1. Session 15: Culture, homelands, and global regions
October 24, 2013
1) Next class: Visit to the Aboriginal Student’s
Centre! Please arrive at class 5 mins early!!!
1) UNESCO knowledge sharing exercise (20 mins)
2) Homelands; Racism and geography: Key
concepts and definitions (10 mins)
3) Video workshop: Documentary on South
Africa and interview questions for Skype
discussion with Marius Brand (40 mins)
Readings: Chapter 6 of Norton – Regions as Homelands; Shaping
the Contemporary World
Norton, W. (2005). Cultural Geography: Environments, Landscapes, Identities, and
Inequalities. Oxford University Press, Don Mills.
Rhodes Monument,
South Africa

2. UNESCO Cultural Heritage
*Those who do not have an opportunity to
share their findings today will present in class
November 5

3. Videos & questions brainstorming session
Mandela The Man and His Country(25 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wit1-ly8THY
Cape Town’s District Six (8 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlQVod6Dtdk
Following the video get into groups of 3 and brainstorm (at
least 3) potential questions for Marius Brand – he will be doing
a live Skype session with us about South African homelands,
identity, anti-apartheid activism, and reconciliation. (15
minutes)

4. Homelands: concepts and definitions
Homelands: a concept used in geography by Carlson in discussing
Hispano regions in the US
 now used more widely in geography of the US
‘place that people identify with and have strong feelings about’
(Estaville 1993)
5 ingredients:
•a distinctive, self-consciously aware group, typically ethnic in
character;
•a distinctive cultural regional landscape;
•an emotional bonding of the group with the region;
•a degree of institutional control of the region;
•sufficient time for these four conditions to develop.

5. Homelands: concepts and definitions
National unit – often equated with ‘homeland’
Also can be Subnational units (e.g. French Canadian cultural
regions)
6 human values rooted in place (Nostrad&Estaville, 2001a:xxiii):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
love for one’s birthplace and home
emotional attachment to the land of one’s people
sense of belonging to a special area
loyalty defined by geographical parameters
strength that comes from territoriality
feeling of wholeness and restoration when returning to
one’s homeland

6. Homelands: concepts and definitions
Major critiques to the ‘homeland’ concept (most of which are
centered around the US context):
- criticism of the use of the term ‘ethnic’ when referring to
national and subnational identities
- such variations should not be exaggerated
Conzen: further developed applying ‘homelands’ to national groups
Identity(e.g., Indigenization: development of a place over
generations)
Territoriality (e.g. control of land and resources)
Loyalty (e.g. defense of homeland against intruders)

7. Racism & geography
The Mistaken Idea of Race: “biological term that when applied to
humans is a myth” (Norton, 2005, p. 248) – has been scientifically
debunked
 There is only one species of humans
 biological differences exist only because of human
migration and isolation, and then adaptation to different
conditions (e.g., skin colour)
Race as a concept has been promoted and maintained and has
contributed to colonialism, imperialism, and neocolonialism.
While ‘race’ is a misinterpretation and misguided construct, ‘racism’
is an observable phenomena
*Read Apartheid in South Africa (Norton, 2005, pg. 254-262)

8. Session 16: Power, identity and global landscapes
– Part 1: Introductory concepts & themes
October 29, 2013
Visit to:
ABORIGINAL STUDENT CENTRE
University of Manitoba