The Geography of Surfinghttp://www.geog.ucsb.edu/∼sweeney/g20/g20.htm

Stuart H. SweeneyDepartment of Geography

University of California, Santa Barbarasweeney@geog.ucsb.edu

Introduction 3Why Geography? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Why surfing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Course Description 12Course Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Required Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Lecture and Reading Schedule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Student Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Film Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Guest Speakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Open Podium Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Geography: On the beach 21

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Overview

IntroductionWhy Geography?Why surfing?Experiences

Course DescriptionCourse DescriptionRequired TextsLecture and Reading ScheduleStudent EvaluationFilm SegmentsGuest SpeakersOpen Podium Day

Geography: On the beach

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Introduction 3 / 21

Why Geography?

1. A conceptual organization of geography...

2. Simple definition: Why things are, where they are. 3. Experiential Geography

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Why surfing?

■ Experiential geography: a way of framing and understandinghuman behavior, culturallandscapes, physical environments, and their interactions.

■ Geography is about exploration. So is surfing...

◆ Surfing embeds us in physical ocean-atmosphere processes◆ Surfing requires travel exposing us to a richer understanding of our environment and different cultures◆ Surfers tend to be strongly conditioned by their local regional culture.◆ Surfers tend to have a strong awareness of environmental issues and the potential negative human

impacts on the environment.

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Local surfing – 1982

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Local surfing – 1982

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Local surfing – 1984

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Maui – 1990

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Bixby Ranch – 2003

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Maui – 2008

see quicktime

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Course Description 12 / 21

Course Description

To surf is to explore, to connect with nature, and to embed oneself in history. Surfing, in one respect, is simplya recreational sport, but it is also a multi-billion dollar global industry, a reflection of global climate patternsinteracting with reef formation and sedimentation, a globalizing culture diffusing from strong regionalidentities, and a reason to travel to exotic locations and explore the planet. This course uses a geographicperspective to study the many facets of the sport. Geographyprovides a perfect set of tools to study surfingranging from the propagation of swells to the diffusion of culture. The goal of the course is to introducestudents to geographic approaches to understanding human cultural patterns, physical processes, and theirdynamic interactions.

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Course Description

The course covers a diverse set of surfing topics including the cultural history of the sport; the physicalprocesses involved in ocean wave generation, wave refraction, and breaking waves; the surf industry in thecontext of local and global development; and the spatial behavior of surfers (localism). Within each of thetopical domains I will emphasis geography concepts (scale,interaction, regions, location) and the geographersapproach to understanding. In addition to the topical domains the course will include two regional foci:Oceania and Central America.

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Required Texts

■ Butt, Tony, Paul Russell, and Rick Grigg (2004)Surf Science: An Introduction to Waves forSurfing.Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

■ TheGEOGRAPHY 20 Course Readeris available at The Alternative Copy Shop (6556 PardallRoad, Isla Vista)

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Lecture and Reading Schedule

■ Summary Lecture Schedule (see syllabus on website)■ Topics and Reading Assignments (see syllabus on website)

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Student Evaluation

There will be a midterm exam (Monday 4/28) worth 45 percent ofyour grade and a final exam (Tuesday 6/10,7:30-10:30pm) worth 55 percent of your grade. The final will be cumulative but will emphasize material afterthe midterm. Exams will include true-false questions, multiple-choice questions, and matching questions. Thematching questions will be used to evaluate your grasp of thetwo regional sections: Australia/Pacific Islandand Central America. Students are required to bring a ParSCORE sheet to the exams (the pink scantron, FormNo. F-1712-PAR-L). Study guides will be distributed on the course web page prior to each exam.

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Film Segments

Film and photography has been a dominant cultural feature ofmodern surfing. In the past, the course had adiscussion section devoted to surf films. The sections neverworked as planned for several reasons. This year Iwill be integrating segments from surf films into the lectures. This is technically feasible because of The SurfNetwork (www.thesurfnetwork.com) since they sell surf movies and documentaries that can be downloadedand accessed from iTunes. The film segments will not be available from the course webpage since they arecopyrighted material. I will always include a film source statement in the course notes so that you canpurchase the film from the Surf Network or on DVD if you choose.

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Guest Speakers

Each year I try to arrange for at least one guest speaker. Since we are living in one of the culture hearths of thesport it makes sense to take advantage of our location and to invite individuals that are part of the history of thesport. This year we will have two guest speaking dates: 1) 4/14 Shaun Tomsonand 2) 5/12Britt CaillouetteandNicholai Lidow . Mr. Tomson was the 1977 World Champion of the InternationalProfessional Surfingtour, he was a professional surfer on the World Tour from 1976-1989, and he was instrumental in the creationof professional surfing. He lives in Santa Barbara and directs the Solitude apparel company and is involved inseveral environmental and educational outreach efforts. Mr. Caillouette and Mr. Lidow are filmmakers andgraduate students at Stanford University. They released the film Sliding Liberia that screened at the 2008Santa Barbara Film Festival. The speakers are not paid and itis extremely disrespectful to them, and me, ifyou fail to show up on these days. Please show up and participate in the question-answer sessions.

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Open Podium Day

I try to minimize travel conflicts but this quarter I have to beout of town on 4/28-4/30 for professional serviceduties. The midterm is on 4/28. On Wednesday, 4/30, I will turn over the class podium to any students in theclass that would like to show photos or videos from their own surf trips or to relate their own surf/travelstories. I know it is daunting to get up in front of 500 people but if you think you will be interested you need tomake arrangements with the T.A. (Frank Davenport) before the end of the third week of classes. Send Frankand email with your name, describe what you want to present, and give him an estimate of how long it willtake to present.

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Geography: On the beach 21 / 21

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