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An Introduction to Human Geography
The Cultural Landscape, 8e
James M. Rubenstein
Folk and Popular
Culture
PPT by Abe Goldman
 From
the Latin word, cultus, which means
“to care for” which implies:
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“to take care of” (cultivate)… material wealth
including food, clothing, shelter, expressions of
art, history and folklore
“to care about” (cult)… customary ideas, beliefs,
communication, attitudes, perceptions and
values derived from language, religion and
ethnicity
 The
body of customary beliefs, material
traits and social forms that together
constitute the distinct tradition of a group of
people
LANGUAGE
HOLIDAYS
ARTS
HISTORY FOODS
FOLKLORE
COMMUNICATIONS
BELIEFS
ATTITUDES
VALUES
PERCEPTIONS
 Often
occurs
because of
violation of an
unspoken and
unseen culture
norm of the group
 Some aspects of
culture are not
readily perceived
by those outside
the culture group
 Origin
of folk and popular cultures
FOLK – often anonymous hearths on unknown dates and
originators
POPULAR – most often hierarchical diffusion from MDCs
to the globe, product of technology and leisure time
 Origin of folk music

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Composed anonymously and transmitted orally
Content: derived from daily life, tells a story
Origin of popular music

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
Commercial endeavor, mass produced
Developed in NYC (Tin Pan Alley), music halls
NYC South Bronx, hip hop since 1970s, 1980s to pop
culture – elements of folk culture
Fig. 4-2: Writers and publishers of popular music were clustered in Tin Pan Alley in New
York City in the early twentieth century. The area later moved north from 28th
Street to Times Square.
Fig. 4-1: U.S. country music has four main hearths, or regions of origin: southern
Appalachia, central Tennessee and Kentucky, the Ozark-Ouachita
uplands, and north-central Texas.
Fig. 4-3: This mental map places major hip hop performers near other similar
performers and in the portion of the country where they performed.
 Diffusion



of folk and popular cultures
Popular Culture – hierarchical diffusion – MDC nodes out
Folk Culture – relocation diffusion - people migration
The Amish: Relocation diffusion
of folk culture







Maintain traditional lifestyle
Farm communities
≈70,000 (.03% of US population)
17 states (1 community in Sarasota)
Originated from Switzerland, France &
Germany
To US/Canada: Pennsylvania 1700s;
Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Ontario 1800s
Need for land (son’s inherit) and urban
sprawl adds to migration today
 Diffusion
of folk and popular cultures
Can originate as folk culture activity
 Sports: Hierarchical diffusion of popular culture

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Globalization of Soccer
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
Folk Culture Origin of Soccer (football)
 Earliest documented: England 11th century
 Standardized rules in the 12th century
 Banned late 12th century – legalized 1603
Began 1800s with increased leisure time and disposable
income
1863 formal professional leagues formed… popular culture
Sports in Popular Culture

Each country has preferred sports

Isolation promotes cultural diversity

Himalayan art

Art influences
 Culture: daily routine and religious beliefs
 Environment: climate, landforms & vegetation
Buddists – China (Tibet)
Paintings: Idealized
divine figures
(monks/saints) some
bizarre or terrifying
perhaps reflecting
the harsh environ
Muslims - Pakistan
Paintings: plants and
flowers
Muslims prohibits
display of animated
objects
Hindu - India
Paintings: everyday
life & deities in
domestic scenes &
the region’s violent
climatic conditions
Fig. 4-5:
Cultural geographers have
identified four distinct
culture regions based on
predominant religions in the
Himalaya Mountains.
Animists – Myanmar
(Burma) SE Asia
Paintings: symbols and
designs based on belief
systems
 Influence
of the physical environment
Food, clothing & shelter choices
folk society adaptations often responsive to environ due to lower
technology base
Environment only one factor of culture development

Distinctive food preferences

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
Plants and animals
 Cooking methods dependent on fuel supplies
A persons dress, manners and speech may alter due to
migration or other culture influence but food habits often
continue
Food choice or taboo based on perceived benefits or harm

Taboo – any restriction on behavior imposed by social custom
Fig. 4-6: Annual hog production is influenced by religious taboos against pork
consumption in Islam and other religions. The highest production is
in China, which is largely Buddhist.
Fig. 4-7: Houses and sleeping positions are oriented according to local customs
among the Lao in northern Laos (left) and the Yuan and Shan in
northern Thailand (right).
Fig. 4-8: Four communities in western
China all have distinctive
house types.
Fig. 4-9: Distinct house types
originated in three
main source areas in
the U.S. and then
diffused into the
interior as migrants
moved west.
Fig. 4-10: Four main New England
house types of the
eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries diffused
westward as settlers
migrated.