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C Ch ha ap pt te er r 2 2 Culture, Cultural Landscapes and the Historical Contexts for Economic Expansion, Immigration and Group Settlements in the United States JOHN W. FRAZIER AND FLORENCE M. MARGAI INTRODUCTION This chapter introduces the concepts that are central to the understanding of multiculturalism within a geographic context. Specifically, culture and cultural landscapes are relevant to the study of group identities, behaviors and practices, and the visual manifestations of their activities on the natural landscape. Also relevant to our discussion is the development of the Anglo-American society, the so called “American culture,” and the degree to which it now serves as a unifying, monocultural element versus the evolving multicultural classification of the American population along the lines of race, ethnicity and other groups seeking inclusion and representation . The determinant forces of group settlement and expansion such as industrialization, economic growth and immigration are also discussed in this chapter. CULTURE AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPES Culture Like multiculturalism, culture is a complex concept. It characterizes the tremendous variations in human societies along a number of dimensions, including beliefs (e.g., religion), customs (e.g., methods of worship, holidays,), attitudes (e.g., toward the environment; nature), preferences (e.g., for food stuffs; food taboos), and technology (tools). However, in a broader sense, culture refers to an entire way of life of a group of people. Individual traits or characteristics are learned, imitated, or exchanged within and between groups and passed on from one generation to the other. Certain beliefs, practices or behaviors help define and differentiate one societal group from another. Of course, there are also many common traits among cultural groups. Shared religions such as Christianity, Islam or Buddhism are good examples. Cultural identification, however, entails consideration of a complex set of individual cultural elements and processes that somehow create a unique identity. A culture self-identifies, or a researcher classifies a culture, according to its combination of unique qualities that differentiate it from other groups. For ease of classification, ideology, social institutions and technology, in addition to possible biological distinctions, are the characteristics commonly utilized in the definition of a group culture. Despite the varying strength of unique cultural themes (the cultural identity) present among individuals of the group, the long-term existence of themes defines and perpetuates the culture (Zelinsky, 1992). Identification of these and their roles in defining a particular culture is part of cultural analysis. 12 John W. Frazier & Florence M. Margai The interrelationships between a cultural group and environment may also be of importance to cultural identity. Human activities occur in an environmental context; the location, size, and nature of a group’s surroundings , natural and human-made, have some influence on the functioning of a societal group. For example, the host environment provides a range of opportunities for raw materials, resources, and accessibility to other people and objects. Use of natural surroundings varies by nature, level of technology, group aspirations, and a variety of other factors. Human activities both influence and can be influenced by the environment. Interactions between culture and environment may produce unique cultural traits. Perhaps the most famous and illustrative example of crediting an environment with shaping culture is the Turner thesis. For decades it was argued that American culture was created in large part through experiences forged on a progressing frontier. In short, the westward, expanding American frontier conditions provided not only immediate influences on its inhabitants, it molded a national character that was passed on to future generations. Thus, rugged individualism, along with other traits, came to characterize all Americans (see, for example, R. Hofstadter and S. M. Lipset, 1968). Social institutions are key components of culture. Common language, religion, customs, and other characteristics contribute to group distinction and become the ties that bind a group perpetuating over time. Common language, shared history, and an affinity to a particular place are seen as strong forces. Institutions help shape and preserve racial/ethnic neighborhoods. Perhaps the best known of these in the United States is the remaking of the Lower east Side of Manhattan into various ethnic neighborhoods, such as “Germantown,” “Little Italy,” and “Chinatown.” Like language, cultural history also can be a powerful force that strengthens individual ties to a group, particularly if struggle is part of that history as in the case of Jews and African Americans. This is true both in historical and contemporary contexts. In recent decades it has been the black ghetto that has been defined as a special place in American...

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