Lesson Title: Reading Cultural Landscapes

Author: Rosalind Beckstead

Author Info: Kaysville Junior High, Kaysville, Utah

Grade: 9-12

Time needed: Two class periods

Overview: People make changes to the natural landscape. Changes can be minimal, as in the case of hunters and gatherers; or extensive, as in the case of urbanized society. These changes constitute the cultural landscape. Cultural imprints on the land may involve transportation systems, buildings, city design, yard design, agriculture design, parks, cemeteries, etc. Each culture group leaves its own unique imprint on the physical landscape. Close observation of a site reveals the cultural characteristics of a distinct group of people. "All humanized landscapes have cultural meaning, [and] it follows that one can read the landscape as we do a book. The cultural landscape is our collective and revealing autobiography, reflecting our tastes, values, aspirations, and fears in tangible forms (Paul Vidal de la Blache)."

Definition of Key Terms:

Physical Landscape - the natural environment (vegetation, climate, and landforms/physiography/topography)

Cultural Landscape - man-made changes to the physical landscape

Built Environment - may be used synonymously with cultural landscape but which usually refers to the high density of man-made features in urban places.

Material Culture - tangible, physical culture that are man-made items whose
purpose, meaning, and aesthetic are culturally derived.

Objectives: Students will be able to
1. Understand the concepts of cultural landscape and cultural imprint.
2. Brainstorm a list of possible changes cultural groups may make to the physical landscape of a place.
3. Find examples of cultural imprints in slides.
4. Diagnose the cultural landscape in a picture and share findings with the class.

Materials:

1. Slides of a variety of cultural landscapes
2. Colored pictures of cultural landscapes for use in small group diagnosis

Activities:

Part I

1. Have students answer this question in their notebook--"What changes can humans make to the physical landscape?"

2. Have students share their ideas in small groups and report their findings to the class.

3. List ideas from groups on the chalkboard.

4. Discuss possible larger categories in which ideas can be classified (for example: architecture, agriculture, art, transportation, yard design, industry, etc.)

5. Show slides of a variety of cultural landscapes.
A. Have students point out aspects of the cultural landscape and those which are elements of the physical.
B. For each cultural landscape, discuss how the unique imprint might be cultural specific.
C. Discuss the interaction between physical landscapes and cultural landscapes.

Part II

1. Divide class into small groups (3 or 4 students).

2. Give each group a picture of a cultural landscape.

3. Explain that their job is to diagnose the cultural landscape shown in the picture. Using specific examples from the picture, they must explain what the cultural imprint is--not only what is there, but why it may be there. They should also determine relationships between physical landscape and cultural landscape.

4. Have each group share their cultural landscape diagnosis.

Evaluation:

Give a slide test. Show a slide of a cultural landscape. Have each student write an essay which diagnoses the cultural landscape in the slide.

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