Wilbur Zelinsky (21 December 1921 – 4 May 2013) was an American
cultural geographer.
He was most recently a professor
emeritus at
Pennsylvania State University. He also created the
Zelinsky Model of Demographic Transition.
Background and education
An
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
an by birth, but a "northeasterner by choice and conviction", Zelinsky received his Bachelor's Degree and his Master's Degree from the
University of Madison, Wisconsin. He earned a PhD at
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, where he was a student of
Carl Sauer.
Scholarship
Zelinsky made numerous geographical studies of American popular culture, ranging from the diffusion of classical place-names to spatial patterns of personal given names and the spatial patterning of religious denominations. One of his most ambitious and imaginative projects was a provocative assessment of the impact of increasingly powerful personal preference on the spatial character of American society.
During the 1960s, along with Gordon DeJong, Warren Robinson, and Paul Baker, Zelinsky helped launch a population research center and coordinate an interdisciplinary graduate instructional program in population studies at Penn State and thus helped lay the foundation for what would become the dual-titl
Graduate Program in Demography During 1972–1973 he served as the first Director of the Population Issues Research Center (what would become th
Population Research Instituteat Penn State).
In 1973, Zelinsky published ''The Cultural Geography of the United States''. In addition to his research in popular culture, he made substantial contributions in the fields of "population" and "folk geography".
Theory of First Effective Settlement
Zelinsky's
Theory of First Effective Settlement was that the dominant culture of a nation is defined by the first settlers who came to an area who are able to effect a self-perpetuating society. The theory states that these first settlers have significant impact on the social and cultural geography of the area, however few these first settlers may have been. They lay the groundwork for the following generations and are perhaps more important than the contributions of thousands of new immigrants generations later.
Colin Woodard
Colin Woodard (born December 3, 1968''Woodard, Colin 1968–'' In: ''Contemporary Authors'', Gale, 2008) is an American journalist and writer, known for his books '' American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America ...
further expands upon this theory in his book, ''
American Nations''.
Recognition
* Award for Meritorious Contributions to the Field of Geography, presented by the
Association of American Geographers
The American Association of Geographers (AAG) is a non-profit scientific and educational society aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of geography and related fields. Its headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. Th ...
(1996).
* The
Cullum Geographical Medal
The Cullum Geographical Medal is one of the oldest awards of the American Geographical Society. It was established in the will of George Washington Cullum, the vice president of the Society, and is awarded "to those who distinguish themselves by ...
by the
American Geographical Society
The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...
in 2001.
* President of the
AAG from 1972 to 1973.
See also
* ''
Geographers on Film''
References
See also
*
List of geographers
This list of geographers is presented in English alphabetical transliteration order (by surnames).
A
*Hardo Aasmäe (Estonia, 1951–2014)
* Aziz Ab'Saber (Brazil, 1924–2012)
* Diogo Abreu (Portugal, born 1947)
*John Adams, (England, pre– ...
1921 births
2013 deaths
American geographers
Recipients of the Cullum Geographical Medal
Presidents of the American Association of Geographers
Cultural geographers
University of California, Berkeley alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
{{Geographer-stub