European Culture Area

Alexander B. Murphy is past president of the AAG and a member of the geography faculty at the University of Oregon, where he long held the James F. and Shirley K. Rippey Chair in Liberal Arts and Sciences. He is also a member of the Academia Europaea.Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov (1938–2003) was Walter Prescott Webb Professor of History and Ideas in the Department of Geography at the University of Texas, Austin. Bella Bychkova Jordan is an instructor in the Department of Geography and the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas, Austin.

This is a terrific text. A core value of its effective approach is that to understand the making of Europe into a discernible region by culture, we must reflect upon Europe’s broad range of ideological, social, and materialist difference—expressed territorially, institutionally, and systemically. Its respect for historical structure makes the book as valuable to students of history as to students of human geography.

• List of Illustrations Preface A Note about Place Names 1 What and Where Is Europe? Europe as a Physical Entity Europe as a Human Entity Socioeconomic Characteristics Europe and the Wider World This Book’s Approach Why Study Europe? Sources and Suggested Readings 2 The Physical Environment Europe’s Geomorphology and Hydrogeography Mountains Hills Plains Hydrogeography Europe’s Climate Marine West Coast Mediterranean Humid Continental Minor Climate Types Vegetation and Soils Forests Treeless Areas Soils Human Alteration of the Environment Human Modification of Lands and Waters The Special Case of the Netherlands Human Modification of the Atmosphere Human Impacts on Forests Environmentalism Sources and Suggested Readings 3 Demography Geogenetics Population Distribution and Density Population Growth Rates Natural Increase Migration Major Influences on Population Geography Environmental Influences Socioeconomic and Political Influences Land-use and Population Policies Scale Differences Sources and Suggested Readings 4 The Pattern of Languages Languages and Language Families The Diffusion of Indo-EuropeanTongues into Europe The Three Major Subfamilies of Indo-EuropeanRomance Languages Germanic Languages The Special Case of English Slavic Languages Other Indo-EuropeanLanguages Non-Indo-EuropeanLanguages Linguistic Decline and Revival Multilingualism The Disconnect Between Linguistic and Political Boundaries Sources and Suggested Readings 5 The Geography of Religion Pre-ChristianEurope Diffusion of Christianity Christian Fragmentation The Roman Catholic Realm Pilgrimages Winds of Change The Protestant Realm The Eastern Orthodox Realm The East–West Divide Uniate and Armenian Churches Dechristianization Sects and Cults Non-ChristianMinorities Islam Judaism Conclusion Sources and Suggested Readings 6 The European State System The Pattern of States The Emergence of the European State Pattern The Twentieth-CenturyEuropean State Case Studies France: The Quintessential Unitary State Germany: Federalism in the European Core The United Kingdom: Core–Periphery Tensions Italy: Roman Legacy Spain: A Multiethnic State Switzerland and Belgium: Astride a Language Divide Fragmentation in the Balkans: Yugoslavia and Its Successor States Russia and the Former Soviet Union Ukraine: From Border Province to Independent State Challenges to the Territorial State The Rise of the European Union Other Supranational Engagements Sources and Suggested Readings 7 Land and Life in the Rural Sector Traditional Agriculture Mediterranean Agriculture Three-FieldFarming Hardscrabble Herder-FarmersShifting Cultivation in the North Nomadic Herding Traditional Land Divisions and Settlement Characteristics New Crop Introductions Modern Agricultural Systems Market Gardening Dairying Cattle and Hog Raising Sheep Raising Cash Grain Farming Reindeer Ranching Fishing and Fish Farming Land Tenure in the Modern Era Production Patterns in the Modern Era Rural Depopulation Preserving Rural Landscapes Sources and Suggested Readings 8 Manufacturing and Industry Historical Overview (Pre–Eighteenth Century) Traditional Manufacturing Systems The Industrial Revolution Diffusion of the Industrial Revolution Diffusion beyond the Coalfields Impacts of Industrialization Social Impacts Environmental Impacts Transportation Innovations and Their Significance Roads Railroads Waterways Pipelines Air Transport Deindustrialization Industrial Rejuvenation Contemporary Patterns Sources and Suggested Readings 9 The Postindustrial Economy and the Quest for European Integration The Nature of Europe’s Service and Information Economy Communications Energy Production Tourism Retailing and Governmental/Social Services The Quaternary Sector The Trajectory of European Integration Economic Impacts of Integration Sources and Suggested Readings 10 The European City The Rise of the European City The Medieval City City Sites City Attributes Medieval Urban Morphology Renaissance–Baroque Urban Development (1500–1800) The Industrial City Characteristics of the Mid-Twentieth-CenturyEuropean City The Late/Postindustrial European City The Preindustrial Core The Preindustrial Periphery The Industrial Suburbs The Postindustrial Suburbs Regional Variations The Modern Urban Pattern Sources and Suggested Readings 11 Europe’s Changing Social and Ethnic Geography Patterns of Social Well-BeingHealth Employment Education The Role of Women Ethno-CulturalIssues Recent Migration Streams The Traditional Social Contract in Transition Macroeconomic Challenges The Demographic Challenge The Immigration Challenge Sources and Suggested Readings 12 European Integration: Retrospect and Prospect Impetuses for Integration Globalization GeopoliticsExternal Relations Cross-borderInteraction The Economy The “Irrationality” of the Pattern of States Impetuses for Fragmentation Globalization Geopolitics Nationalism Bureaucratization Differences over Widening and Deepening Ethno-regionalismWhere from Here? Sources and Suggested Readings Glossary Index About the Authors