Chapter 4

“Folk and Popular Culture”

“Culture is the agent, the natural area is the medium, the cultural landscape is the result’- Carl Sauer

Culture – the body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people.

Popular Culture:

Folk Culture:

Carl Sauer’s Cultural Landscape

Folk Culture:

•Practiced by a small group (homogeneous)•Rural or low density area•Small Scale•Isolated•Unique identity•Local diversity•Resistant to change•Sensitive to the environment•Vary from place to place at a given time

The Amish

Pop Culture:

•Practiced by a large group (heterogeneous)•Urban or high density•Large Scale•Globalization – transportation, communication•Rapid diffusion•Changes quickly•Modification of environment to suit needs•Vary from time to time at a given place

The following was developed by Sir Julian Huxley

Artifact – objects that allow us to live, objects that allow us to feed, cloth, house, defend, transport and amuse us – eg. Spoon - Anthropology

Mentifact – Ideas, beliefs, how a culture expresses itself, individual behaviour, what is right and wrong, what is accepted – eg. Religion, language and laws - Ideology

Sociofact – Social organization of culture, group behaviour, how individuals are to function in a group – eg. Families, politics, economics and tribes – Sociology

“A dwelling, for example, is an artifact providing shelter, it can be a sociofact reflecting the nature of the family and it can be a mentifact summarizing a cultural groups convictions shown by design, orientation and building materials.”

One more example:

Clothing:

Artifact – offers protection

Sociofact – identifies an individual’s role in society – especially a uniform

Mentifact – reflects the values of the wearer – religious clothing, baggy pants, cowboy hat and boots, colour of clothing etc.

Other Key Terms:

•Cultural convergence•Cultural divergence•Acculturation•Cultural integration•Cultural Innovation•Cultural Realm•Cultural Region – Core, domain, sphere•Syncretism – eg. Greek music is a combination European and Middle Eastern music.•Taboo

Geographers are interested in the origin, diffusion and integration of culture with other social characteristics.

Geographers are also interested in the relationship between culture and the physical environment.

What do you see in this landscape?

A geographer sees:

•Nature: trees and forest•Habitat: home of birds and animals•Artifact: wood to be used for fire and tools•System: sun makes trees grow, trees and leaves food, animals eat food and each other, fish etc.•Problem: limited beach, no pathways, cut trees to create cottages (ruin the landscape)•Wealth: sell the land for development•Ideology: beauty of nature, freedom•History: past hunters and gathers, natives•Place: sight, sounds and smells are unique•Aesthetic: beautiful landscape, picturesque

Article: “The Beholding Eye, by D. W. Meinic

Discussion:

How is culture reflected in the following:

•Music – all the types and styles•Sports - Soccer•Food – Italian, French, Chinese•Clothing – drive around and see all the different kinds among young people•Housing styles- colour, material•Role of Women – empowerment, status

Cultural landscape: The visible, material landscape that cultural groups create as they inhabit the earth. See the separate slide show on Cultural Landscape.

Write down the aspects of Culture you see in the next few slides?

The Culture of Wine

Clothing as Culture

Music as Culture

Sports as Culture

TV’s per 1 000

Internet Users per 1 000

Culture is very visible in the style of homes that dot the urban landscape. Please view the slide show on home styles and view the many architectural styles seen in Toronto

Cultural Regions are usually distinguished by Architectural Style

View the separate slide show on Architectural Styles of North American homes

Modern Culture and it affects on Traditional Culture – EG: Dowries

Vocabulary List

Unit III. Cultural Patterns and Processes, Part 1—Basic Vocabulary and Concepts  Concepts of Culture Acculturation Assimilation Cultural adaptation Cultural core/periphery pattern Cultural ecology Cultural identity Cultural landscape Cultural realm Culture Culture region • Formal—core, periphery • Functional—node • Vernacular (perceptual)—regional self-awareness  

Diffusion types • Expansion—hierarchical, contagious, stimulus • Relocation  Innovation adoption Maladaptive diffusion Sequent occupance

Folk and Popular Culture Adaptive strategies Anglo-American landscape characteristics Architectural form Built environment Folk culture Folk food Folk house Folk songs Folklore Material culture Nonmaterial culture Popular culture Survey systems Traditional architecture

The End