What is Human Geography? Crash Course Geography #28

Summary

This Crash Course Geography episode delves into the significance of place names and how they reflect power dynamics and cultural identities. Host Alizé Carrère explores the renaming of Denali, illustrating how names can be tools of power and identity. The video discusses various subfields of human geography, including cultural, political, economic, and urban geography, emphasizing the importance of understanding the spatial distribution of power and culture. It also encourages viewers to learn about the history of their own locales and the Indigenous peoples who have a longstanding connection to the land.

Takeaways

• 🌿 The importance of names: Names are crucial for communication, identity, and the sharing of ideas.
• 📚 Beyond geography: Geographers understand more than just state names and capitals; they study the interaction of social and physical systems.
• 🌱 Human-environment interaction: Humans and the environment are always interacting, influencing each other through culture, economics, and politics.
• 🏙 Human geography: It combines spatial, physical, and social science to understand the patterns of human presence and the significance of place names.
• 🗺️ The role of place: Place names, or toponyms, are integral to how we perceive and understand locations, reflecting historical and cultural contexts.
• 🏔️ Mt. McKinley/Denali example: The renaming of Mt. McKinley to Denali illustrates the power dynamics in naming and the significance of indigenous names.
• 🔍 Cultural geography: It examines identity markers across space, such as names and language, and their impact on place identity.
• 🌐 Scale and power: The concept of scale shows how the relationship of a place to the rest of the world can reflect power imbalances.
• 🏛️ Political geography: It studies how power shapes landscapes and the uneven distribution of naming rights.
• 💼 Economic geography: It explores the movement of economic opportunity and its impact on different regions and communities.
• 🏗️ Urban geography: It investigates how cities are built, the patterns of housing and industry, and the planning of spaces for better community living.

Q & A

Why are names important in geography and identity?

Names are important because they allow us to talk about things, share ideas, and build identities. They help us make sense of the places we inhabit, explore, or create.

What is the role of geographers in understanding place names?

Geographers, particularly those specializing in cultural geography, study the history of place names, or toponyms, to understand the location's history and how it has changed over time due to political and cultural forces.

What is the significance of the name change from Mt. McKinley to Denali?

The name change from Mt. McKinley to Denali reflects a shift in power and recognition of the ancestral connection of the local indigenous people to the land. It signifies a cultural and political reclamation of identity.

How does the concept of scale relate to the understanding of place names?

The concept of scale refers to the relationship a place has to the rest of the world. It helps understand how names can be influenced by local, national, or global powers, affecting the identity and perception of a place.

What does the script suggest about the power dynamics involved in naming places?

The script suggests that the power to name places often lies with those who hold political and cultural influence, which can lead to the erasure of local identities and histories when new names are imposed.

How does the renaming of places impact the perception of a region?

Renaming places can create a new perceptual region, unifying people around a shared identity or perception, which can be influenced by language, cultural slang, or political affiliations.

What is the role of economic geography in understanding the distribution of wealth and opportunities?

Economic geography studies the uneven movement of economic opportunities and how factors such as resource extraction or tourism economies can impact the wealth and well-being of local communities.

How does urban geography contribute to our understanding of human settlements?

Urban geography examines how humans build cities, the influences on housing and industry patterns, and the planning of spaces to maximize walkable communities and the relationships between urban and rural areas.

What is the significance of the movement to restore indigenous place names?

The movement to restore indigenous place names is significant as it represents a cultural and political effort to recognize and honor the history and rights of indigenous and marginalized groups, countering the effects of colonization and conquest.

How can studying place names contribute to a fuller understanding of Earth's history and culture?

Studying place names allows us to uncover the historical and cultural layers of a location, providing insights into the interactions between humans and their environments, and the power dynamics that have shaped our world.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 The Significance of Place Names in Human Geography

This paragraph delves into the importance of names in our understanding of the world, highlighting how they shape our perception of places and identities. It introduces the concept of human geography, which examines the spatial patterns of people and the distribution of power, money, and buildings globally. The paragraph emphasizes the role of geographers in studying the interactions between social and physical systems, and the significance of place names or toponyms in cultural geography. The example of Mt. McKinley (now Denali) is used to illustrate how names can reflect historical and cultural contexts, and how the renaming of places can signify shifts in power dynamics from local to national or global scales.

05:04

🏔 The Power Dynamics Behind Place Renaming

This paragraph explores the power dynamics involved in the renaming of places, using the renaming of Denali as a case study. It discusses how the original naming of Mt. McKinley was a result of uneven power distribution and a reflection of political influence rather than local connection. The paragraph explains how place names can establish relationships and evoke cultural or political sentiments, and how the act of renaming can be a form of identity assertion and resistance against colonial or imperial powers. The eventual renaming of Mt. McKinley to Denali in 2015 is highlighted as a victory for Alaska Natives and their allies, showcasing the ongoing struggle for indigenous and marginalized groups to have their cultural understanding of places recognized. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the broader implications of place names for identity, cultural geography, and political work, encouraging viewers to learn about the history of their own places and engage with local indigenous communities.

Keywords

💡Names

Names are identifiers for things, places, or people and are central to the way we understand and categorize the world. In the video, names are presented as more than just labels; they carry historical and cultural significance. For example, the renaming of a mountain from 'Mt. McKinley' to 'Denali' reflects a shift in power and recognition of indigenous heritage.

💡Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth's landscapes, peoples, places, and environments. The video emphasizes that geography is not just about memorizing locations but understanding the interactions between social and physical systems. It is integral to the script's exploration of how human activities and natural phenomena shape our world.

💡Human Geography

Human geography is a branch of geography that focuses on the study of patterns and processes that shape human life across the Earth's surface. The video discusses how human geography uses spatial, physical, and social science to understand complex global stories, such as the distribution of power and economic opportunities.

💡Cultural Geography

Cultural geography is a subfield of human geography that examines the ways in which cultural phenomena are expressed across space. The script uses cultural geography to explore how place names, like 'Denali,' reflect and influence cultural identity and history.

💡Toponym

A toponym is the proper name given to a place, such as a mountain, river, or city. The video explains that toponyms are important for understanding the history and identity of a location. The renaming of 'Mt. McKinley' to 'Denali' is a key example of how toponyms can be used to assert cultural and historical significance.

💡Scale

Scale refers to the spatial extent or level of resolution at which a phenomenon is observed or measured. In the video, scale is used to discuss the relationship a place has with the rest of the world, such as how local names can be overshadowed by those imposed at national or global levels.

💡Power

Power in the context of the video refers to the ability to influence or control the way places are perceived and named. The script illustrates how power dynamics can lead to the renaming of places, often to the detriment of local cultures and histories, as seen in the renaming of 'Mt. McKinley' to 'Denali'.

💡Identity

Identity in the video is portrayed as a sense of self or group affiliation that is often tied to place. It is shown that the names given to places can shape and reflect the identities of the people who live there or have historical ties to the area, as in the case of the indigenous peoples' connection to 'Denali'.

💡Colonization

Colonization is the process of establishing control over a territory, often involving the displacement of indigenous peoples. The script discusses how colonization has historically led to the renaming of places to reflect the colonizers' culture and power, erasing the identities and histories of the original inhabitants.

💡Economic Geography

Economic geography is a branch of human geography that studies the spatial aspects of economic activities and the relationships between economy and space. The video touches on economic geography by examining how economic opportunities, such as gold mining in Alaska, can impact local communities and landscapes.

💡Urban Geography

Urban geography is a subfield of human geography that focuses on the study of cities and urban areas. The video mentions urban geography in the context of planning spaces to maximize walkable communities and understanding the relationship between urban and rural spaces, which is particularly relevant to Alaska's development.

Highlights

The importance of names in communication, identity, and the interaction between humans and their environment.

Geographers' knowledge of place names and their role in understanding social and physical systems.

Human geography's focus on spatial patterns of people and the distribution of various elements in the world.

The significance of place names (toponyms) in shaping our understanding and identity of a location.

Cultural geography's examination of identity markers across space, such as names, language, and art.

The historical and cultural context provided by the toponym 'Mt. McKinley' and its implications.

The concept of scale in geography and its relationship to power dynamics in place naming.

The renaming of places as a reflection of power shifts from local to national/global scales.

Indigenous names and their cultural significance, such as 'Denali' versus 'Mt. McKinley'.

The political and cultural power dynamics involved in the renaming of Denali.

The impact of European settlement and renaming on Indigenous cultures and landscapes.

The concept of a region and its role in classifying and perceiving places.

The renaming of Denali as a symbol of cultural and political change.

The role of political geography in studying power's influence on the landscape.

Economic geography's examination of uneven economic opportunities and their impact on communities.

Urban geography's focus on city planning and the relationships between urban and rural spaces.

The significance of place names in asserting cultural understanding and rights by indigenous groups.

The power dynamics in defining regions and the inclusion or exclusion of certain groups.

The importance of learning about the history and cultural significance of place names.

Transcripts

Do you ever think about words and why something  has a certain name? Like this is a plant or  

my nails are blue or we’re filming this  in Miami -- but like, who decided that?

For a lot of words, we probably don’t  think about where they come from too often.  

But names are important -- they let us talk about  things and share ideas and even build identities.

By now we know geography is  so much more than just knowing  

state names and capitals and memorizing locations.  

But I’ll admit geographers do often know where  a lot of places are and what they’re called.

It turns out, knowing what the capital of  Indonesia is or which country first declared a  

glacier dead often happens as we learn about how  social and physical systems interact together.

From growing bananas and potatoes to the  potential effects of natural hazards,  

we’ve seen humans and our environment are always  interacting together. We create rich cultures,  

navigate economic systems, and organize ourselves  through politics -- we like to build physically  

and metaphorically, and a lot of what we build  comes from and impacts the environments around us.

So for the next half of the  series, we’ll look at how people,  

power, and economics combine in the world,  impacting the human and non-human alike.

I’m Alizé Carrère, and this  is Crash Course Geography.

INTRO

Human geography uses a combination of spatial,  physical, and social science to tell a complex  

story of the world. This story focuses on the  spatial patterns of people and how we've made  

sense of the places we inhabit, explore,  or create -- like by giving them names!

And as human geographers, we try to answer  questions that pay special attention to the  

way people, power, money, buildings, and  so much more are distributed in the world.  

Like what are the processes that  shape where humans move across space?

Why do humans build and trade and  consume and create where they do?  

And why do those traits change across space? Why  aren’t all people and places just … the same?

We’ve actually already used human geography  tools when we’ve considered things like  

the economics of banana plantations or the  relationships between people or groups of people,  

where one person or group has influence over  another. This political power shows up when we  

talk about water access or the motivations  for building in floodplains, for example.

But the Earth is a big place, and we could use a  few more tools to fully tackle human geography.  

In addition to tools like maps  and remote sensing or soil and  

vegetation surveys that give us data on  what makes up our physical landscapes,  

the tools we’ll need moving forward are  actually concepts that help guide our thinking.

Like the idea of place, or the meaning  we give a location and the sense of  

belonging we derive from constructing  a place physically and in our minds.

Machu Picchu, or the Great Wall or Long  Wall of China, or the Yucatan Peninsula,  

or whatever name we give a place is called  a toponym, and it’s an important part of how  

we think about the place. Sort of like  how my name is an important part of me.

And if we dig into the history of a toponym,  we’ll learn the history of the location itself  

and see how it’s changed over time and how  different political and cultural forces  

work to create the place’s identity. Like  how I got my name and how it's changed,  

or what nicknames I’ve gotten can  tell part of the history of me.

In fact, studying place names is an important  part of cultural geography which is one of  

the many subfields of human geography. It  examines how markers of our identity are  

visible across space -- like names, language,  religion, art, and dozens of other expressions.

Like let’s look at the highest point in North  America: it’s a mountain reaching just over  

6190 meters high known by some as Mt.  McKinley in what we now call Alaska.

Even if we didn’t know much else  about this place or the space it’s in,  

the toponym Mt. McKinley already gives  us some historical and cultural context.  

It's a reference to the 25th  president of the United States,  

which signals this is also a place in the US. Or we could draw on another conceptual tool:  

the concept of scale, or the relationship  a place has to the rest of the world.

This mountain got the name Mt. McKinley from a  gold prospector from Ohio who wrote about it in  

The New York Sun newspaper in 1897, just before  McKinley won the presidency. Other places in  

Alaska were also given names based on political  figures from Ohio, other US states, and the UK  

which were published widely in articles and used  in official maps made by people not from Alaska.

A few years later in 1901, the Board on  Geographic Names, which is a division of  

the United States Geological Survey, officially  named the mountain Mount McKinley. And this was  

one of many name changes across Alaska, the US,  and around the world that moved the power to name  

the place from residents at the local scale, to  people with power at national and global scales,  

without representing local residents. That  being said, as we’ll see throughout the rest  

of this series, power has a way of changing hands  a lot, and local residents aren’t always united.

But…this majestic mountain already had a  name. In fact, it had at least 30 names.  

The Athabascans who’ve lived in and around the  upper Kuskokwim River often called it Denali,  

which reportedly means “The  Tall One” or “the High One.”  

And as early as 1906 there were writings  that supported renaming this place Denali.

But other Indigenous nations  who lived there had other names.  

So did people descended from what we now  call Russia who also lived in this place.

Names can also indicate power, as pop  culture has explored many times from  

urban legends to wizarding worlds. And  in some cultures, like the Athabascans,  

you do not name places or things after people  because place names are a way to describe the  

land and remember important details  like resources or hunting techniques.

Ultimately, the people advocating to put back  the name Denali had less power and influence  

and could be ignored. In 1917 the area around  Denali became Mount McKinley National Park,  

years before Alaska even became a US  state. Which redefined the place and  

happened because of exactly the kind of uneven  power dynamics human geographers study today.

All over the world we can see the way that  power is distributed across space in part by  

the toponyms we give places. The names and  landmarks that are revered tell a lot about  

who has the power to name and create an image  of a place. So what we call a place matters,  

because it sets up the way we imagine the space  -- like who owns it or what the culture should be.

As Europeans settled throughout North America,  

they made strong efforts to claim the  space as their own by renaming places  

and erasing the cultures and impacts  of existing groups on the landscape.

In fact, there’s a third conceptual tool we  can use to understand this place: the idea of a  

region, which is a way of grouping and classifying  similar places. And there are different types of  

regions. Like many of the administrative  regions, or regions with legal boundaries,  

within Alaska were imposed over existing  boundaries of the nations who already lived there.

And for Denali, or the renaming of many  places known to Indigenous peoples,  

the new name signifies a new perceptual region,  or a region that’s united by how people think  

about or see it. Like a region that’s unified  around the language or cultural slang it uses,  

or the team or cultural group it’s a part of.

The new name created a relationship  between Ohio and Alaska.  

It brought the mountain and Alaska into the  imagination of people in the continental US  

and possibly even evoked a sense  of patriotism by connecting Alaska  

to US politics -- even though President  McKinley had no connection to that place.

Whereas at the time,  

the name Denali created the perception this  place has a culture and history foreign or  

“other” to most European-Americans -- who held  a lot of the political and cultural power.

But the act of re-naming also has power.  That struggle that all humans feel to see  

their identity reflected back to them in  their landscape is what motivated Alaska  

Natives and non-indigenous allies alike to work  for decades to change the name back. In 2015,  

that hard work paid off and this place was renamed  

Denali to reflect the peoples who have  an ancestral connection to the land.

We looked at the Denali name change and  then re-change as cultural geographers,  

but there are other big parts of human geography  we could also use to explore this place and space.

Political geography studies the way that power  shapes the landscape, like how here in Denali  

there was an uneven power between those in  Ohio and Washington D.C. and those in Alaska.

And if we zoom all the way out to a global scale,  similar tension over toponyms can be found in many  

other places, especially those that have been  colonies or part of empires at some point in  

their history. Like in 1995 when Uluru-Kata Tjuta  National Park in Australia was made official,  

ending the British name of Ayers  Rock-Mount Olga National Park.

Each place is complex, but as geographers  we look for how places are connected.  

There are similar political and economic  forces at work that help those in power  

show they have control over the  identity of the place they’re in.

So restoring the names of places is an important  part of identity and cultural geography  

and important political work on the local scale as  a way to push against regional and global powers.

Or in economic geography we study the  uneven movement of economic opportunity.  

Like the way some opportunities, like Alaskan  gold mines, don’t end up making the people living  

near those mines wealthy. Or the way the tourist  economy may change throughout the national park  

depending on environmental,  cultural, or political factors.

And finally in urban geography,  we study the way humans build  

cities. Like what influences create  the housing and industry patterns,  

or the ways we can plan spaces to maximize  walkable communities, and the relationships  

between urban and rural spaces. Which  is still an important field in Alaska.  

As cities within the US grow, Alaska could have  an important role as America’s “Last Frontier.”

Denali is just one example of a growing movement  of indigenous and marginalized groups asserting  

their cultural understanding of the places they  have spiritual, cultural, and legal rights to.

There’s power in place names. There’s power in how  we define regions, what’s in versus out and who  

it includes and who it excludes. Which is why we  see struggles over place names all over the world.

Our names shape our identities. And efforts  to learn about the places we call home  

and their histories is part of the cultural and  political work we can do to recognize who has been  

harmed by colonization and conquest. Learning more  about economics, technology, language, religion,  

power, and how they all move lets us  tell fuller, richer stories of the Earth.  

Which we’ll do more of next time  when we explore cultural landscapes.

Many maps and borders represent modern  geopolitical divisions that have often  

been decided without the consultation, permission,  or recognition of the land's original inhabitants.  

Many geographical place names also don't reflect  the Indigenous or Aboriginal peoples languages.  

So we at Crash Course want to acknowledge  these peoples’ traditional and ongoing  

relationship with that land and all the  physical and human geographical elements of it.

We encourage you to learn about the  history of the place you call home  

through resources like native-land.ca and  by engaging with your local Indigenous  

and Aboriginal nations through the  websites and resources they provide.

Thanks for watching this episode of Crash  Course Geography which is filmed at the Team  

Sandoval Pierce Studio and was made with the  help of all these nice people. If you want to  

help keep all Crash Course free for everyone,  forever, you can join our community on Patreon.