Cultural Geography

Cultural geography is a subfield of human geography that focuses on the spatial distribution of cultural elements, such as language, religion, ethnicity, customs, and ideologies. It examines how these cultural traits develop, diffuse across space, and interact with the physical environment to create unique cultural landscapes. Ultimately, this field seeks to understand not only how culture shapes places but also how places, in turn, influence cultural identity and practices.

1. Foundations of Cultural Geography
   1. Defining Culture
      1. Material Culture
         1. Artifacts and Objects
         2. Architecture and Built Environment
         3. Clothing and Fashion
         4. Foodways and Cuisine
         5. Technology and Tools
      2. Non-material Culture
         1. Beliefs and Values
         2. Norms and Customs
         3. Language and Communication
         4. Symbols and Meanings
         5. Social Institutions
         6. Rituals and Ceremonies
      3. Cultural Traits, Complexes, and Systems
         1. Cultural Traits
         2. Cultural Complexes
         3. Cultural Systems
         4. Cultural Patterns
         5. Cultural Integration
   2. Core Geographic Concepts
      1. Space and Place
         1. Absolute Space
         2. Relative Space
         3. Place-Making
         4. Place Attachment
         5. Sense of Place
         6. Placelessness
      2. Scale
         1. Local Scale
         2. Regional Scale
         3. National Scale
         4. Global Scale
         5. Scale and Cultural Processes
         6. Multi-scalar Analysis
      3. Region
         1. Formal Regions
            1. Criteria for Formal Regions
            2. Cultural Boundaries
            3. Examples of Formal Cultural Regions
         2. Functional Regions
            1. Nodes and Networks
            2. Cultural Flows
            3. Examples of Functional Cultural Regions
         3. Vernacular Regions
            1. Mental Maps
            2. Perceptual Boundaries
            3. Examples of Vernacular Regions
      4. Location
         1. Absolute Location
         2. Relative Location
         3. Site and Situation
         4. Locational Analysis
      5. Distribution
         1. Patterns of Distribution
         2. Density
         3. Concentration
         4. Dispersion
         5. Spatial Association
   3. The Culture-Environment Relationship
      1. Environmental Determinism
         1. Historical Context
         2. Key Proponents
         3. Critiques of Environmental Determinism
      2. Possibilism
         1. Human Agency and Adaptation
         2. Cultural Choice
         3. Examples of Possibilism
      3. Cultural Ecology
         1. Human-Environment Interaction
         2. Adaptive Strategies
         3. Sustainability and Resource Use
         4. Carrying Capacity
      4. Political Ecology
         1. Power Relations and Environment
         2. Environmental Justice
   4. The Cultural Landscape
      1. Carl Sauer and the Berkeley School
         1. Sauer's Concept of Cultural Landscape
         2. Morphology of Landscape
         3. Legacy and Influence
      2. Reading the Landscape
         1. Interpreting Built Environments
         2. Landscape as Text
         3. Landscape Change Over Time
         4. Palimpsest Landscapes
      3. Symbolic Landscapes
         1. Monuments and Memorials
         2. Sacred Landscapes
         3. Landscapes of Power
         4. Contested Landscapes
   5. Historical Development of the Field
      1. Traditional Cultural Geography
         1. Early Approaches
         2. Key Figures
         3. Regionalism and Area Studies
         4. Descriptive Tradition
      2. The New Cultural Geography
         1. Social Theory and Cultural Turn
         2. Focus on Power and Identity
         3. Representation and Meaning
         4. Critical Approaches
      3. Postmodern and Critical Perspectives
         1. Deconstruction and Discourse
         2. Critical Race Geography
         3. Feminist Geography
         4. Queer Geography
         5. Postcolonial Geography