Local vs Popular
Culture is split in two ways, there is a popular culture in which is known to be a large heterogeneous population in urban areas with quick-changing cultural traits. Next, there is a local culture in which a group of people in particular places see themselves as a collective or community. These people share customs and work to preserve these traits in order to distinguish from others. Despite their differences, these two different ways of living exist together on earth and are used to give examples of not only certain groups of people but how this world is growing. The two can simply be compared by saying, material vs non-material. A pop culture that deals more with the material is related to the idea of things, such as what you have in life that could possibly be compared to your wealth of lifestyle. I believe local culture believes more in the idea of beliefs, what makes them who they are by the way they live. It can be explained by saying each item or clothing is used and worn for a reason. For example, “some local cultures rely primarily on religion to maintain their belief systems; others rely on community celebrations or on family structures; and others rely on a lack of interaction with other cultures” (Blij, Murphy, Fouberg p. 91). Whereas unlike local culture, pop culture can change in a matter of days. But for example, the two are similar when it comes to dance and clothing. These two are both moving within each other through political and economic elements that allow both to change.
The Amish Culture
Local culture is an example of Amish people, they are known for their traditional and older way of living. To begin, the language that is spoken is an ancient dialect of German that has Dutch and English influence. Considering that it is an older German, it can be used as an example of how they are a local culture and non-material community that does not focus on the traditions of life today. Where they live could also be used as an example, Amish people are usually centered around farming. This being said, they are almost always located in rural areas that are far from urban communities in order to stray away from city influence. For example, “Ohio has the largest Amish population, followed by Pennsylvania and Indiana” (Diebel 2014). Although farming is one of the main kinds of work for Amish people, in a recent study there has been a rise of Amish carpentry and construction crews. This is related to the way that they do things on their own and live a local culture life that gives them the freedom to build homes and not be distracted by buying one that might cut into their economic status. Technology is a major reason for local culture people such as the Amish to live in rural places. The Amish forbid owning an automobile, television, radio, computer, self-propelled farm machinery. This all connects to living in older times where this was common but in today’s world, it is used by all of the popular culture and urban areas.
Fashion diffusion
“The main paths of diffusion of popular culture are the transportation, marketing, and communication networks (including social networks) that interlink vast parts of the world” (Blij, Murphy, Fouberg p.92). This is one of the major differences between the two. The ability to be able to connect to different parts of the world while using social media and the internet is why popular culture is always evolving. Not only this but the way trends are consistently changing and evolving. The use of technology makes it easier to find out what material items are of value. This makes a way for people within popular culture to keep up with them. Fashion trends are spread quickly. There are multiple parts to the hierarchy in fashion. It usually begins with runways or major fashion cities such as London, Milan, Paris, and New York. Then after this comes fashion magazines that are also located in big cities. Finally, there come the department stores for consumers of a larger audience. The point of this diffusion is an example of popular culture, no one would know what these items were or their market value if they are not given such praise, to begin with. Clothing and accessories are displayed over a period of time that allows people to see them through technology and the internet which is a key for popular culture.
Digital components:
- 2.1 Collaborative communication – we will be blogging and tweeting our blogs – and also communicating with our classmates through WordPress/Twitter as well as in other ways on Moodle
2.2 Digital writing and publishing – we will be publishing our work in the open. We will have multiple digital assignments, and students will have some agency in choosing which item they’d like to blog about in each module.
Course Component: Connecting geographic concepts and processes to real-life scenarios
