Iberoamerican Culture: The Experience of a Spatial and Geographical Analysis

Space and time are the most organic coordinates of culture; therefore a culture of any country or region can be studied both in time, i.e. historically, and in space, i.e. geographically. The analysis of national geocultural systems has become the object of research by scientists who study cultural geography. The evolution of this branch of geography in Russia has not been easy, which makes its new wave even more remarkable: the range of research is becoming ever wider and includes the ethnic diversity of countries and peoples, sacred geography, linguistic and regional studies, the geography of art and literature. Taking into account the achievements of foreign cultural geographers and using the example of national reality, Russian researchers have already created their own methodology, which is applicable to the cases of foreign countries. The Ibero-American countries have a plethora of components to study precisely through the lens of culture and geography. Naturally, many historical and archaeological monuments, architectural objects, natural and cultural landscapes both in the Iberian Peninsula and in Latin America are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The idiosyncrasy of the Hispanic and Latin American culture, its characteristics, the features that the Iberian area and Latin America have in common and those that set them apart from each other literally call for research through the prism of geography. The present article aims to showcase the diversity inherent to the cultural and geographical landscapes of Ibero-America. In addition to mentioning sacred places, architectural objects, and other elements of cultural infrastructure, there is a special emphasis on the reflection of geographical space in art and the perception of the image of a landscape in literature. The synthesis of such components helps to get a generalized understanding of cultural and geographical regional studies.

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