Articles in Cultural Geography
Northern Californian English: Hella Different?
As discussed in earlier GeoCurrents posts, Northern California, and especially the Greater Bay Area, is demographically, culturally, economically, and politically distinct from the southern part of the state. Are there differences in the speech of Northern and Southern Californians as well? Accents and dialects take time to form, but while English has been spoken in the eastern part of the …
The Indigenous Peoples of Mendocino County: From Genocide to Marijuana Cultivation
Previous GeoCurrents posts on historical instances of genocide have elicited critical comments from several readers, including one who took us to task for not mentioning genocidal events perpetuated by the United States. There is no denying that the U.S. government has been guilty of numerous genocidal assaults on indigenous communities. The United States engaged in wholesale “Indian removal,” often disregarding …
Cosmopolitan Localism: San Francisco Bay Area Food Movements
While most people around the world eat whatever is available and allowed by custom, for many residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, the answer to “What’s for dinner?” has as much to do with health, the environment, social justice, and social distinction as it does with the food per se. San Francisco and environs have become the fountainhead of …
Regionalizing California
With thirty-eight million people spread over an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2) and an economy that would rank between the eighth and eleventh largest in the world if it were an independent country, California makes an unwieldy state. Its different regions are so distinctive culturally, economically, and politically that numerous attempts have been made to divide California into two or more …
Russians in the Bay Area
As we saw in yesterday’s post, California’s Russian-speaking community is concentrated in the San Francisco region. The nine counties of the Bay Area – Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma – are home to more than 40,000 Russian speakers. The love affair between Russians and the San Francisco Bay Area is of …
Linguistic Diversity in Northern California
In 1929, anthropologist and linguist Edward Sapir wrote: “Few people realize that within the confines of the United States there is spoken today a far greater variety of languages … than in the whole of Europe. We may go further. We may say, quite literally and safely, that in the state of California alone there are greater and more numerous …
Introduction: Cultural Diversity and Political Division in Northern California
For the next several weeks, GeoCurrents will examine California, particularly the northwestern quarter of the state. Our interest in California derives from several sources. First, GeoCurrents strives for global coverage, and as a quick glance at the Master Map reveals, North America has received relatively little attention. Second, northern California is the home base of the website, and as such …
Languages of the World: An Introduction
What do all human languages have in common and in what ways are they different? How can language be used to trace different peoples and their past? Are certain languages similar because of common descent or language contact?
A new book by Asya Pereltsvaig, published by Cambridge University Press, answers these and other questions about the world’s languages. Assuming no prior …
Mapping the Ethno-Linguistic Mosaic of the Caucasus
If any conclusion can be drawn from our longer-than-planned yet shorter-than-desired exploration of the Caucasus, it is that this region presents a kaleidoscopic picture of ethno-linguistic groups. The relationships between these groups are often less than amicable and can even lead, or at least contribute, to geopolitical tensions on a grand scale. The languages spoken by these groups are fascinating …
The Many Armenian Diasporas, Then and Now
Armenians have long been scattered over many countries, whether as permanent migrants or temporary sojourners. Today, only about a third of their population lives in Armenia, with the rest spread over a wide area, as can be seen on the map posted here. This pattern largely reflects the movements caused by deadly mass expulsions of the early 20th century that …
Terranova: The Black Petaltail - A Novel
Diversity Amid Globalization: World Regions, Environment, Development (5th Edition)
Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World (3rd Edition)
