The Balkans: Geography, Culture, Values

Authors:

Pages: 475-483

Abstract:

Geographic knowledge is one of the important components of students’ general culture. Geographical way of thinking and perception of reality (near and far) is a competency based on a system of knowledge and skills. The formation of these basic knowledge and skills is connected with the concepts, ideas and geographic images linked to them. The geographical localization of cultures increasingly less coincides with the territorial location of ethnic groups. Notions are specific visual images of geographical objects, processes, phenomena and relationships bounded with corresponding concepts (single and general). According to the source of formation, there are two types of notions: memory notions and imagination notions. Due to the inability of direct observation of most of studied objects, geography is dominated by indirect concepts – those associated with imagination, the symbolic forms of transfer of information. Despite this fact, and the polarity of the interpretation of that, we believe that one of the argumentation approaches to the study of regional cultural specificities is based on the formation of natural geographic range of cultures. Limiting in geography may be complies with fixed markers (e.g. government or administrative boundaries, economic indicators, limit values) or with a higher degree of conditionality (ethnic, cultural). Geographic “look” at issue focuses on the interrelationship space – environment – social development. Despite the removal of location, topography or climate as leading natural geographic factors, the researchers unite over the shared opinion that nature has a complex impact on the historical fate of ethnic groups, the formation of statehood and the culture of various community groups. Territory (the limited geographical space) with its resources appears as the leading factor for the dynamic changes in the ethnic and religious communities. 476 Historically the Balkan nations and their state territories were formed while the inhabitants of the peninsula lived simultaneously in two worlds, in two geographical and historical dimensions: one (more spacious) – Europe, and the other (affecting more tightly, but local) – the Balkans. Cultural identity is formed over a long historical period within a defined territory, i.e. it is associated with borders, differences and degree of closeness.

Keywords:

geographical localization, territoriality, culture, public spaces, borders, cultural identity, Balkan nations

Download

NA / Belgium / Bulgaria / China / Cote D'Ivoire / Europe / France / Germany / Greece / Iraq / Ireland / Macedonia / Poland / Portugal / Romania / Russian Federation / Serbia / Slovakia / Sweden / Turkey / Ukraine / United Kingdom / United States / Uzbekistan