WORLD GEOGRAPHY Oct. 7, 2014 Today Culture - Culture diffusion, cultural landscapes - Mini-presentations/discussions Culture defined Culture is Sum total of knowledge, attitudes, habitual behavior patterns shared and transmitted by the members of society. Korea: Then vs. Now Elements of culture - Language English words (loan words) - Slang - gender roles - Religion- architecture - Customs and practices less traditional - Clothing/fashion designer fashion (foreign brands) - Cuisine/food - Music Hip hop K-pop Mind association - What place do you think of when you see each of these images? Local & 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 Rural local cultures Isolation Common economic activity among members Anabaptists Mennonites Amish Hutterites Makah Indians, Neah Bay, Washington Little Sweden, U.S.A. Lindsborg, Kansas Example the Amish - Originated in Europe - Anabaptists: separated from Catholic and Protestant Christianity. - Live in their own farm-based communities Maintain own culture: religion, education, technology Example the Amish Urban local cultures Ethnic neighborhoods within cities: - Creates a space to practice customs - Can cluster businesses, houses of worship, schools to support local culture Example Williamsburg (Brooklyn) Large Hasidic Jewish community Example Williamsburg (Brooklyn) Large Hasidic Jewish community Urban local cultures - Migration into ethnic neighborhoods can quickly change an ethnic neighborhood 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 Popular culture 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 Irish Pub Company Pubs Irish Pub Company and Guinness Brewing Company created 5 models of pubs and export them around the world. Outback Steakhouse TGI Fridays Hard Rock Cafe Hill tribes in Thailand Native American Reservations The very first documentary Nanook of the North (1922) Diffusion of Popular Culture Distance-decay: More interaction between closer places than between more distant places. Time-space compression: Interaction dependent on connectedness among places. Diffusion of Popular Culture Distance decay Diffusion of Popular Culture Distance decay Diffusion of Popular Culture Time space compression Diffusion of Popular Culture Time-space compression (connectedness) Diffusion of Popular Culture Time-space compression (connectedness) Diffusion of popular culture Stemming the tide of popular culture Rapid diffusion of popular culture from major hearths - United States - Europe - Japan -South Korea? Stemming the tide of popular culture Resistance - Government subsidies: Media in local languages - Policies (e.g. language policies in Quebec) - Minorities in wealthy countries: Cultural preservation - Political elites in poorer countries: Nationalist ideologies - Social and ethnic minorities in poorer countries: Greater autonomy Culture and the Cultural Landscape Cultural landscape: Visible human imprint on the land Placelessness: Similarity of places of popular cultures everywhere Culture and the Cultural Landscape Convergence of cultural landscapes: 1. Diffusion of skyscrapers as a mark of a city Culture and the Cultural Landscape Convergence of cultural landscapes: 2. The widespread distribution of businesses and products Culture and the Cultural Landscape Convergence of cultural landscapes: 3. Borrowing of idealized landscape images Culture and the Cultural Landscape Convergence of cultural landscapes: 3. Borrowing of idealized landscape images Culture and the Cultural Landscape Convergence of cultural landscapes: Interaction b/w pop and local culture McDonalds regional items Shaka Shaka Chicken Singapore Interaction b/w pop and local culture McDonalds regional items McLobster Eastern Canada Interaction b/w pop and local culture McDonalds regional items Bulgogi Burger South Korea So.who cares? GroupParticipants 1 Sun-Jin, Yun Sung: K-Pop Min Kyung, Da eun: Audition Dong-gyun, Hyun-Rock: Hollywood Drama Gyeongnam, Dain: Korean caf culture 2 Jessica, Boogun: Black Friday Jeolmir, Eden: Hollywood movies Sori, Sunny: Halloween Yong Ju, Dong Hyun, Jae Yoon: Korean Wedding 3 Jeongmin, Hee Sang: St. Patricks Day Jeongin, Sohee: Animation Jeewon, Jungeun: Fast Food Doeun, Myunghwa: Christmas Min, Hyun Chul: Coffee industry in Korea 4 Eugene, Jungho: SNS Jefferson, George: Football Juhee, Kyung Eun: Koreas Doljanchi Hyunseo, Gyuwon: Jeans Before next class Do the reading (Identity)