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GY100 at Week 3 Lecture Notes

The lecture notes discuss the evolution of landscape studies in geography, highlighting Carl Sauer's introduction of 'cultural landscapes' and the shift towards New Cultural Geography in the UK, which emphasizes dynamic cultural processes and power relations. It also addresses feminist geography's critique of gendered landscapes and Marxist geography's focus on the material realities and labor behind landscapes. The notes illustrate how landscapes reflect social identities and power structures, using examples like Shaughnessy Heights in Vancouver to explore race, class, and migration dynamics.

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10 views4 pages

GY100 at Week 3 Lecture Notes

The lecture notes discuss the evolution of landscape studies in geography, highlighting Carl Sauer's introduction of 'cultural landscapes' and the shift towards New Cultural Geography in the UK, which emphasizes dynamic cultural processes and power relations. It also addresses feminist geography's critique of gendered landscapes and Marxist geography's focus on the material realities and labor behind landscapes. The notes illustrate how landscapes reflect social identities and power structures, using examples like Shaughnessy Heights in Vancouver to explore race, class, and migration dynamics.

Uploaded by

sinatraa804
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GY100 AT Week 3 Lecture notes:

There is no singular definition to landscape in geography, rather it is defined by a multitude of theoretical approaches to
the concept. The study of landscape was introduced by Carl Sauer to american geography in the 1920s:
-​ Against environmental determinism, Sauer argued that the collective human transformation of natural landscapes
produced ‘cultural landscapes’
-​ Landscape was the ‘unit concept of geography’
-​ Sauer had enormous influence on the study of landscape in American geography (the Berkeley School) for much
of the 20th century
Carl O. Sauer, a cultural geographer, believed that landscapes are the result of both human culture and the natural
landscape, and that they are constantly changing over time:

Cultural landscape
Sauer introduced the term "cultural landscape" to the English-speaking world in 1925. He believed that cultural
landscapes are shaped by human activity and have historical characteristics. Sauer's work helped to establish cultural
landscape as a central concept in cultural geography.
​
Landscape morphology
Sauer's approach to landscape, also known as "landscape morphology" or "cultural history", involved gathering facts
about the human impact on the landscape over time.
​
Anthropology, archaeology, and sociology
Sauer believed that geography was inseparable from human history, and that anthropology, archaeology, and sociology
were natural extensions of his geographic studies.
​
Landscape as a verb
Sauer's work helped to change the way people think about landscape, from a noun to a verb. He pointed out that
landscapes are not just material things, but also images, symbols, and signifiers

New Cultural Geography emerged in the UK during the 1980s and 1990s as a shift from traditional cultural geography,
focusing on broader cultural processes and meanings in relation to space, place, and identity. It was influenced by critical
theory and postmodern thought, drawing from cultural studies, anthropology, and sociology.

Key Features of New Cultural Geography:

1.​ Focus on Culture as Dynamic: Instead of viewing culture as static and tied to particular groups or regions, it
emphasizes how culture is constantly produced and reproduced through everyday practices and interactions.
2.​ Power, Identity, and Representation: This approach examines how culture is shaped by power relations, looking
at how certain identities (gender, race, class) are constructed and represented in spatial terms. It delves into how
spaces and places are socially constructed, often contesting dominant narratives.
3.​ Interest in Symbols and Meanings: New Cultural Geography is concerned with how landscapes, architecture,
and even mundane spaces carry cultural meanings and symbols, reflecting broader societal values.
4.​ Post-structuralism and Discourse: Heavily influenced by thinkers like Michel Foucault, this approach examines
the role of discourse and language in constructing geographic realities, questioning what is considered "normal" in
the production of space.
5.​ Engagement with the Everyday: A hallmark is its interest in how ordinary, everyday activities—such as walking
in a city or decorating a home—produce cultural spaces and reflect social inequalities or resistances.
In sum, the New Cultural Geography movement in the UK sought to challenge traditional views of space and culture by
integrating more critical, nuanced, and interdisciplinary perspectives.

Critical Geographical Approaches to Landscape: Feminist Geography

●​ Feminist Geography emerged in the 1970s as a critique of how landscapes are traditionally interpreted and
represented.

Key Arguments:

1.​ Gendered Landscapes:


○​ Feminist geographers argue that landscapes are not neutral; they are gendered.
○​ Landscapes play a role in constructing, legitimating, reproducing, and contesting gendered identities.
○​ Public and private spaces are often understood and organized along gender lines, reflecting broader
societal norms about masculinity and femininity.
2.​ Masculinist Approaches to Studying Landscapes:
○​ Gillian Rose highlighted that traditional studies of landscapes have been conducted in masculinist ways.
○​ This means that much of the scholarly work has centered male perspectives and experiences, often
marginalizing or overlooking the role of women and other gender identities in shaping and experiencing
landscapes.
○​ Masculine control over nature and space is a recurring theme in historical landscape representations,
especially in art and cultural practices.

Examples:

●​ Blunt (2003): Provided a critique of gendered landscape representation, particularly through historical images that
portray landscapes in a way that reflects the gendered order of society (e.g., the division between public,
male-dominated spaces and private, feminized spaces).

Race, Class, and Migration: Reading Contemporary Urban Landscapes

Case Study: Shaughnessy Heights, Vancouver

●​ Development as an Elite Neighbourhood:


○​ Shaughnessy Heights was developed in the early 20th century as an elite, exclusive
neighbourhood.
○​ The area was designed to reproduce 18th-century English landscapes, reflecting the social
status and aesthetic preferences of the upper class.
●​ Cultural Reproduction of the Elite:
○​ Over time, the landscape didn't just serve the elite; it became central to their cultural
reproduction. The landscape itself reinforced and symbolized their status and exclusivity.
○​ The environment created for the wealthy began to shape their identity, embodying notions of
class and privilege.
●​ Shaughnessy Heights Property Owners Association:
○​ This association was established to maintain the exclusivity of the neighbourhood, often through
efforts to preserve its heritage and aesthetic character.
○​ Appeals to preserve the neighbourhood’s heritage reflect a desire to protect the socio-economic
makeup and visual identity of the area.
●​ Race and Class Dynamics from the 1990s:
○​ Starting in the 1990s, the social relations within Shaughnessy Heights shifted to include racial
dynamics alongside class.
○​ The neighbourhood became a site of tension and difference between the landscape aesthetics of
ethnic Anglo-Canadians and newer Chinese-Canadian residents.
○​ These differences in landscape preferences reflect broader issues of migration, race, and identity
in urban spaces.

Material Landscapes: Marxist Geography

Marxist Geography critiques the emphasis on symbolic or represented landscapes, urging a focus on the
material realities and social relations embedded in landscapes. The central argument is that landscapes should
be understood as products of labor and capitalist processes.

Key Concepts:

1.​ Critique of Represented Landscapes:


○​ Some scholars argue that geography places too much emphasis on represented or imagined
landscapes (the aesthetic, symbolic, or cultural meanings) without enough focus on the physical
and material aspects of landscapes.
○​ Don Mitchell (1996) particularly criticizes this, pointing out that traditional landscape analysis
overlooks the 'brute reality' of how landscapes are produced and maintained.
2.​ The Hidden Labor Behind Landscapes:
○​ For Marxist geographers, what is often hidden in landscape studies is the labor that produces the
landscape.
○​ Mitchell emphasizes that landscapes should be understood through the social relations involved
in their creation, particularly in how labor is exploited under capitalism.

Don Mitchell's Contributions:

●​ Landscape as 'Dead Labor':


○​ In capitalist societies, Mitchell argues, the landscape is the embodiment of “dead
labor”—meaning the physical landscape is the materialization of the work put into it by
laborers. However, the actual social relations (labor exploitation) behind its creation are often
invisible to the observer.
○​ This concept is based on Karl Marx's idea that commodities (and landscapes) conceal the labor
and social processes that produced them.
●​ Instruments of Production, Circulation, and Consumption:
○​ Landscapes as Instruments of Production: Much of the landscape, especially urban
infrastructure (factories, roads, etc.), is built as fixed capital—it’s a tool to facilitate production
and generate surplus value for capitalists.
○​ Landscapes as Circulatory Mechanisms: Some landscapes, such as transportation networks,
are designed to enable the circulation of capital by facilitating the movement of goods and
labor.
○​ Landscapes as Instruments of Consumption: Other parts of the landscape, like shopping malls
or residential areas, are constructed to enable social reproduction, meaning they help workers
reproduce their labor power by creating spaces for living, leisure, and consumption.

Understanding 'Dead Labor':

●​ Mitchell, following Marx, explains that when we observe a commodity (or landscape), we don't
immediately see the social relations and labor exploitation involved in its production.
●​ The physical landscape masks the complex labor processes that created it, hiding the often exploitative
and violent conditions under which it was built.

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