The University of Western Ontario
Department of Geography

*SAMPLE OUTLINE*
Geography 552A/B
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY

Seminars: 2 hours
Time, Date & Place T.B.A.

The following sample outline is intended to provide a sense of the kinds of topics and issues we might address in this course. The actual reading list and seminar topics are always tailored to the interests' of the students involved. Whether the topic be cultural politics, place, behavioural geography, qualitative methods, or a general survey of classic and contemporary readings in cultural studies, I usually identify the topics and readings for several of the seminars--works I think are necessary--and then let the students select the remaining topics and readings. Two essays and attendance at the seminar forms the basis of evaluation.

The goal of this course is to develop, expand, question and critique the student's conceptions of the production, interpretation and analytical utility of culture and space. Students will learn why culture matters, the role space plays in the construction of society, identity, place and landscapes, and how cultural geographers interpret and critique society and space. The reading list will be developed in consultation with students. Possible topics surveyed in this seminar course may include landscape, place, space, postmodernism, social theory, and qualitative methods. Half course: one term.

INTRODUCTION
The primary goal of this course is to encourage the graduate student to expand, question, and critique his/her conceptions about the production, interpretation, and analytical utility of culture and space. The student will learn why culture matters, the role space plays in the construction of society, identity, and place, and how cultural geographers interpret and critique the lifeworld: the culturally defined spatio-temporal setting of everyday life. Readings will be drawn primarily, but not exclusively, from the 'new' cultural geography.

Cultural geography is a "subfield of human geography that focuses on the impact of human culture, both material and non-material, upon the natural environment and the human organization of space" (Cosgrove,1986:88). Two major branches of cultural geography exist: the Berkeley School, and what might be called a 'new' cultural geography. The former is a mainly American tradition of scholarship linked intimately to the work of Carl Sauer. It focuses on the range of human interventions in transforming the surface of the earth, and is thus most interested in material culture. Sauer himself provides a succinct, if somewhat simplistic, description of the ingredients of cultural geography:
                The cultural landscape is fashioned from a natural landscape by a
                culture group. Culture is the agent, the natural area the medium, the
                cultural landscape the result. (Sauer,1926)
During the 1960s and 1970s cultural geography suffered something of a decline.

In the past two decades, however, a new interest has arisen, but with different theoretical assumptions, methods and materials than those of the Berkeley School. Rather than focusing on material culture, mainly of non-modern and rural societies, 'new' cultural geographers have started to examine culture in contemporary and urban societies, and to focus on non-material culture in such forms as literature, painting, politics, hegemony and ideology. The 'new' cultural geography is interested in how such socially-constructed cultural traits as values, meanings and attitudes are distributed spatially, and how they relate to the spatial distribution of such social attributes as wealth, power and justice. It is a critical and political approach grounded in the larger, interdisciplinary body of works called 'cultural studies.'

PURPOSE
This graduate course has several objectives:

i. Develop critical thinking and intellectual discussion.
ii. Expose students to contemporary theories in cultural studies.
iii. Introduce dominant themes and topics in cultural geography.
iv. Encourage responsibility for independent learning.
v. Exercise and develop reading, writing and verbal skills.

Fulfilling these objectives will enable the student to:

i. Situate his/her own research in the larger theoretical and topical contexts of cultural geography and cultural theory.
ii. Critique and differentiate cultures and cultural creations in a logical and systematic fashion
iii. Better articulate his/her opinions, interpretations and arguments in both verbal and written form.

CONTENT
During the first few seminars you will read and discuss works addressing both the traditional 'Berkeley School' of cultural geography and the so-called 'new' cultural geography. We then address 'postmodernity,' 'ideology and critical social theory,' 'landscape, place and space' and 'commodified and simulated' landscapes. What remains of our twelve seminars will be dictated in large measure by you the students. You are asked to suggest topics and specific readings for the remainder of the course. In addition to the seminar themes and their readings listed below, there is a list of other possible themes and journal titles that will assist you in identifying what you might like to study. We will discuss your possible selections in further detail a few weeks into the course.

SEMINAR TOPIC SCHEDULE & READINGS
One copy of each of these readings may be found on the bookshelf inside a green binder in The Warntz Room (#2411).

#1 Traditional Cultural Geography / Berkeley School

Sauer, Carl O. (1996). 'The Morphology of Landscape,' in Human Geography: An Essential Anthology, J. Agnew, D.N. Livingstone, and A. Rogers (eds.), 296-315. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell.

Entrikin, J. Nicholas (1984). 'Carl O. Sauer, Philosopher in Spite of Himself.' The Geographical Review 74 (4), 385-408.

Optional:
Wagner, P.L. and M.W. Mikesell (1962). 'The Themes of Cultural Geography,' in Readings in Cultural Geography. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, pp.1-24.

#2 The 'New' Cultural Geography

Price, Marie and Martin Lewis (1993). 'The Reinvention of Cultural Geography.' Annals of the Association of American Geographers 83 (1), 1-17.

Cosgrove, Denis (1993). 'Commentary: On "The Reinvention of Cultural Geography" by Price and Lewis".' Annals of the Association of American Geographers 83 (3), 515-17.

Duncan, James (1993). 'Commentary: On "The Reinvention of Cultural Geography" by Price and Lewis".' Annals of the Association of American Geographers 83 (3), 517-19.

Price, Marie and Martin Lewis (1993). 'Reply: On Reading Cultural Geography.' Annals of the Association of American Geographers 83 (3), 520-22.

Jackson, Peter (1993). 'Berkeley and Beyond: Broadening the Horizons of Cultural Geography.' Annals of the Association of American Geographers 83 (3), 519-20.

#3 Postmodernity

Dear, Michael (1994). Postmodern Human Geography. Erdkunde 48, 2-13.

Relph, Edward (1991). Postmodern Geography. The Canadian Geographer 35 (1), 98-105.

Harvey, David (1989). 'Postmodernism,' in The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change, 39-65. Cambridge: Basil Blackwell.

Optional:
Soja, Edward W. (1989). 'Taking Los Angeles Apart: Towards a Postmodern Geography,' in Postmodern Geographies, 222-248. New York: Verso.

#4 Ideology and Critical Social Theory

Geuss, Raymond (1981). 'Ideology,' in The Idea of a Critical Theory, 4-44. New York: Cambridge.

Optional:
Eagleton, Terry (1991). 'What Is Ideology?,' in Ideology: An Introduction, 1-31. New York: Verso. Thompson, John B. (1990). Ideology and Modern Culture, Chapters 1 & 2. Stanford: Stanford University.

#5 Landscape, Space and Place

Glacken, Clarence J. (1996). 'Traces on the Rhodian Shore,' in Human Geography: An Essential Anthology, J. Agnew, D.N. Livingstone, and A. Rogers (eds.), 246-251. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell.

Tuan, Yi-Fu (1996). 'Space and Place: Humanistic Perspective,' in Human Geography: An Essential Anthology, J. Agnew, D.N. Livingstone, and A. Rogers (eds.), 444-457. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell.

Foucault, Michel (1993). 'Space, Power and Knowledge,' in The Cultural Studies Reader, S. During (ed.), 161-169. New York: Routledge.

Optional:
Buttimer, Anne (1996). 'Musing on Helicon: Root Metaphors and Geography,' in Human Geography: An Essential Anthology, J. Agnew, D.N. Livingstone, and A. Rogers (eds.), 54-65. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell.

#6 Commodified and Simulated Landscapes

Zukin, Sharon (1995). 'Learning from Disney World,' in The Cultures of Cities, 49-78. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell.

Burgess, Jacqueline (1990). The production and consumption of environmental meanings in the mass media: a research agenda for the 1990s. Transactions of The Institute of British Geographers N.S. 15, 139-161.

Optional:
Cloke, Paul (1993). 'The Countryside as Commodity: New Rural Spaces for Leisure,' in Leisure and the Environment, Sue Glyptis (ed.), 53-67. New York: Belhaven.

Remaining Six Seminars:

The topics, authors and readings we cover in the remainder of the course are primarily your choice. Possible topics for the remaining six seminars include, but are NOT limited to, the following:
- Class and Marxism
- Gender studies (feminism or masculinity)
- Race - Consumption
- Environment, perception, cognition
- Humanistic Geography
- Others of your own choice....

FORMAT AND EVALUATION
You are expected to read, critique and be prepared to discuss the assigned readings in a mandatory, two-hour, weekly seminar session. You will each be asked to summarize and make a brief (10-20 minutes) oral review of the weekly readings on a rotating basis. In other words, each week a different person will commence the seminar with a succinct overview and critique of the reading; then we will open it up for discussion. Keep in mind that this seminar is an intellectual forum to discuss, debate, question and critique the literature. With your active participation and unbridled enthusiasm, the process should prove interesting!

Evaluation is based on written evidence of your ability to construct and present a lucid, well-structured, articulate and grounded argument on relevant topics of your choice. The precise topic of each paper will be determined through consultation with the instructor. Format requirements will be made explicit at that time.

Although no marks are allocated directly for attendance and preparation, a student's repeated failure to attend and/or prepare for seminars will result in a reduced final grade at the discretion of the instructor.

HOW DO I GRADE?
I regard the mark of 'B' (70%) indicative of average work, both competent and acceptable. You have completed all of the readings and demonstrated a general understanding of the course material as evidenced in the essays and seminars. As Graduate Students, please be aware that work warranting the minimum of a low 'B' (70%) is expected as a minimum level of performance. A 'B+' (75 %+) reflects evidence of an above average effort and performance. Not only have you fulfilled the assignments in a more meticulous fashion, you have demonstrated a more thorough understanding of the material in your written and oral work. An 'A' is reserved for outstanding effort and achievement. Exceptional diligence, a thorough knowledge of course material, and the ability to apply key concepts in an effective, logical and literate fashion are clearly evident. Hard labour and exceptional effort are necessary but not, by themselves, sufficient to warrant an 'A.' An 'A+' (90%+) is exceptionally rare. An outstanding performance in the seminars and written work demonstrating a superb command of English and a critical mind capable of synthesizing complex facts and ideas to arrive at particularly astute conclusions, will earn this prestigious grade.

MUTUAL EXPECTATIONS
You can expect me to come prepared for, and attend, all of our seminars regularly and punctually. I will strive to promote a collegial atmosphere of mutual respect conducive to the exchange of ideas and learning. This entails respecting the opinions and questions of others and conducting myself in a courteous manner. I demand the same from you. If we all abide by this code of civility, we set the stage for a healthy, intellectual forum. Finally, if you have problems with any aspect of the course, please come and talk to me during my office hours. I am approachable and I welcome your comments and questions.

PLEASE NOTE
Course content and order of presentations may deviate from this
general outline due to unforeseen circumstances