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Bi-Weekly Discussion - How Do Regional Cultures Affect Politics?

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Hosted By
Brian B.
Bi-Weekly Discussion - How Do Regional Cultures Affect Politics?

Details

We're hosting our discussions at Café Walnut, near the corner of 7th & Walnut in Olde City, caddy corner from Washington Square Park.

Since we're using the cafe's space, they ask that each person at the meetup at least purchase a drink or snack. Please don't bring any food or drinks from outside.

The cafe is fairly easy to get to if you're using public transit. With SEPTA, take the Market-Frankford Line & get off at the 5th Street Station (corner of 5th & Market), and walk 2 blocks south on 5th and then turn right on Walnut Street and walk 2 blocks west. For those who are driving, I'd suggest parking in the Washington Square parking deck at 249 S 6th Street which is just a half block away.

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HOW DO REGIONAL CULTURES AFFECT AMERICAN POLITICS?

PART 1 - THE "DEEP CULTURE" OF THE EAST, SOUTH & MIDWEST

This discussion will address various theories about the way that regional cultures influence American politics. In particular, we'll test the idea that US regions have enduring "deep cultures" that persist across multiple generations & even centuries. We'll focus on the regions east of the Rocky Mountains in this discussion, and we'll save the western regions for our next discussion.

So first of all, what is "deep culture"? According to the anthropologist Edward T. Hall's "cultural iceberg" model, culture is split into a highly visible but superficial "surface culture" and a more elusive yet substantial "deep culture". Most people tend to view only the surface aspects of culture — observable behavior — sometimes known as the "five F’s": food, fashion, festivals, folklore, and flags. Below the surface, "deep culture" includes elements such as child-raising beliefs; concepts of self, beauty & personal space; eating habits; facial expressions & eye contact; work ethic, personal discipline, and approaches to problem solving & interpersonal relationships; and religious rituals, moral values, cosmologies & world views.

Over the years, there's been a variety of models that try to explain the regional differences of the United States. The simplest models are the various "belts" of the U.S., a term that was first applied to growing regions for various crops (e.g. Corn Belt, Wheat Belt), but was later applied to economic, demographic & cultural regions (e.g. Rust Belt, Black Belt, Bible Belt).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_belt_regions_of_the_United_States

Urbanization patterns have also led to belts of cities known as "conurbations" or "megalopolises". In 2005, the non-profit Regional Plan Association in their "America 2050" identified 11 emerging "megaregions" of networked metropolitan areas that are important to the US economy in the 21st century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaregions_of_the_United_States

Dante Chinni & James Gimpel combined the belt & megaregion approaches in their 2010 book Our Patchwork Nation and identified 12 distinct types of counties based on demographic & economic factors, and Chinni later expanded this to 15 community types in his work for GWU's American Communities Project.
https://www.americancommunities.org/

However, there's also some theories of regional "deep cultures" that draw more heavily on American history, most notably Joel Garreau's Nine Nations of North America (1981), David Hackett Fisher's "four British folkways" from his book Albion's Seed (1989), and Colin Woodward's "eleven rival regional cultures" from his book American Nations (2011). These theories look at the interplay between the original cultures of different settler groups and the geography & economy of the regions they settled, aiming to show how regional differences in political views emerged from this process.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Nations_of_North_America
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albion%27s_Seed

Garreau, Fisher & Woodward's regions bear a striking similarity to Wilbur Zelinsky's 1961 map of the major religious regions of the US, as well as maps of regional accents of the US, and the map in a 2017 paper in Nature on "genomic clustering" in post-colonial America, suggesting these regions have religious, linguistic & ethnic components. There's even some correlations with regional differences in personality traits uncovered by P.J. Rentfrow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_English_regional_phonology
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14238
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_ranked_per_five-factor_model_personality_trait

These regional cultures have been connected with theories of American political culture. Fisher's 4 notions of freedom (ordered, reciprocal, hegemonic, natural) can be compared with the 3 dominant political cultures (moralistic, individualistic, traditionalistic) identified by Daniel Elazar in American Federalism (1966) and the 4 theories of foreign policy (Wilsonian, Hamiltonian, Jeffersonian, Jacksonian) identified by Walter Russell Mead in Special Providence (2001).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_culture_of_the_United_States
https://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2018/Klingalbion.html

In this meetup, we'll discuss how well these "deep culture" theories map onto demographic reality, using public polling & voting data, psychographic studies, and local ethnographies.

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DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR OUR DISCUSSION:

The videos you see linked below are intended to give you a basic overview of the debates over the "deep culture" of different regions of the U.S. As usual, I certainly don't expect you to read all the articles prior to attending our discussion. The easiest way to prepare for our discussion is to just read my notes & watch the videos linked under each topic, which come to about 58 minutes total. The articles marked with asterisks are just there to supply additional details. You can browse and look at whichever ones you want, but don't worry - we'll cover the stuff you missed in our discussion.

In terms of the discussion format, my general idea is that we'll address the 4 topics in the order presented here and we'll spend about 30 minutes on each section.

I. THE DEEP CULTURE OF NEW ENGLAND & THE GREAT LAKES:

  • IS THERE A UTOPIAN ASPECT TO NEW ENGLAND'S CULTURE THAT CAN BE TRACED BACK TO THE PILGRIMS & PURITANS AND THEIR IDEA OF BUILDING "A CITY ON A HILL"? DID THE INDIAN WARS & SALEM WITCH TRIALS REVEAL A DARK SIDE TO THEIR RELIGIOUS FERVOR, OR IS THIS A DISTORTED PICTURE?

  • HOW DID THE "2ND GREAT AWAKENING" LEAD NEW ENGLAND TO BECOME A HOTBED OF ABOLITIONISM? HOW DID THE "3RD GREAT AWAKENING" LEAD NEW ENGLAND WASPs TO BECOME LEADERS IN THE WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE & TEMPERANCE MOVEMENTS? IS CURTIS YAVIN'S "ULTRACALVINIST HYPOTHESIS" CORRECT - I.E. DID SECULAR PROGRESSIVISM EVOLVE FROM THE MORALITY OF PURITANS?

  • DID THE IDEALISM OF WHAT COLIN WOODWARD CALLS "YANKEE UTOPIANISM" LATER GIVE RISE TO "WILSONIAN DEMOCRACY"?

  • IS THERE A CULTURAL DIVIDE BETWEEN OLD-MONEY WASPs & RURAL "SWAMP YANKEES"? IS THERE TRUTH TO THE TALES OF FRUGAL, TACITURN FARMERS & ENGINEERS KNOWN FOR THEIR "YANKEE INGENUITY"?

  • HAVE THE EUROPEAN CATHOLICS (IRISH, ITALIANS) THAT IMMIGRATED TO NEW ENGLAND REMAIN CULTURALLY DISTINCT? WHY ARE THEY BECOMING MORE SECULAR?

  • HOW EXTENSIVE WERE YANKEE SETTLEMENTS IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION AFTER THE ERIE CANAL? DID LATER SCANDANAVIAN IMMIGRANTS THAT SETTLED IN THIS AREA ASSIMILATE TO THE MORALISTIC YANKEE CULTURE OR THE MORE INDIVIDUALISTIC GERMAN CULTURE OF THE MIDLANDS?

  • ARE MINNESOTA'S NORMS OF POLITE RESERVEDNESS ("MINNESOTA NICE") & UNDERSTATEMENT ("WOBEGONICS") RELATED TO NORDIC "JANTE LAW" & THE DESIRE TO NOT STAND OUT, OR RURAL NORMS ABOUT PERSONAL SPACE? DOES IT MASK A FORM OF SUBTLE XENOPHOBIA DESIGNED TO MAKE OUTSIDERS FEEL UNWELCOME?

  • TO WHAT EXTENT DID NEW ENGLAND WASPs DOMINATE IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS, BANKING & INDUSTRY IN THE 19th & EARLY 20th CENTURY? HAVE THEY MOSTLY BEEN DISPLACED BY NEWER GROUPS?

  • WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE "ROCKEFELLER REPUBLICANS" IN NATIONAL POLITICS? WHY DOES NEW ENGLAND CONTINUE TO ELECT THEM AS GOVERNORS?

  • DID TRUMP'S 2016 WINS IN MICHIGAN & WISCONSIN (AND NEAR WIN IN MINNESOTA) SHOW THE GREAT LAKES ARE LESS "YANKEE" & MORE MIDLAND "RUST BELT" IN CULTURE?

1a) Masaman, "Who are the People of New England?" (video - 11:17 min, start at 1:07)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8-eoalNzFM&t=1m7s

1b) Donovan Worland, "Colin Woodward: On Yankee Western Settlers" (video - 5:22 min.)
https://youtu.be/DUiqgI0yROE

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II. THE DEEP CULTURE OF THE MIDATLANTIC & UPPER MIDWEST:

  • CAN WE DETECT TRACES OF A DUTCH CULTURAL LEGACY (E.G. COSMOPOLITAN, PRO-BUSINESS) IN THE NEW YORK CITY AREA?

  • DID THE DUTCH LEGACY IN NEW YORK INFLUENCE THE CONCEPTION OF "HAMILTONIAN DEMOCRACY" WHERE AIDING BANKS & INDUSTRY IS A MAJOR ROLE OF THE FEDERAL GOV'T?

  • IS THE POLITICAL CULTURE OF PENNSYLVANIA & THE UPPER MIDWEST MORE MODERATE & INDIVIDUALISTIC? IF SO, IS IT DUE TO THE LEGACY OF THE PACIFISTIC QUAKERS OR THE LATER WAVES OF PRAGMATIC GERMAN SETTLERS?

  • DID PRESSURE ON GERMAN AMERICANS TO ASSIMILATE & PROVE THEIR LOYALTY DURING WW1 & WW2 MAKE THEM MORE CONSERVATIVE? IF SO, WHY ARE DUTCH AMERICANS SO CONSERVATIVE?

  • IS THERE A DISTINCT SET OF "MIDWESTERN VALUES" & FRIENDLY SOCIAL NORMS ("IOWA NICE") THAT EMERGED IN THE MIDLANDS, OR IS THIS THE MYTHOLOGIZING OF "THE HEARTLAND"?

  • DID THE EUROPEAN CATHOLICS (IRISH, POLES, ITALIANS) & JEWS THAT LATER IMMIGRATED TO NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA & OTHER MAJOR CITIES ASSIMILATE TO THE MIDLAND CULTURE OR REMAIN CULTURALLY DISTINCT? HOW ABOUT THE SOUTHERN BLACKS WHO CAME DURING THE 1st & 2nd "GREAT MIGRATIONS"?

  • DID TRUMP WIN PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO & IOWA BECAUSE HIS ECONOMIC NATIONALISM RESONATED WITH THE COMMUNITARIAN ETHOS OF THIS REGION? OR WAS IT DUE TO THE ANGRY POPULISM OF THE "RUST BELT" WORKERS?

2a) Casey Vogel, "Life in the Middle Colonies" (video - 5:43 min.)
https://youtu.be/TRTgsDQxR3Y

2b) Masaman, "The Untold History of German America" (video - 11:25 min, start at 2:39)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoX4SYHnmi0&t=2m39s

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III. THE DEEP CULTURE OF APPALACHIA & THE LOWER MIDWEST:

  • DID THE SCOTS-IRISH LEGACY OF OPPRESSION & THEIR HARD EXISTENCE IN APPALACHIA MAKE THEM SELF-RELIANT & SUSPICIOUS OF AUTHORITY? WAS THIS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE EXPANSION OF SUFFRAGE & OPPOSITION TO CENTRAL BANKING IN THE "JACKSONIAN ERA"?

  • ARE HIGHER RATES OF VIOLENCE AMONG SOUTHERN WHITES DUE TO AN "HONOR CULTURE" THAT TRACES BACK TO THE FEUDING OF SCOTS-IRISH CLANS WHO BECAME APPALACHIAN "HILLBILLIES"? IF SO, WHY IS APPALACHIA'S MURDER RATE LOW?

  • HOW DID THE "2nd GREAT AWAKENING" TURN THE FRONTIER SOUTH INTO THE "BIBLE BELT"? DOES THE RELIGIOSITY OF APPALACHIA DIFFER FROM THE DEEP SOUTH?

  • WHY DID MANY NON-SLAVE-OWNING APPALACHIANS FIGHT TO DEFEND SLAVERY, WHILE OTHERS (E.G. WEST VIRGINIA, MISSOURI & KENTUCKY) SIDED WITH THE UNION? DOES THIS MIXED LEGACY AFFECT APPALACHIANS' VIEWS OF RACE TODAY?

  • IS THE WHITE WORKING CLASS OF APPALACHIA TRAPPED IN POVERTY BY A SELF-DESTRUCTIVE "CULTURE OF POVERTY" OR OTHER FACTORS, LIKE OVERRELIANCE ON COAL ("RESOURCE CURSE") OR GOV'T NEGLECT?

  • WAS THE "TEA PARTY" A UNIQUELY "REDNECK" REACTION TO THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS, OR WAS IT MORE A PRODUCT OF MIDDLE-CLASS SOUTHERNERS?

  • WHY DID MANY WORKING-CLASS APPALACHIANS FEEL A KINSHIP WITH DONALD TRUMP, A NEW YORK BILLIONAIRE?

3a) Masaman, "Who are the Appalachians?" (video - 11:35 min, start at 2:25)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zuOnvK1dwI&t=2m25s

3b) Terry Purke, "How the South Became the Bible Belt" (video - 3:52 min.)
https://youtu.be/pSqceL4u8QU

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IV. THE DEEP CULTURE OF THE TIDEWATER, DEEP SOUTH, BLACK BELT & ACADIANA:

  • IS THE "TIDEWATER" REGION CULTURALLY DISTINCT FROM THE DEEP SOUTH & APPALACHIA, WITH MORE EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION & CIVIC VIRTUE TIED INTO "JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY"? IS THIS REGION'S CULTURE FADING DUE TO ITS PROXIMITY TO THE COSMOPOLITANISM OF D.C. & NORFOLK'S NAVAL BASE?

  • WERE THE ANGLO-NORMAN "CAVALIERS" OF VIRGINIA HISTORICALLY IRRELEVANT? SHOULD WE LOOK INSTEAD TO THE BARBADOS PLANTERS THAT SETTLED IN SOUTH CAROLINA FOR THE ARISTOCRATIC LEGACY OF THE DEEP SOUTH?

  • HOW DID "SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY" & THE SOCIAL NORMS OF SOUTHERN GENTLEMEN & BELLES EMERGE FROM PLANTATION LIFE? HOW DID THIS GET MYTHOLOGIZED AFTER THE CIVIL WAR?

  • IS LOUISIANA A "POCKET OF LIBERALISM" IN THE SOUTH DUE TO ITS FRENCH CATHOLIC CAJUN & CREOLE ROOTS? IS THE STEREOTYPE OF PERMISSIVE & FUN-LOVING NEW ORLEANS ACCURATE, OR ARE TODAY'S RESIDENTS ACTUALLY LESS OPEN & MORE NEUROTIC?

  • DID SLAVERY ERASE THE "DEEP CULTURE" OF BLACK SLAVES, OR WERE THE "GULLAHS" OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA & GEORGIA COAST & THE "CREOLES" IN SOUTHERN LOUISIANA ABLE TO PRESERVE SOME ELEMENTS OF AFRICAN MUSIC, RELIGION & FOLKTALES, CUISINE & CRAFTS?

  • HOW PLAUSIBLE IS THOMAS SOWELL'S "BLACK REDNECK" THEORY - I.E. DID MANY SOUTHERN BLACKS ADOPT TRAITS FROM "REDNECK" CULTURE (E.G. RELIGIOSITY, HONOR CULTURE, LIVELY MUSIC & DANCE, DRINKING & PROMISCUITY)? OR IS THIS UNLIKELY SINCE MOST EX-SLAVES STAYED IN THE LOWLAND SOUTH UNTIL THE GREAT MIGRATION?

  • HOW PLAUSIBLE IS JOY DEGRUY'S "POST-TRAUMATIC SLAVE SYNDROME" - I.E. DID SLAVERY & JIM CROW INDUCE MULTI-GENERATIONAL TRAUMA IN BLACKS & RESULT IN MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIORS WHICH ORIGINATED AS SURVIVAL STRATEGIES?

  • DID NIXON'S "SOUTHERN STRATEGY" CREATE A "SOUTHERNIZATION" OF THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM (E.G. RELIGIOSITY, VEILED RACISM, MILITARISM, STATES' RIGHTS, LAW & ORDER, ANTI-UNION)?

  • ARE SOUTHERN WHITES STILL MORE RACIST THAN OTHER AMERICANS, OR HAVE GRADUAL REFORMS & NORTHERN MIGRATION TO THE "SUN BELT" CREATED A "NEW SOUTH" THAT'S NO MORE RACIST ON AVERAGE THAN ANY OTHER REGION? IS THAT WHY WE'RE SEEING A "NEW GREAT MIGRATION" OF BLACKS TO THE SOUTH?

4a) ITVS, "The Myth of the Southern Belle " (video - 7:47 min.)
https://youtu.be/g3Fss5VnP3M

4b) Joy DeGruy, "Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome" (video - 5:48 min.)
https://youtu.be/Rorgjdvphek

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Cafe Walnut
703 Walnut Street · Philadelphia, PA
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