Folk and Popular Culture 2023 PDF

CASE STUDY THE NACIREMA PEOPLE  Unit 4: Culture Folk and Popular Culture Language Religion  Definitions of Culture All of a group’s learned behaviors, actions, beliefs, and objects. It can be visible and invisible. Culture is made up of cultural traits: the building blocks o...

CASE STUDY THE NACIREMA PEOPLE  Unit 4: Culture Folk and Popular Culture Language Religion  Definitions of Culture All of a group’s learned behaviors, actions, beliefs, and objects. It can be visible and invisible. Culture is made up of cultural traits: the building blocks of a culture. VISIBLE 1. A group’s actions, possessions, and influence on the landscape. INVISIBLE 1. A force guiding people through shared belief systems, customs and traditions - mentifacts Cultural artifact--a physical item, like a car that represents your values. All these traits form a cultural complex.  Generational Culture Culture is passed down by: ○ imitation-when a child learns a language by repeating sounds ○ informal instruction-when a parent teaches a child to say thanks for please ○ formal instruction-when Ms. Ng teaches you about AP Human Geography in school FOLK vs. POPULAR CULTURE Contrasting local folk cultures with global popular culture. What Are Traditional Local (Folk) & Modern/Popular Cultures? Folk culture - small homogeneous groups of people, often living in rural areas, that are relatively isolated and slow to change.  Folk Culture Traits ○ Indigenous populations and languages. ○ Emphasis on community and conformity. ○ Families are tight-knit. ○ Well-defined gender roles. ○ Slow and limited diffusion of the culture, primarily through relocation diffusion. ○ Pass down oral traditions and stories. ○ Building materials produced locally. ○ Buildings built by owner or community.  Folk Culture Traits ○ Similar styles of housing within the community that can be distinctive. ○ Food produced locally, limited by tradition, and prepared by the family or community. ○ A local and sometimes regional focus. ○ Combination of local physical and cultural factors influence distinctive distributions. ○ Usually includes geographic isolation from other cultures because of physical barriers—e.g., distance and mountain ranges diffusing slow through migration. WHAT ARE LOCAL (FOLK) & POPULAR CULTURES? Popular culture is large, incorporates heterogeneous populations, is typically urban, and experiences quickly changing cultural traits.  Popular Culture Traits ○ Urban, connected and multiethnic populations. ○ Many people speak global languages like English and Arabic. ○ Emphasis on individual choice and weakly defined gender roles. ○ Diffusion of this culture is rapid and extensive, today often through mass media and social media. ○ Hierarchical diffusion is common. ○ widely distributed across many countries with little regard for physical factors  Popular Culture Traits ○ Materials produced in distant factories with steel and glass. ○ Businesses build buildings in a variety of architectural styles, though lots of similarities between cities. ○ Food is often imported, with a wide range of choice and lots of restaurants to eat at. ○ Popular culture is national and global in its focus. ○ Principal obstacle to access is lack of income to purchase the material  Maintaining Folk Culture in the Face of Popular Culture Popular culture emphasizes trying what is new, rather than preserving the traditional. Many people, including those in older generations, and who practice folk culture openly resist popular culture. They try to preserve traditional languages, religions, values, and foods. They are seldom able to resist the onslaught of popular culture. MUSIC  FOLK MUSIC Transmitted orally Modifications to songs over successive generations to represent changes in conditions. Content of songs centers on events in daily life that are familiar to the majority of people. Life-Cycle events ○ E.g., birth, death, or marriage Environmental features ○ E.g., agriculture or climate Migration of people also diffuses the music. FOLK MUSIC TELLS A TRADITIONAL STORY with local instruments. BRITISH ISLES TO APPALACHIA Immigrants from Northern England , the Scottish lowlands, and Ulster in Ireland came through Appalachia from Virginia to the Carolinas making their way West through the mountains. AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC WAS BORN Instruments evolved while storytelling and unique vocalization became rooted. Later influences came from African traditions and led to gospel and blues blending into folk music. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Ldf7T6TlV-o The distribution of POP MUSIC is global. ○ Popular Music Music written and or performed by specific individuals with the intent of being… Sold Performed in front of a paying audience Often displays a high degree of technology Musicians often have strong connections with other similar musicians that may span the globe. Limited connections with local musicians of different genres Musicians and studios create nodes and develop a particular style or genre of music. POP MUSIC SPORTS  Origin and Diffusion of Folk and Popular Sports Soccer: example of global popular sport with folk origins. Kick the Dane’s Head Sports must be widely practiced to be considered for Olympics. Some sports have more distinct regional appeal—cricket, wushu, lacrosse, sepak takraw SOCCERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR FOOOOOTTBALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL FUTBOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL CLOTHING Folk Clothing Preferences Style of clothing worn in response to distinctive agricultural practices and climatic conditions Ex. Folk custom in the Netherlands to wear wooden shoes because of practical uses in wet climates. Fur-lined boots protect against cold in arctic climates. Traditional clothing styles/dress FIGURE 4-17: TRADITIONAL CLOTHING CUSTOMS OF WOMEN IN NORTH AFRICA AND SOUTHWEST ASIA VARY WITH RESPECT TO CULTURAL VIEWS OF MODESTY, INCLUDING THE WEARING OF A VEIL. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfovBYEVNMA  Popular Clothing Preferences ○ Style of clothing generally reflects occupation , income, and all forms of media rather than particular environment. Ex. ○ Business suits worn by professionals ○ Designer clothes worn by the affluent Rapid Diffusion of Popular Clothing Styles ○ Improved communications central to rapid diffusion Ex. Time for original designs for women’s dresses to be designed in fashion capitals—e.g., Paris or London—and reproductions available in stores has diminished from years to a few weeks. Hierarchical diffusion: Fashion Can occur through a hierarchy of places The hearth is the point of origin Figure 4.2 London, United Kingdom. Catherine Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, enters Westminster Abbey in a wedding gown reminiscent of Grace Kelly’s. Sarah Burton of the House of Alexander McQueen designed the gown. Members of the Royal School of Needlework hand cut and sewed the intricate lace. The sewers washed their hands every 30 minutes and replaced needles every 3 hours to keep the dress pristine and the work exact. © Samir Hussein/Wire Image. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Jeans ○ An important symbol of the diffusion of Western popular culture. Locally Diverse Japan ○ customized with patches and cutouts Korea ○ frayed, ripped or shredded Italy ○ cliche on seat of jeans FOOD  “Hungry for more culture”? Culture (religion most often) have created preferences and taboos (behaviors heavily discouraged by a culture) ○ Pork among Jews and Muslims How might environmental factors contributed to the prohibition of pork? Kosher or Halal ○ Beef among Hindus 21 of 29 states in India ban the slaughter of cows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz-V3wBinCs Terroir is the sum of the effects on a particular food item of soil, climate and other features of the environment. Wine growing regions based on certain salinic soil and a Mediterranean climate. Cereal grains grown in temperate climates. Designated spaces for gardens is another aspect of terroir. ○ British communal gardens ○ Turkish Bostans These areas provide a sense of place.  The Terroir of food and drink Hotter climate zones have produced a greater variety of plant species and spices from them. This diversity has led to more variety in the diets of people of warmer climates. People in the higher latitudes of northern Europe, Russia, North America in general have had fewer food pathogens and tended to create recipes based on a few simple herbs and spices. This led to prevalence in somewhat bland food with soups and stews as well as bread becoming their staple. HOUSING Folk housing can have environmental influences: choice of building materials, climate considerations, build it themselves. Popular housing will have less environmental influence and focus on materials that are produced and aesthetics that buyers want. Built for buyers. New England Middle Atlantic Lower Chesapeake or Tidewater Other common house types- Ranch, Victorian  Cultural Landscape The boundaries of a region reflect the human imprint on the environment resulting in the cultural landscape--the built environment or visible reflection of a culture. Just travel and you can see the changes in the cultural landscape or even the lack of change...  The placelessness of the cultural “blandscape”. Placelessness: the loss of uniqueness of place in the cultural landscape to the point that one place looks like the next. A UNIFORM LANDSCAPE.  Ethnic Enclaves Ethnic enclave: clusters of people of the same culture in a neighborhood, surrounded by people of a culture that is dominant in the region. ○ Forced or chosen segregation to buffer from outside influence or discrimination.  The Spread of Culture The area in which a unique culture or a specific trait develops is a culture (cultural) hearth. Folk cultures have strong connections to their culture hearth and a strong sense of place. Cultures can be present in what are called cultural regions -broad areas where groups share similar, but not identical cultural traits. ○ Formal, functional, and perceptual regions. Because people, goods, and ideas move throughout the world, cultures spread spatially , well beyond their hearths.  Diffusion The spreading of information, ideas, behaviors and other aspects of culture over wider areas is known as diffusion. ○ Relocation diffusion: the spread of a cultural trait by people who migrate and carry their cultural traits with them. ○ Expansion diffusion: the spread of cultural traits through direct or indirect exchange without migration. Diffusion  Expansion Diffusion Contagious diffusion: occurs when a cultural trait spreads continuously outward from its hearth through contact among people.  Expansion Diffusion Hierarchical diffusion: the spread of culture outward from the most interconnected places or from centers of wealth and importance. ○ From one important person, city, or powerful class to another. ○ It may skip others in a leapfrogging fashion.  Expansion Diffusion Reverse hierarchical diffusion: at times, a trait diffuses from a lower class to a higher class. i.e. tattoos and Wal-Mart  Expansion Diffusion Stimulus diffusion: occurs when people in a culture adopt an underlying idea or process from another culture, but modify it because they reject one trait of it. i.e. Maharaja Mac, porcelain in Europe  Cultural Change Over Time and Space Space-time compression: Industrial Revolution - improvements in transportation & communication shortened the time required for movement, trade, or other forms of interaction between places; accelerated culture change around the world - Digital Revolution (last several decades) only accelerated this process more Globalization - process of intensified interaction among peoples, governments, and companies of different countries around the globe has had a profound impact on culture. Popular culture has grown more widespread during globalization.  Stemming the Tide of Popular Culture—Losing the Local? The rapid diffusion of popular culture can cause consumers to lose track of the hearth of a good or idea. When popular culture displaces or replaces local culture, it will usually be met with resistance. Geographers realize that local cultures will interpret, choose, and reshape the influx of popular culture. This process of contact results in many outcomes of cultural convergence and divergence.  Cultural Assimilation Assimilation: a process of giving up cultural traditions, such as food and clothing preferences, and adoption of the social customs of the dominant culture of the place. - often a natural process that may happen over several generations - often follows relocation diffusion (migration) to a new place with different culture.  Cultural Assimilation Assimilation can also be a forced process where the more dominant culture forcibly makes subcultures give up their way of life such as: ○ Native Americans in North America ○ Indigenous groups in South America, Asia and Africa ○ Aborigines in Australia ○ Muslim Uyghurs in China ○ Tibetan Buddhists in China ○ Ainu in Japan ○ Central Asians in Russian Empire/Soviet Union https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGqWRyBCHhw  Cultural Acculturation and Syncretism The process of a folk culture adjusting to the dominant culture, while retaining features of their folk culture...similar to syncretism which is the creation of those new merged traditions. The Amish are an example of this kind of acculturation.  4 more days…. Get out your class notes Pick up your graded paper Have a seat at your desk  Cultural Appropriation Local cultures are sustained through customs, practices that a group of people routinely follow. A local culture can also work to avoid cultural appropriation, the process by which other cultures adopt customs and knowledge and use them for their own benefit. Local cultures desire to keep popular culture out, keep their culture intact, and maintain control over customs and knowledge.  Cultural Commodification The process where cultural elements become regarded as objects to be bought, sold or traded on the world market. Ecotourism is one way of accomplishing this ○ ex- buying stereotypical souvenirs, eating local food, global fast food, Disney, Marvel, Nike, Coca Cola, IKEA  Manufacturing a Hearth Re-territorialization of popular culture: a term referring to a process in which people start to produce an aspect of popular culture themselves, doing so in the context of their local culture and place, and making it their own. Ex.: re-territorialization of hip hop  Multiculturalism vs. Nativism Multiculturalism: ○ The coexistence of several cultures in one society, with the ideal of ALL cultures being valued and worthy of study. ○ These cultures enrich the lives of all people. ○ Without full assimilation most receiving societies such as the U.S. are considered multicultural. “The Melting Pot.”  Multiculturalism vs. Nativism Multiculturalism can bring conflict. In some cases that conflict becomes harsh. ○ Nativist, or anti-immigrant, attitudes may form among the cultural majority, sometimes bringing violence or government actions against the immigrant or minority group. This can border on xenophobia which is a general dislike, almost fear, of people from other countries and cultures.  Cultural Relativism vs. Ethnocentrism Cultural relativism: the objective analysis of other cultures-understanding a culture’s beliefs and practices from the culture’s point of view. It is not about imposing judgment or assessing the worth of other cultures. Ethnocentrism is often characterized by a belief that one’s culture is the best or right culture.  Cultural Relativism vs. Ethnocentrism Universal morals and norms are difficult to accomplish when each culture views what is right and wrong somewhat, if not drastically, different. But it does allow us to objectively understand what is unique among cultures and why people believe what they do and behave as they do.  A Third Way: Cultural/Moral Universalism In order to achieve a more equal global society many today take a position that some system of ethics, or a universal ethic, applies universally, that is, for "all similarly situated individuals", regardless of culture, race, sex, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, or any other distinguishing features. This is often reflected in global efforts at improving EVERYONE’S quality of life through universal efforts at protecting life and liberty. Facts and data can often lead us to better understanding of what universal rights should be promoted and protected. i.e. HDI, Social Progress Index. ELECTRONIC MEDIA Electronic Media: Access to Culture Widespread access or lack of access to electronic media such as TV, Internet and social media can drastically alter what popular culture people adopt. Access to electronic media is often driven by income. More income, more access. Less income, less access. Watching TV is the most popular leisure activity in the world. It has been the most important mechanism by which popular culture, like sports, has diffused. Electronic Media: Access to Culture Internet access has followed a similar pattern of diffusion to TV. In 1995 most countries did not have Internet service as the US had 63% of all users. Internet service expanded rapidly in the United States from 1995-2000, but the expansion in the rest of the world has been even more announced. Today about 4.8 billion people or around 58% of the world’s people have access to the Internet. Electronic Media: Access to Culture Social media has become one of the most transformative forces of the 21st century in the last 10-15 years. Facebook Twitter Instagram Reddit TikTok VSCO SMARTPHONES: The most powerful tool of cultural diffusion. TV, Internet and Social Media in your pocket. SMARTPHONES: The most powerful tool of cultural diffusion; all in your pocket. If you have time…