents, especially the Vernacular, day to day, landscapes.
      • Concerned with how people organized their space. Satisfy the needs of the people.
      • American Vernaculars
        • The New England Village
          • the model for the small town
          • Reflects the New England point of view … each person has its place
          • From rural to urban – we are to be members of a society
          • Church is center of town, also serves as town-hall. A center!
          • Commons – for livestock grazing, public meetings, but MORE! – brought people together.
        • The Grid
          • A shift in the social philosophy of community.
          • A man-made imposition on the landscape. Gives the individual total sway over the land – all could be owned.
        • Front Yard
          • As rural became urbanized … a rural landscape in miniature
          • A symbolic reference to the landscape we wished we lived in
          • Supported a “code”
        • Main Street
          • Solid, lined with Solid Institutions
          • A common meeting place
          • Now, a shift to an “idealized” pattern – what we want to present to others, tourists
          • Planned events for meeting place
        • The Strip
          • Bigger, larger, made for automotive era …
          • Signaled the end of downtown, common space
        • Improvised Temporary Spaces
          • Ultimate expression of the idea that a landscape becomes a place based on how we use it.
          • Others … the Home, Business Parks, the Road … all about how we use them and what that says about us.
• A SENSE OF PLACE
  • Location – the geographic extent, area (where) – the difference between place and region is scale
  • Locale – the setting. The context for social interaction – the institutions, organization
  • Sense of Place – The local structure of feeling. What it is like there. The attachment of the place.
    • it is about a relationship to a place.
  • How do we acquire a Sense of Place?
    • First Hand
    • Vicariously – through pictures, books, music, film … from others as well.
    • THE KEY IS THE EMPLOYMENT OF SENSES

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