Title: The landscapes we create tell us who we are
1The landscapes we create tell us who we are
- Martha B. Sharma
- APHG Workshop
- NCGE Lake Tahoe, NV
- October 6-7, 2006
Gettysburg
NY Times
2III. Cultural Patterns and Processes
- Concepts of culture
- Cultural differences
- Environmental impacts of cultural attitudes and
practices - Cultural landscapes and cultural identities
3Cultural Landscapes
- A cultural landscape is fashioned from a
natural landscape by a culture group. Culture is
the agent, the natural area is the medium. The
cultural landscape the result. - Carl O. Sauer in The Morphology of
Landscape (1925)
4Cultural Landscapes
- all human landscape has cultural meaning, no
matter how ordinary it may be. ... Our human
landscape is our unwitting autobiography,
reflecting our tastes, our values, and even our
fears, in tangible, visible form. - The man-made landscape provides strong
evidence of the kind of people we are, were, and
will be. -
- Peirce Lewis in Axioms for Reading the
Landscape (1979)
5Cultural Landscapes
- Most objects in the landscape although they
convey all kinds of messages do not convey
those message in any obvious way. The landscape
does not speak to us very clearly. one must
know what kinds of questions to ask. - Peirce Lewis in Axioms for
Reading the Landscape (1979)
6Analytical Goals of Human Geography
- Use and think about maps and spatial data.
- Understand and interpret the implications of
associations among phenomena in places. - Recognize and interpret at different scales
relationships among patterns and processes. - Define regions and evaluate the regionalization
process. - Characterize and analyze changing
interconnections among places.
7Religious Landscapes
- Global patterns
- Places of worship
- Places of Remembrance
8Cemeteries are a very visible part of the
religious landscape
9Grave markers provide cultural insights into
people and places.
10Taj Mahal Agra, India
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12An AP Human Geography course should encourage
field observation
- Although organized field trips are not necessary
for the course, some combination of exercises,
visual aids, and field work should be pursued to
provide students with a sense of how the material
world embodies information and ideas about
culture, society, and human-environment relations.
13Axioms for Reading the Landscape
- The man-made landscape the ordinary
run-of-the-mill things that humans have created
and put upon the earth provides strong evidence
of the kind of people we are, and were, and are
in the process of becoming. - In trying to unravel the meaning of contemporary
landscapes and what they have to say about us
as Americans, history matters. - Elements of a cultural landscape make little
cultural sense if they are studied outside their
geographic (i.e., locational) context.
Peirce Lewis in Axioms for Reading the Landscape
(1979)
14Activity One
- A Cultural Study of
- Crown Hill Cemetery
From http//www.iupui.edu/anthpm/seriate.html
15Grave Markers as Cultural Artifacts
- Styles of gravestones change over time
- Relative chronology can be determined based on
change or continuity in material style - Style is any visible attribute
- Shape, height, width, color of stone, design
details - Some grave markers are unique for personal reasons
16Types of Grave Markers
17Analyzing Grave Markers at Crown Hill Cemetery
- In this exercise students
- Analyze 48 real grave markers manufactured
between 1864 and 1997 based on stylistic changes
in design - The Marker Data Table is located at
http//www.iupui.edu/anthpm/markerdata.html - Sort the markers chronologically
- Answer the questions based on photos and other
information in the table
18Examples from Crown Hill Activity
Bedino (1995) Above Ground
Gatling (1903) Monumental
Childers (1864) Symbolic
http//www.iupui.edu/anthpm/markerdata.html
19Activity Two
- A Cultural/Demographic Study of St. Helenas
Episcopal Church Cemetery
20Beaufort County, South Carolina
Named for Henry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort
(1684-1714)
Beaufort (1710) and St. Helenas Church (1712)
21St. Helenas Church is located in the heart of
historic Beaufort, SC
St. Helenas Church
22Parish Church of St. Helena
- Established in 1712 by an act of the Colonial
Assembly - Beaufort, South Carolina
- Original building erected in 1724
- Cemetery fills the church yard
- Used by the Union Army as a hospital during the
Civil War - Partially destroyed by hurricanes in 1896 and
1959 - Major restoration 1998-2000
23Reading a Local Cultural Landscape
- In Activity Two, students
- Use elements of the cultural landscape images
and data from grave markers in the cemetery of
St. Helenas Church to examine changes over time. - Examine selected grave markers to understand
cultural patterns in the local community - Manipulate the cemetery data base to produce
- Histograms
- Age at Death Pyramids
- Summarize their findings in a short paper.
24Getting Started
- To begin this field activity, you will need a map
of the cemetery to be studied. Add grid marks, if
they are not already on the map, to facilitate
sector references.
25Sample Spreadsheet from the St. Helenas Database
26Data Summary from the St. Helenas Database
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28Patterns in Age at Death
29Changes in Age at DeathComparing the 19th and
20th Centuries
St. Helenas 19th Century
St. Helenas 20th Century
30Create a Field Experience for Your Class
- An AP course should not be just about the Exam
- An AP course should be about learning
- Field work is not a requirement for APHG
- But field work is essential to learning to think
geographically - The experience of field work will demonstrate for
students the geographic perspective - This experience will prepare them to apply what
they have learned to any situation - And this will definitely help them on the Exam
31Over-arching Course Goals
- Students should
- Study patterns and processes that have shaped
human understanding, use, and alteration of
Earths surface - Analyze human social organization
- Apply the methods and tools of geography
Source College Board Course Description Booklet,
p. 3.
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