Transcript Ch 7 Ethnicity

Chapter 7: Ethnicity
The Cultural Landscape:
An Introduction to Human Geography
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Cultural Heritage
Examples of Syncretism
- Merging of cultural, religious and sometimes political beliefs
Native American Cultural Traits
• Human Sacrifices to Gods as
part of complex rituals that
petitioned the Gods for
something (ex: Aztecs rising of sun)
European Cultural Traits
• Belief in the Crucifixion of
Jesus Christ as a
reconciliation with God for
forgiveness of human sins.
- Mexican Catholic Traditions unique and
distinct to Mexican culture.
- Widespread acceptance of Catholic belief
system within Mexico and has become a large
part of their cultural heritage.
Cultural Heritage
Examples of Syncretism
Native American Cultural Traits
• Worship of the Dead
(especially dead rulers)
– In the pre-Hispanic era, it was
common to keep skulls as
trophies and display them
during the rituals to
symbolize death and rebirth.
– Aztecs honored the “Lady of
the Dead”
European Cultural Traits
• Worship of dead saints in
Catholic traditions
– All Saints Day (November 1st)
– All Souls Day (November 2nd)
Dia de los Muertos – merges the
Native and Catholic traditions
Holidays & Syncretism
Christmas
• When we celebrate
Christmas with Christmas
trees, and feasts, we
hearken back to Pagan
rituals that were swept up
and incorporated into
Christianity in an effort to
convert non-Christians. The
date for Christmas was
originally a holiday for the
pagan god Mithras.
Easter
• If you hunt Easter eggs at
Easter, you’re not only
celebrating the resurrection
of Christ but also adding
Greek and Roman pagan
ritual to your beliefs as a
Christian.
Religion and Ethnicity
• Complex conflict that merge both
religion and ethnic conflict, often over
defined areas or resources.
•
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Ethnicity
• Ethnicity = from the Greek ethnikos,
meaning “national”
– Ethnicities share a cultural identity with
people from the same homeland
– Ethnicities have distinctive cultural traits
• Race = people who share a biological
ancestor
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Universalizing vs. ethnic
religions
• Universalizing religions attempt to be global, to
appeal to all people wherever they live – 60% of
world’s population (Christianity, Islam,
Buddhism)
• Ethnic religions appeal to one group of people
living in one place – 25% (Hinduism,
Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Judaism, ethnic
African religions
• No religion – 15% of world’s population
Berlin wall
Borders
• How are Borders determined?
– Borders can separate nations, cultures, or
neighborhoods.
– A number of factors determine where borders
can be located…
Israel-Palestine Wall: Banksy Graffiti
Peace Lines, Belfast, Northern Ireland
West Bank Wall
•
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=5ptRtRVn8EU
Belfast Peace Walls
• What are the
problems with
cultural borders?
http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=X2d4NPNmSfQ
• http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=afxRUsMsqDg
Borders
• What are the problems
with natural borders?
– Who controls the
resources?
http://news.msn.com/sciencetechnology/china-eyes-greenlands-naturalresources
• What are the problems
with geometric
borders?
– Ethnic conflict
The Nine Nations of North America
http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/174-the-nine-nations-of-north-america/
Regionalism
• Clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their
uniformity or description (similar characteristics,
either physical or human).
– Many regions are perceptual
How do we define our regions?
1. Legal Regions
2. Regionalism based on early settlement patterns
3. Belt Regions
4. Cultural Regions
Regionalism
• 1. Legal Regions – US census Bureau Regions
2. Regions based on settlement patterns
•
"American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North
America."
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainm
ent/july-dec11/colinwoodard_11-24.html
3. Belt Regions
• Belt Regions of the US – portions of the
country that share certain characteristics.
– First applied to growing regions – follow lines of
latitude and have similar climates, soil conditions.
– Usage has expanded to other economic, climatic
and cultural concentrations.
– Often vague borders
– Ex: Bible Belt, Snowbelt, Sun Belt…
4. Cultural Traits by Region
• EX: Observations of Stephen Fry in Maine….
– Language – accents
– People – hard workers (immigrant heritage)
– Landscape, animals, food (insiders knowledge)
Maine – 6:30
• http://video.yandex.ru/users/stephenfry-ru/view/5/?cauthor=stephenfry-ru&cid=3
Cultural Regionalism within State
The Quiet Corner
• noticeably more rustic in character than the more suburban towns to the west
• under populated and isolated in contrast with the rest of Connecticut, with many
of its towns having populations below 5,000.
Greater Hartford
• Not dependent on out-of-state metropolitan areas such as New York City or Boston.
• It is on the fairly level land of the Connecticut River valley with soil less rocky than
that of other areas in the state
Examples of American Regions
Geography’s impact on regional culture
• Midwest developed into food crop centers
– Northern plains were rocky
• lent to Dairy Belt: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakotas, Montana
– Central plains had rich soil
• Wheat Belt (Texas up to Saskatchewan)
• Corn Belts (Ohio to Iowa)
• West/Pacific
– Mixed economy
• Started as timber in Oregon on up
• Gold/minerals in California and Rocky Mountains
• Now: Hollywood, technology (Silicon Valley), fruits (plus win)
• Overall, population has shifted westward and southward
Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?
• Distribution of ethnicities in the United
States
– Hispanics (Latinos) = 15 percent of the
U.S. population
– African Americans = 13 percent of the U.S.
population
– Asian Americans = 4 percent of the U.S.
population
– American Indians = 1 percent of the U.S.
population
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Distribution of Hispanics
in the United States
Figure 7-1
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Distribution of African Americans
in the United States
Figure 7-2
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Distribution of Asian Americans
in the United States
Figure 7-3
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Distribution of American Indians
in the United States
Figure 7-4
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Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?
• Concentration of ethnicities in U.S.
cities
– 90 percent of African Americans and
Hispanics live in cities
– Remnants of twentieth-century European
migration = still evident on the landscape
• Example: clustering of restaurants in Little Italy,
Greektown
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Distribution of Ethnicities in Chicago
and Los Angeles
Figure 7-5
Figure 7-6
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Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?
• African American migration patterns
– Three major migration patterns
• Forced migration from Africa (eighteenth
century)
– The triangular slave trade
• Immigration from the South to northern cities
(first half of the twentieth century)
– Identifiable paths of migration
• Immigration out of inner cities to other urban
areas (second half of the twentieth century to
present)
– The ghetto
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Triangular Slave Pattern
Figure 7-8
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African American Migration in the United
States (Twentieth Century)
Figure 7-10
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Where Are Ethnicities Distributed?
• Differentiating ethnicity and race
– Often confusing
– Race = traits that are shared genetically
• Biological features within one racial group are
highly variable
– Biological classification of people into distinct racial
groups is meaningless
• Spatial effects of racism
– “Separate but equal”
– “White flight”
» Blockbusting
– Apartheid in South Africa
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Apartheid
Figure 7-13
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Why Have Ethnicities Been
Transformed into Nationalities?
• Rise of nationalities
– Nationality = identity with a group of people
who share a common allegiance to a
particular country
– Nation-state
– Examples
• Denmark
• Nation-states in Europe
– Nationalism = loyalty and devotion to a
nationality
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Nation-states in Europe
Figure 7-15
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Why Have Ethnicities Been
Transformed into Nationalities?
• Multinational states
– Multiethnic state
• A state with multiple ethnic groups, all of whom
might contribute to a larger national identity
– Example: the United States
– Multinational state
• A state with multiple ethnic groups who retain
their own distinctive national identity
– Example: the United Kingdom
– Example: Russia (the largest multinational state)
• Revival of ethnic identity
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Ethnicities in Russia
Figure 7-18
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Why Do Ethnicities Clash?
• Ethnic competition to dominate
nationality
– Ethnic competition in the Horn of Africa
• Ethiopia and Eritrea
• Sudan
• Somalia
– Ethnic competition in Lebanon
• Religious and ethnic differences
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Ethnic Diversity in Eastern Africa
Figure 7-21
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Ethnicities in Lebanon
Figure 7-23
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Why Do Ethnicities Clash?
• Dividing ethnicities among more than
one state
– Dividing ethnicities in South Asia examples
• India and Pakistan
– Kashmir
• Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri Lanka
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Ethnic Division in South Asia
Figure 7-24
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What Is Ethnic Cleansing?
• Ethnic cleansing = process in which a
more powerful ethnic group forcibly
removes a less powerful group from
their territory
– The purpose is not to subjugate, but to
remove
– Today, most ethnic cleansing happens in
Europe and Africa
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What Is Ethnic Cleansing?
• Ethnic cleansing in Europe
– Largest forced migration = 1939–1945
• Jews, gypsies, and others forcibly removed by
Nazis
– The former Yugoslavia
• Creation of multiethnic Yugoslavia
• The breakup of Yugoslavia
– Ethnic cleansing in Bosnia
– Ethnic cleansing in Kosovo
– Balkanization
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The Balkans in 1914
Figure 7-29
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What Is Ethnic Cleansing?
• Ethnic cleansing in central Africa
– Most boundaries in Africa do not
correspond to ethnic groups
– Conflict between Hutu and Tutsi
destabilizes the region
• Ethnic cleansing and genocide in Rwanda
• Refugees spill into neighboring countries
• Democratic Republic of Congo falls into civil
war
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Ethnic, Religion and Political
Conflicts
• Similarities
• Solutions?
– Ethnic Tension
– Religious
– Political
• Differences
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/rolfero
ssphotographs/92517906/
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Ethnicities in Africa
Figure 7-33
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The End.
Up next: Political
Geography
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