What is cultural geography?
Spaces and
places matter to us. But although the meanings of spaces and places are
subjective they are not strictly private. Instead, they are embedded in
collectively shared maps of meaning and social practices. When we relate our
personal behavior to our social and material environment, we usually do so by referring
to these maps of meaning rather than to an scientifically objective reality.
Spaces, places, and things become real for us to the degree that they matter to
us.
This notion
of collectively shared maps of meaning and social practices can be seen as the basic
approach of cultural geography. In this sense, culture is ubiquitous and cannot
be seen as one geographical layer among many others. Instead, culture constitutes
a research perspective that is concerned with the maps of meaning and practices
in which spaces, places, and things are embedded.
Culture is nothing we posses, culture is something we do
There is no fixed archive of cultural meaning. Culture only becomes existent as it is practiced, embodied, produced, and reproduced.
Culture is fluid
Cultural meaning is not fixed once and for all. As we produce and reproduce culture, we are changing it constantly.
Culture is political
Maps of meaning are contentious and contested. Thus, conflicts over the interpretative hegemony with respect to spaces, places, and things are often as decisive asas conflicts over the actual use of these entities.
In sum,
cultural geography is about the way we encounter spatiality in our day-to-day
social practices through common understandings and about how we negotiate maps
of meaning with the spaces and places of our life-world.
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