Human Geography By James Rubenstein

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Human Geography By James Rubenstein

• Chapter 4
• Key Issue 1
• Where Do Folk and Popular Cultures Originate and
  Diffuse?

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Habit

• A repetitive act that a particular individual
  performs.

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Custom

• A repetitive act of a group, performed to the
  extent that it becomes characteristic of the
  group.

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A collection of social customs produces a groups
material culture.
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Two basic categories of material culture

• Folk Culture
• Popular Culture

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Folk Culture

• Material culture traditionally practiced
  primarily by small, homogeneous groups living in
  isolated rural areas.

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Popular Culture

• Material culture practiced by large,
  heterogeneous societies that share habits despite
  differences in personal characteristics, and most
  frequently originate in MDCs.

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Scale of Territory

• Territory of Folk culture is typically much
  smaller than that of Popular culture.

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Through Globalization

• popular culture is becoming more dominant,
  threatening the survival of unique folk cultures.

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Each social custom has a unique spatial
distribution.
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Two basic factors that explain spatial differences

• The process of origin
• The pattern of diffusion

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Origin of Folk and Popular Cultures

• Folk culture originates from anonymous sources,
  at unknown dates, through unidentified
  originators.
• Popular culture is most often a product of the
  economically more developed countries
• - popular music
• - fast food

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Popular culture is becoming more dominant,
threatening the survival of unique folk cultures,
which provide a unique identity to each group of
people who occupy a specific region on Earths
surface.
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Origin of Folk Music

• Composed anonymously and transmitted orally.
• Tell story or convey information about
• - daily activities
• - life-cycle events
• - mysterious events

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Example of Folk Culture

• In Vietnam, where most people are subsistence
  farmers, information about agricultural
  technology is conveyed through folk songs.

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Origin of Country Music

• Folk customs may have multiple origins.
• Geographer George Carney identified 4 major
  hearths of country music
• - southern Appalachia
• - Central Tennessee and Kentucky
• - the Ozark and Ouachita uplands
• - north-central Texas

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Origins of country music
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Origin of Popular Music

• Written by specific individuals for the purpose
  of being sold to a large number of people.
• Originated around 1900
• Diffusion of American popular music worldwide
  began during World War II

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Tin Pan AlleyCluster of music writers and
publishers in New York City.
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Diffusion of Hip Hop

• Originated in New York in late 1970s.
• A return to a very local form of music
  expression.
• Diffused rapidly around the world through
  globalization.

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Proximity of prominent hip hop performers.
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Diffusion of Folk and Popular Cultures
Popular culture diffuses rapidly and extensively
through the use of modern communications and
transportation.
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The Spread of Popular Culture

• Follows the process of hierarchical diffusion
  from hearths or nodes of innovation.
• - Hollywood (movies)
• - Madison Avenue (advertising)

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Folk Culture

• Is transmitted from one location to another.
• - More slowly
• - At a smaller scale
• - Through relocation
  diffusion

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Relocation Diffusion

• The spread of a characteristic through migration.

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The Amish

• An example of Relocation Diffusion.
• Distinctive clothing, farming, and religious
  practices.
• Shun mechanical and electrical power.
• Travel by horse and buggy and continue to use
  hand tools for farming.

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Amish Settlements

• Number only about 70,000 in US.
• Visible on the landscape in at least 17 states.

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Amish Settlements
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Amish History

• Originated in Switzerland, France, and Germany
  in the 1600s.
• Followers of Swiss Mennonite bishop Jakob
  Ammann.
• Two waves of Amish families migrated to U.S.
• - in early 1700s, to Pennsylvania.
• - in early 1800s, to Ohio, Iowa, and Ontario.

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Amish Communities

• Retain their traditional customs.
• Relatively isolated from each other.
• Diffusing slowly through interregional
  migration.
• - in search of inexpensive farm land
• - to escape influx of tourists

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Soccer

• An example of hierarchical diffusion of Popular
  Culture.
• In the latter 20th Century, the worlds most
  popular sport.
• Began as a folk culture.

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Early History of Soccer

• Earliest documented contest took place in 11th
  century England (called Kick the Danes head).
• Between rival villages, with the winners kicking
  the ball into the center of the rival village.
• Renamed football in 12th Century.
• Banned by King Henry II at end of 12th Century.
• Legalized in 1603 by King James I.

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From the World to Houston
PELE
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Globalization of Soccer

• Began in 1800s.
• Rules were standardized in 1863.
• The Dutch were the first continental Europeans
  to play soccer in 1870s.
• The British diffused the game throughout their
  empire.
• Soccer was further diffused by radio and
  television.

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The Diffusion of Rugby

• Originated in England in 1823, when football
  (soccer) player picked up the ball and ran with
  it.
• Spread to the US in 1873, when Harvard
  representative successfully argued the adoption
  of rugby rules over soccer.
• Later modified into American Style football.
• Similar modification of Rugby rules were taken
  by Canadians, Australians, and the Irish.

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Some Other Preferred Popular Sports

• Cricket is popular in Britain and former British
  Colonies.
• Ice hockey prevails in Canada, Northern Europe,
  and Russia.
• Forms of Martial Arts are popular in China.
• Baseball in the US and Japan.

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Lacrosse

• Known as bump hips began among the Iroquois
  Confederation of North America.

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GLOBALIZATION OF AN AMERICAN SPORT
BASKETBALL, Ranong Province, Thailand
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TAKRAM, sport in Thailand that is a combination
of soccer (no hands) volleyball (net)