Topographies of Culture: Geography, Meaning and Power Flashcards
Define space
The distribution of static or moving things, people and activities in two or three dimensions.
What must be considered when dealing with space in regards of it being culturally produced and part of culture?
1.) Its representation
2.) Distribution of things and activities
3.) Formation of boundaries
4.) Patterns of movement
Define ‘place’
The way that particular locations in space are given meaning by people through:
- Lived experience or
- Representations
Define ‘landscape’
How an area and the look of it are filled with meaning - object of study can be ‘reality’
Under Williams’ definition, what are the three basic positions that cultural geography is comprised of?
1.) Culture - meaning created by people through social interactions and social relations. Therefore, cultural geography is how those cultivated meanings relate to space, place and landscape
2.) Process of making cultural meanings of place, space and landscape are matters of power and resistance. It is therefore a matter of determining who has the power to create those meanings.
3.) Meanings are made through process of representation.
What do cultural geographers study?
How spaces, places and landscapes are represented in media
Explain the concept of ‘placenames’
People giving meaning to places by naming them in ways that are shaped by their interaction.
They are an act of claiming ownership:
- Defining what that place is
- Whom it belongs to
- What it means
e.g.: colonialism - one group appropriates land from another and renames places in new languages with new meanings
What is landscape representation?
Examining how landscapes are portrayed and understood within cultural contexts such as art, literature and media.
How these depictions influence and reflect cultural identities, values and histories
What is cultural performance?
The expressive activities that embody cultural norms and values within a space (i.e.: festivals, markets and parades)
Why is community involvement in place-making important?
Residents need to actively contribute to the design and use of these spaces
What is national identity?
How individuals, and groups, align themselves with a collective national consciousness.
It perceives commonalities and shared experiences as contributions towards a unified identity within a nation
Examines how history, cultural practices, language and symbols create a sense of national belonging.
What did Anderson say about ‘imagined communities’ with regards to national identity
That nations are cultural artefacts created in our collective imagination.
Not illusions but hold authority over deep attachments that people are willing to fight and die for.
What did Anderson say regarding a nation being a political community?
It is imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign.
