“The Superorganic in American Cultural Geography”

“The Superorganic in American Cultural Geography” from Annals of the Association of American Geographers

By James S. Duncan, 1980

Synopsis: Traces the evolution of and problems with the concept of the “superorganic;” interrogates the accepted view within geography that culture is “superorganic,” that is, “an entity above man, not reducible to actions by the individuals who are associated with it” (182). The superorganic is a concept that arose in the 1920s-30s with Carl Sauer and the Berkeley School geographers. That is, culture was seen as some upper layer of force/ultimate power/entity which made individuals mere passive agents. There have long been two competing ways of understanding culture: 1) individualistic – that we’re all separate entities and actors, 2) holistic – that actions occur in a large scale way via a sprit or collective consciousness (Durkheim, Hegel). Alfred Krober brought idea of cultural determinism (which is basically the superorganic idea that culture rules all) to anthropology in the 1950s. This idea of the all-powerful superorganic has been hard to prove and has been largely discredited. Duncan argues that idea of the superorganic is problematic as it ignores differences among populations, ignores agency of individuals, and ignores interaction between culture and individuals. Duncan thus argues for an interactive/reciprocal approach.

Interacts With:

Carl Sauer,

Labels: superorganic, Berkeley School, Carl Sauer