Cognitive Images of the South: The Insider's View

Southeastern Geographer Vol. 29, No. 1, May 1989, pp. 42-54 COGNITIVE IMAGES OF THE SOUTH: THE INSIDER'S VIEW James D. Lowry,Jr. and Leo E. Zonn INTRODUCTION. An underlying presumption of the Super Tuesday primaries of 1988 was that the South could be readily identified as a reasonably homogeneous culture region. (I) Criteria for defining the South seem quite simple, beginning with historical factors and then proceeding to a wide range ofphysical, social, economic, and political variables . The differences among definitions of the region are considerable, however, and they leave the question of boundaries still unresolved. An often neglected element of a culture region's structure and character is the ways in which the people who live in the region define it. A simple means of delimiting the South, therefore, is to consider the region in cognitive terms. The purpose of this paper is to distinguish the American South as a cognitive region in terms of those individuals who call themselves Southerners. Definition of culture regions in cognitive terms is now commonplace in geography. Brownell's work in defining the "Cultural Midwest" is an early example. (2) Several studies in Image and the Environment by Downs and Stea tended to popularize regional-scale cognitive mapping in the early 1970s, and the work by Gould, which dealt with regional perceptions and desirability, is of particular note. (3) Only the methodologically oriented study of spatial schemata by Cox and Zanneras, however , contributed directly to definitions of culture regions. (4) More recent works include Bale's study of sports regions in Britain, (5) Raitz and Ulack's examination of definitions of Appalachia by students in nearby regions, (6) Jordan's study of associations between perceived vernacular regions of Texas and home counties of respondents, (7) and Shortridge's work in defining the Midwest by customer warranty cards and student perceptions. (8) This study of the South as a culture region develops themes introduced in past cognitive works by focusing first upon definitions of the region by those who claim to be a part of it and then by examining the internal variations in those definitions by locationally deMr . Lowry is a Ph.D. student in Geography at the University ofArizona in Tucson, AZ 85721, and Dr. Zonn is Professor ofGeography and Planning at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC 27834. Vol. XXIX, No. 1 43 fined subgroups. Only through an appreciation of individual experiences and the resultant definitions of place can we understand the collective visions that define culture regions. Relph's concept of insider-outsider is especially appropriate, "The essence of place lies ... in the experience of an 'inside' that is distinct from an 'outside'; more than anything else this is what sets places apart in space and defines a particular system of physical features, activities, and meanings. To be inside a place is to belong to it and to identify with it, and the more profoundly inside you are the stronger is this identity with the place." (9) The Southerner, then, is an insider in the South. He/she identifies with at least some of the cultural institutions, histories , and environmental settings that are the very nature of the region. The intensity and character ofthis identification will vary according to a wide range of factors, from the demographic elements of age, race, and income to the environmental elements of urban-rural and subregional location to personal and family history to personality. Regardless, the Southerner identifies with the region as an insider, and this study uses that identity to define the limits of the South. METHODOLOGY. The research methodology for this study employed a questionnaire and a simple outline map of the United States that included state boundaries. The material was administered to students in introductory geography classes at universities located within the Census South, which comprises Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma. This definition of the South is quite extensive in geographic terms, so only half the states were chosen for sampling because of resource and time restrictions. An attempt was made to include every other state, beginning with Maryland, although Alabama was chosen instead...