Session 5: Theoretical approaches to the geography of culture and environment – Part 1

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Norton, W. (2005). Cultural Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, and Inequalities. Oxford University Press, Don Mills.

Readings: Chapter 3 of Norton – Humanism; Behavioral Geographies; Marxism.

September 19, 2013

Theoretical approaches to questions in the geography of culture and environment that challenged the landscape school:

1. Humanism (video & discussion)

2. Behavioral Geographies

3. Marxism

Humanism

“to treat humans objectively would be to treat them as objects and most as thinking, feeling individuals” (Norton, 2005, pg. 71)

3 aspects of humanistic approach:

1) Humans are ontologically (reality) and epistemologically (knowledge) irreducible;

2) Focus on human experience and symbolic expression (acknowledges many different truths);

3) Respect for individuals freedom and dignity.

Humanism

Human phenomena should not be hypothesized

instead should be described meanings explored (lifeworld)

3 principal humanistic interests:

1) Phenomenology: focus on the lived/experienced world (rejection of the “objective reality” outside of human expience)

2) Existentialism: concern with human being/existence

3) Idealism: phenomena only important when part of human consciousness (the importance of thoughts behind actions)

* a significant focus on the individual and human autonomy

New item / thought provoking item of the day

Example of the humanism in research:

Honor the Treaties - directed by Eric Becker

http://www.reelhouse.org/becker/honortreaties/honortreaties

Questions for discussion

1. What was it about Aaron’s/Sheppard approach that was humanistic?

2. What did Aaron/Sheppard do that was outside of the norms for creating “unbiased” research?

3. How did Aaron/Sheppard understand and frame/interpret poverty and class in relation to the Lakota Sioux of the Pine Ridge Reservation?

Instructions:

• Work as a group of 3 or 4 and answer the questions;• Take approximately 5 minutes to answer each question; • Designate a note taker and one person to respond to each

question

Topophilia: love of place

Sense of place: emotional underpinning attached to place

*will explore this concept further with Mya Wheerler Wiens

Placelessness: not a useful concept – if a place can be identified it will have meaning to someone

Photo credit: Darlene Mazzone

Behavioural Geographies

Structuralism: analyses of the minds parts or structures

Functionalism: understood in terms of ongoing thought process responsible for learning; influenced by Darwin’s evolutionary theory; focused on the subjective experience

mental states are constituted solely by their functional role – not so much about individual perception

Space and behaviour:

•behaviour = observable activities in general (study of patterns; came from spatial analysis field)

•ignores aspects like creativity, freedom, and dignity (instead sees humans as optimizers of opportunity – economic theory)

•focuses on the cognitive – such as perception

2 Models for Behavioural Geographies

Place and behaviour:

•humanist concerns: psychological concepts like mental maps & the subjective / perceived experience

•Husserl - important to understand structure & meaning (not just scientific interpretation)

•perspective resulting in the action is important

Research of place and behaviour

Exploration of topic exhaustibly

Classify and compare different accounts

Summarize the results

The Problem with inference

Marxism

3 concepts in Marx’s Social Theory:

1) Identification of human society types and historical context

2) Transition from one type of society to another

3) Analysis of 19th Century capitalism

"Capital is dead labor, which, vampire-like, lives only by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks.”

- Karl Marx, Das Kapital (Volume I, Chapter 10)

Forces of production: produce goods

Relation of production: economic structure of society

Society

1. Identification of human society types

Infrastructure: relations of production

Superstructure: legal and political system

determinism

2. Transition from one type of society to another

Dominant class will try to maintain the current system

South Africa

Distribution of wealth following the end of apartheid

Canada

The Indian Act

Also know as structural violence (Galtung, 1969)

a way of understanding why disparities persist!

Soweto Atiwapiskat

3. Analysis of 19th Century capitalism

Marxist philosophy in action

•Labour movements: unions and strikes

•Socialism: cooperative management of property

•Communism: social organization based on the holding of all property in common

*often manifests as a totalitarian regime

*This is what Marx predicted and is the problematic nature of any political philosophy

**With regards to cultural geography major contribution is the recognition of the role of politics