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Chapter 2
Layers of Tradition: Culture Regions at Different Scales
A. Logistics
Students’ Time Requirements
Activity 1: Mapping Culture Regions
Activity 2: Culture Traits of Your Culture Subregion
Activity 3: Regional Imagery
30 minutes
40 minutes
1 hour plus travel to store
Activity 1 involves various characteristics to define the Middle East or the American
Southwest culture regions. Activity 2 is focused on the culture region in which your university
resides and involves students identifying a list of culture traits popular or unique to your region.
Activity 3 also applies to your university’s own culture region—specifically what can postcards
tell us about the region’s essential traits and regional identity and whose identity is represented.
None of the activities build directly on any other, so they can be done independently or in
any combination. However, Activity 1 is a good introduction to Activities 2 and 3 and will help
students to answer those questions. We recommend completing Activity 1 before the others.
If your university is in the American Southwest, Questions 2.4 and 3.1 overlap somewhat
with the material in Activity 1 and with each other. We still recommend you assign the question,
however, because students will likely find postcard imagery that is not a map layer in Activity 1.
Activity 1 requires access to the Internet. It can be done individually or in groups, in a
computer lab or outside of class.
Activity 2 is an excellent in-class group activity. It can also be done at home.
Activity 3 requires students to go to a local store where postcards are sold. It is important
that they go to a store with a good selection, so you may want to make some suggestions. You
may wish to assign a supplemental exercise to search for competing images of regions, such as
websites from state agencies, chambers of commerce, etc. These could supplement the store
postcards nicely.
Of all the exercises, this one has the most open-ended questions and is the most
subjective. In some ways, it is the most demanding to grade. Thus, it is a candidate for pass-fail
grading.
B. Lesson Plan
I. Culture defined
II. Regions
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1. Formal regions
2. Functional regions
3. Perceptual regions
a. Vernacular regions
III. Culture Traits
1. Technological
2. Sociological
3. Ideological
IV. Culture Regions
1. Examples
2. Regional identity (awareness of belonging to a group united in a common territory)
3. Ways of life and the culture/landscape interface
V. Cultural Landscape
1. Carl Sauer and the Berkeley School
2. Cultural values and the landscape
3. Symbols
4. Regional identity
a. The problematic nature of one all-encompassing regional identity
(multiculturalism)
VI. Defining Culture Regions
1. Core
2. Domain
3. Sphere
4. Syncretism
VII. Do Activity 1 in class if you have a computer lab. Otherwise, assign as homework. Also
assign Activity 3. Do Activity 2 in class in groups.
VIII. The Middle East
1. Media stereotypes and perceptions
2. Terrorism and U.S. armed intervention
3. Fertile Crescent and empires
4. Judaism and Islam
5. Ecological trilogy
6. Natural landscapes
7. Colonialism
8. Arab Spring
IX. The American Southwest
1. Vegetation and climate
2. Topography and physiographic provinces
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3. Three cultures: Native American, Hispanic, and Anglo-Americans
4. Economy
X. Discussion of your local culture region and how it is portrayed on postcards (optional)
C. Answer Key
Activity 1: Mapping Culture Regions
1.1
American Southwest
Three Peoples
Fusion of Native American, European, and Hispanic Cultures
Chiles
Chile Peppers
Coyotes
Coyotes
Geographers
Southwest Division of the Association of American Geographers
Geometric
Southwest Quadrant of the United States
Grazing
Grazing on Public Lands
Hispanic
U.S. Hispanic American Borderland
MexAmerica
One of the Nine Nations of North America
Missions
Spanish Missions
National Parks
Ten or More National Parks, National Monuments, or National
Historic Sites
Native Americans
Native Americans in the Southwestern United States
NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Conference SW Conference
Norteño
Historically Isolated Frontier Region
Park Service
National Park Service District
Saguaro
Saguaro Cacti
Sunshine
Abundant Sunshine
Vernacular
Vernacular Southwest
Watersheds
Colorado River and Rio Grande Watersheds
Middle East
Arabic
Camels
Desert & Steppe
Desert
Goat Milk
Irrigated
Islam
Oil
No Pork
1.2
Arabic Language
Number of Camels per Person
Desert & Steppe
Desert
Per Capita Goat Milk Production
Irrigated Land
Islam as Dominant Religion
Oil Rich
Lack of Pork
Criteria appropriate for defining the American Southwest includes:
Watersheds
Sunshine
Hispanic
Missions
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Three Peoples
Vernacular
MexAmerica
Norteño
Native Americans
National Parks
Chiles
Saguaro
Coyotes and Grazing are certainly included in the Southwest (so are acceptable choices), but
those variables are also prevalent in other regions in the U.S.
The poor choices, which use artificial boundaries that are not based on any cultural or
environmental variables, include:
Geometric
NCAA
Geographers
Park Service
Middle East
Students may say that none of the variables “best” define the Middle East. All of the maps either
extend well beyond what most consider to be the Middle East (Arabic, Camels, Desert, Desert &
Steppe, Goat Milk, Islam, Oil, No Pork) or exclude key Middle Eastern countries (Arabic,
Camels, Desert, Islam), or both. While none of the variables are perfect, none are poor choices
either. All portray some aspect of culture and/or environment that encompasses the Middle East.
Question 1.3, where students justify their choices, is more important for the Middle East exercise
than for the Southwest exercise.
1.3
Justifications include the following:
American Southwest
Watersheds
Both are major western rivers that evoke images of the Southwest.
Their watersheds are in what most would consider the core of the
Southwest. Both are major irrigation sources for arid areas.
Sunshine
One aspect of the Southwest is its dry, sunny climate. Many people
migrate to the Southwest for the sunshine.
Hispanic
A visible Hispanic minority is not unique to the Southwest, but it is
an important cultural element here.
Missions
This is an historical dimension that goes back to the Spanish
influence that brought the Spanish language and Catholicism to
much of Latin America.
Three Peoples
This definition is based on the fusion of three cultural heritages
and defines the region in terms of the overlap of the three.
Vernacular
The regional terminology used by residents to describe their own
region is a good indicator of the regional identity as perceived by
local people.
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MexAmerica
Norteño
Native Americans
National Parks
Saguaro
Grazing
Coyotes
Chile
Joel Garreau based his regionalization of North America on the
perceptions of newspaper reporters and a whole host of economic,
cultural, and environmental factors. He sees the Hispanic influence
as what sets the Southwest apart from “The Empty Quarter” which
contains most of the rest of the Rocky Mountains.
Leon-Portilla’s Norteño includes all of Arizona and New Mexico,
plus the Mexican states to the south of AZ and NM. While the
exact location of the boundary follows political rather than cultural
lines, Leon-Portilla emphasized that these two states are a frontier
region with an independent-minded mentality. They are
historically isolated from power centers, and historically there has
been a lot of human/cultural interaction across this
physiographically similar region. While students probably would
not know this justification, they might say that it makes sense to
focus on these two states that are purely southwestern, and omit
those states that could also be classified as part of “The West,”
“The Pacific Region,” or “The Great Plains.”
Although there are denser concentrations of Native Americans in
South Dakota and Oklahoma, the Southwest (because of its
inhospitable climate and isolation) was the last refuge of
independent Native Americans. Thus, counties with 10% or greater
Native American populations retain a strong Native American
influence.
The Grand Canyon National Park is one of the jewels of the
National Park system. Many people make a pilgrimage through the
region’s parks using the Grand Canyon as their focus and form
their impressions of the Southwest from that trip. But the criteria of
ten such parks is arbitrary. If there were a state the size of
Delaware in the Southwest, it might simply be too small to have
ten such parks, even if it shared all the cultural and environmental
attributes of the Southwest.
The saguaro cactus of Arizona and Sonora is a prevalent symbol of
the southwest and a very good variable to define the region.
The abundance of federal land and the arid climate contributes to
much grazing in the Southwest. However, this is also true for most
of the Mountain West, much of which is outside of the Southwest.
The coyote howling at the moon is an enduring symbol of the
Southwest (thanks to New Mexico art that popularized this image),
but the coyote habitat extends throughout the continental United
States.
Chile peppers are another prevalent symbol of the southwest, and
the states that cultivate chilies would be a reasonable definition of
the region. Be aware that the inclusion of California in this variable
is simply a function of its huge agricultural industry.
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Middle East
Arabic
Most of the Middle East is comprised of Arabic countries (Israel and Iran
as notable exceptions), so mapping the Arabic language is a good choice
for regional definition.
Camels
The camel is the traditional pack animal found throughout Saharan Africa
and Central Asia, so their prevalence can be an indicator of the Middle
East culture region. Note that many areas outside of the Middle East also
rely on camels.
Desert
Many people think of the Middle East as desert. While this is often true,
the desert extends well beyond the Middle East (with the Sahara as the
most obvious example). Also, much of the Middle East is not desert, so
students will need to justify this choice.
Desert & Steppe
Including steppe regions extends the desert boundary to include
more of the Middle East, but also adds much more area that is not Middle
East.
Goat Milk
While goat-milk production is prevalent in the Middle East, it is also
prevalent in much of Africa, Asia, and Europe. This variable paints a
very broad swath across the region.
Irrigated
Areas that rely heavily on irrigated land is a better variable than just
desert areas, although some countries central to the Middle East are left
out (Jordan, Syria and Lebanon).
Islam
Most of the region is predominantly Muslim (note Israel and Lebanon as
exceptions), so Islam is a good choice. Again, this variable extends well
beyond the Middle East.
Oil
At least one of the large oil-producing areas can be used to define the
Middle East.
No Pork
Lack of pork identifies the Islamic and Jewish areas.
1.4
The answer to this questionhow closely do the boundaries of these three variables
agreewill depend on which variables a student chooses. If the three variables agree closely, it
suggests that there is a sharply defined “core” region that quickly transitions to another culture
region. A “domain” occurs as a zone of transition between one culture region and another. It is
the area where one or two characteristics are present, but not all three. Students studying the
Middle East will likely find a large domain because many of the variables extend well beyond
most people’s perceptions of the region.
1.5
Many other variables might be good for defining the American Southwest, including:
 desert/aridity/soil-moisture deficit
 irrigated agriculture (though certainly extends into other regions)
 lizard/coyote/cactus/pastel artwork
 residential desert landscaping
 temporary migration of winter residents (“snowbirds”)
 Mexican Americans as the largest minority
 skin-cancer rate
 gun ownership
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For the Middle East, we might wish to include:
 garbanzo bean production/consumption
 semitic languages
 pita as the dominant bread type
 prevalence of sheep or goat herding
 olives or olive oil production/consumption
 dates or figs production/consumption
 nomadic population
 areas where women wear veils/chadors
 desert + steppe + Mediterranean climate
1.6
Answers will differ from student to student. Students doing the Middle East exercise will
most likely have regions that differ greatly from the map variables, since few of the map
variables concisely define the Middle East.
Activity 2: Culture Traits of Your Culture Subregion
2.1–2.8 Answers will vary by student and by region. Since some will have a hard time coming up
with answers to 2.3 and 2.4, this is a good in-class group activity. It also works well when
students work on it independently ahead of time, and then discuss the subject openly as a class
before handing in their materials.
Note: The answer to Question 2.6 will also vary by student and region, as they may not think of
things that originated elsewhere a long time ago, such as horses, cattle, English, Christianity, the
scientific method, corn, wheat, etc.
Question 2.8 can be a good class discussion item. Some students may appreciate the
predictability that comes with more standard products—you know what type of food you will
find in a certain restaurant, for instance. They may also appreciate the level of standards that are
uniformly accepted. However, many may decry this familiarity. After all, if all places look the
same and offer the same food or other products, why travel? Many appreciate chance encounters
with the unknown, which is less likely to happen in a globalized world. Others may even argue
that the world is not becoming more homogenized—that regional uniqueness is alive and well.
Students should justify their answers for either the disappearance or continuance of regional
cultural traits with good examples. Regional variation continues through speech dialects,
political and religious views, food, clothing, and housing adaptations to local climate.
Activity 3: Regional Imagery
3.1
The themes shown in postcards will vary from region to region, from place to place
within a region, and even by the type of store in which the postcards were viewed.
3.2
Depends on the place.
3.3
Depends on cards selected, but students should think about what key elements define
their region and determine if these are represented on the postcards.
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Note: Many postcards at local stores will show local phenomena that do not apply to the larger
region (e.g., cityscapes, campus photos). Likewise, some postcards will show regional
phenomena that are not found locally (e.g., wildlife or ranching).
3.4
Frequently, the purpose behind postcards is to increase tourism (boosterism). Cards
therefore paint an idyllic version of landscape and life, focusing on dramatic and scenic features
while ignoring the mundane aspects of common folk and landscapes. Other times, postcards may
have little hope of actually promoting tourism, but serve as a way for local individuals to
promote their hometown pride (this tends to be more often the case in small rural communities).
Some postcards are intended to be humorous, but rarely are they critical of a region or place.
Students may come up with other answers here as well.
3.5
Minorities are often not included in any significant way in the portrayal of a place
through picture postcards. At times they may be included, but often in stereotypical or romantic
ways. This will, of course, vary between student and by region portrayed.
3.6
Students should justify their answers based on cards collected and the student’s previous
answer, but most likely the dominant cultural group defines regional imagery. Regional tourist
agencies and chambers of commerce may play a direct role in defining this imagery, or it may be
a reflection of prevalent values. Rarely do disenfranchised groups get the opportunity to portray
their regional identity or their regional perceptions in postcard format.
D. Discussion or Essay Questions
Is regionalism disappearing in the United States or Canada as mass consumerism (promoted by
such players as McDonalds, The Gap, and Hollywood movies) homogenizes our preferences and
habits? (Follow on to Question 2.8.)
How do immigrants contribute to or detract from the core values of a place?
What acts to keep regionalism alive? How do regional subcultures sustain themselves?
Every location is in not one but many formal and functional regions of different types at various
geographic scales ranging from small-scale elementary school districts to the developed or
developing regions at the international scale. Name some other formal and functional regions we
are in, at our exact location here on campus.
What do you call the culture regions to the north, south, east, or west of the American
Southwest? What are their characteristics?
If you were blindfolded, put on an airplane, and taken to Region X [insert a North American
culture region], what clues (culture traits) would there be in the cultural landscape that would tell
you where you were?
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Identify the vernacular names for your region.
In your opinion, does San Diego have more in common with Prince Edward Island or with the
Mexican state of Baja California, just across the border?
What are the major differences between the North American culture realm and Latin America?
How about between North America and Western Europe? Japan?
If you were to design your own postcards, what images would you present to best market your
city or region? If you were to choose photographs of your city or region for a cultural geography
book, what images best represent the cultural landscape?
How do minorities and other disenfranchised groups create their own space within the dominant
landscape?
With the U.S. involvement in several wars in the Middle East, what regional stereotypes have
been promoted through the news? Are these accurate representations of this culture region? What
message do they tend to portray?
How has regional imagery of China changed in your lifetimes?
Can you identify subregions within the Middle East? Based on what criteria?
What symbols, icons, slogans, or other marketing materials does your local city and region use
for place-making?
Compare the following regions technologically, sociologically, and ideologically based on what
you know about them:
- Portland and Dallas
- Western Colorado and Eastern Colorado
- Italy and Sweden
- England and Australia
- China and Japan
- North Korea and South Korea
- Vancouver and Seattle
- Northern California and Southern California
Given two regions with similar natural environments, discuss how their cultural landscapes
differ, and why.
- San Diego and Tijuana
- Cape Cod and the Jersey Shore
- Florida and Cuba
- Nepal and Switzerland
- Colorado and Switzerland
- Israel and Lebanon
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Discuss ways that a difference in a single cultural subsystem—technological, sociological, or
ideological—can lead to changes in other subsystems?
European and East Asian countries typically invest more in public transportation systems, and
ridership rates are much higher. Discuss the role of each cultural subsystem—technological,
sociological, or ideological—in explaining this difference.
Despite roughly similar levels of economic development, Western European countries and Japan
have much lower levels of energy consumption [or gun ownership] per capita. Discuss which
cultural subsystem—technological, sociological, or ideological—is the biggest reason for this
difference.
E. Question Bank
1. True/False The Corn Belt is a formal region.
2. True/False The area in which common people refer to themselves as “Midwesterners” is a
good example of a functional region.
3. True/False A vernacular region can be defined by the geographic phrase or label with which
its own inhabitants label it.
4. True/False The boundaries of perceptual regions are a matter of debate, but formal region
boundaries are very clear-cut.
5. True/False A perceptual region is one defined by subjective perceptions that reflect feelings
and images about a place.
6. True/False The Middle East is an area where agriculture, domestication of animals, and the
urban life developed independently.
7. True/False The term “Three Peoples” refers to the primary Southwest Native American tribes
of the Navajo, Hopi, and Apache.
8. True/False If the natural environments of two areas are exactly the same, it is likely that their
cultural landscapes will look very similar.
9. True/False Postcards are a way of projecting an area’s cultural identity to the outside world.
10. True/False The dominant themes represented on postcards of an area usually represent the
regional identity of the population subgroups with less economic and political
power.
11. True/False The Middle East is comprised entirely of Muslims.
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12. True/False Chapter 2 focuses on two particular cultural regions: the Middle East and the
Pacific Northwest.
13. True/False Many towns and cities in Arizona are part of the Mormon culture region’s
“sphere.”
14. True/False Many towns and cities in Arizona are part of the Mormon culture region’s “core.”
15. True/False The Mormon culture region’s “core” essentially includes most of the state of
Utah.
16. A feeling of being part of a place shared with others who live there is called:
a.
environmental perception
b.
functional regionalism
* c.
regional identity
d.
core
e.
vernacularism
17. The cultural landscape is composed of:
a.
agricultural lands
b.
houses and buildings
c.
freeways
d.
signs
* e.
all of the above
18. Which of these is not a formal region?
* a.
the area served by your local airport
b.
the Amazon rainforest.
c.
rice-growing region of China.
d.
the area of France where the Breton language is spoken.
19. The area from which a movie theater draws its customers is an example of:
a.
a frictionless zone
b.
a formal region
* c.
a functional region
d.
all of the above
20. Which of the following was not given as one of the possible ways of defining the American
Southwest in Activity 1?
a.
the geographic extent of Spanish mission-style churches
b.
the Rio Grande or Colorado watersheds
c.
10% Native American population
d.
Joel Garreau’s (the Washington Post reporter) “MexAmerica”
* e.
the area with skin cancer rates equal to twice the national average
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21. In order of decreasing dominance of a culture, what are the terms used to describe a culture
area?
a.
core, sphere, domain
* b. core, domain, sphere
c.
sphere, domain, core
d.
sphere, core, domain
22. Syncretism is:
a.
the separate maintenance of cultural traditions
b.
the dynamic process of creating cultural regions
c.
the sense of place that an area has
* d. the emergence of a new cultural trait as a cultural hybrid
23. The term geographers use to refer to modifications to the environment by humans that display
aspects of their culture, often through symbols, is:
a.
culture trait
* b. culture landscape
c.
culture marker
d.
syncreticism
24. An example of a perceptual region of a city would be:
* a.
the arts district
b.
the distribution of the local daily newspaper
c.
the area where Spanish is the predominant language spoken
d.
the geographic northern half of town
25. Which of the following is not a distinctive feature of the Middle Eastern cultural landscape?
a.
irrigated fields around villages
b.
mosques in city centers
* c.
slashed-and-burned fields within forests
d.
nomadic trading and herding routes
e.
All of the above are elements of the Middle Eastern cultural landscape.
26. Which of the following culture traits is least distinctive to your subregion of North America?
[Instructors: modify this question as needed.]
a.
crops
b.
clothing
c.
food
d.
religion
* e.
mode of transportation
27. Cultural geographers refer to a Middle Eastern “ecological trilogy” consisting of:
a. water, wind, and sun
b. water, oil, and people
* c. cities, farming villages, and nomads
d. rain, streams, and springs
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28. Chapter 2 introduced some terms for defining zones of cultural intensity. The zones were
called:
* a. core, domain, sphere
b. core, semi-core, semi-periphery, periphery
c. core, periphery
d. heartland, influence, transition
29. The drinking of wine with meals is an example of a French:
a. culture region
b. regional identity
* c. culture trait
d. syncretism
e. culture boundary
30. Cultural landscape refers to:
a. a region created by the interactions between a central node and surrounding locations
b. an awareness of being part of a group of people living in a particular region
c. the zone of greatest concentration or homogeneity of the culture traits that characterize a region
* d. modifications to the environment by humans that reflect aspects of their culture
31. A distinctive item or behavior that can be used to identify the spatial extent of a culture
region is called a:
a.
culture icon
b.
representative sample
c.
culture complex
* d. culture trait
e.
culture boundary
32. This graphic would best serve as a symbol identity at which level?
a. Mesa
*b. Sonoran Desert
c. Mormon Culture Region
d. Mountain West
33. An area of uniformity in one or several characteristics is a:
*a. formal region
b. functional region
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c. perceptual region
d. vernacular region
34. A region created by interaction with a central point is a:
a. formal region
*b. functional region
c. perceptual region
d. vernacular region
35. An area defined by subjective perceptions (either of locals or outsiders) is a:
a. formal region
b. functional region
*c. perceptual region
d. vernacular region
36. A region based on the definitions of local residents is a:
a. formal region
b. functional region
c. perceptual region
*d. vernacular region
37. This map of Pizza Hut delivery areas is an example of what type of region?
a. formal region
*b. functional region
c. perceptual region
d. vernacular region
38. This map of food most likely to be served with a meal reflects what type of region?
*a. formal region
b. functional region
c. perceptual region
d. vernacular region
39. Which of the following is the more popular vernacular description used on business names in
Phoenix?
a. Sonoran
*b. Southwest
c. Southern
40. The overlapping area between the Middle East culture region and a neighboring culture
region was BIGGEST along the edge of the region that borders:
a. Sub-Saharan Africa
*b. South Asia (India)
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c. Europe
41. Which of the following cultural traits spread to the Southwest from somewhere else?
a. Catholicism
b. grass lawns
c. Mexican food
d. baseball
*e. all of the above
42. Which of the following Southwestern cultural traits is the best example of syncretism?
*a. Spanish-language TV talk shows
b. eating with forks and knives
d. tortilla chips
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
43. Which of the following is not an example of a cultural trait?
a. Religion
b. Housing style
c. Greeting style
d. Eating utensils
* e. These are all example of cultural traits.
44. Which of the following is an example of an abrupt transition between culture regions?
a. the transition along the Mexico–U.S. border between Spanish as the dominant language in
Mexico to English as the dominant language in the United States
b. the transition between the curry-based flavors of Indian cuisine to the soy-based flavors of
Chinese cuisine
* c. the transition from capitalism to communism in Berlin during the Cold War
d. None of the above is an example of an abrupt transition between culture regions. They are
all examples of graduate transitions.
45. The term “Bible Belt” refers to which type of region?
a. Formal
b. Functional
* c. Perceptual
F. Related Issues
Regions and Culture
The concept of regions has widespread applicability above and beyond the notion of culture.
There are physical, population, and economic regions in addition to culture regions. Each
instructor will have his or her own opinion on whether to introduce regions or culture first. The
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region-first approach would be based on the notion that culture regions are an application of the
more generic idea of making sense of the world’s spatial variation by regionalizing. The culturefirst approach would be based on the idea that students must first know something about how
human life varies from place to place before they can start thinking about organizing it into
regions.
Nine Nations of North America
Joel Garreau’s Nine Nations of North America makes an excellent entree into thinking about the
culture regions of North America. Garreau was a Washington Post reporter who, after traveling
extensively, was struck by how different life was in different parts of the U.S., and wrote an
insightful book about it. In fact, Garreau’s MexAmerica is one of the map overlays students can
choose from in Activity 1. This can help students who have not yet formed a mental map of the
continent to think about what lies on the other side of the boundary of the American Southwest
culture region. One reason why some students have difficulty determining good boundaries of
the Southwest is because they don’t have a clear idea about the regions bordering on the
Southwest. For these students, naming and describing the neighboring regions may help them
define the boundaries between them. Garreau’s map helps them to do this. A similar and more
recent book is American Nations by Colin Woodard, in which the author identifies eleven “rival
regional cultures” in North America.
Slides
Slides (digital photos) are an integral part of cultural geography, and in this chapter more than
anywhere else in the book, a slide show would make a good accompaniment. If you happen to
have slides of your region and the American Southwest and the Middle East, you might want to
contrast the three cultural landscapes.
Iraq
Chapter 13 now has a case study on the political geography of Iraq. Instructors who use the
Middle East case study in this chapter may wish to have students read the materials in Chapter
13 to better understand the history and geography of Iraq and the region.
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