Cultural geography helps us make sense of how culture is expressed, individually and collectively, as well as how these expressions shape our sense of place. Many cultural geographers define their work emphasizing geography primarily and cultural studies secondarily. My work flips this, as I root my explorations in cultural studies. Thus, I use cultural geography to analyze the intricacies that create trends and shape our sense of place within a global context.
The key to understanding culture begins by employing anthropological tools such as ethnography and semiotics, focusing on discrete nuances within individual cultures. Both methods help me contextualize culture at a highly tactile and an eminently emotive level. Ethnography allows for an immersive cultural experience, while semiotics offers the ability to interpret the signs and symbols that pervade the culture under exploration. In short, cultural geography is about contextualizing cultural insights.
I am also curious about how culture impacts the consumption of brands and how brands shape or re-shape our sense of place. From this point of view, cultural geography provides context for how brands mark, shape, and ultimately invade culture.
If you’d like to know more about cultural geography or my work contextualizing cultural insights send me an email at grow.cultural.geo@gmail.com.
Jean
All photography copyright: Jean Grow
