Although not a presently accepted concept in the social science, [environmental determinism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_determinism) played an important role in thought about human relations in…

Although not a presently accepted concept in the social science, environmental determinism played an important role in thought about human relations in the nineteenth century. The arguments made about how the environment CONTROLS human behavior are often racist and can sometimes be traced to the concept of Social Darwinism in the late nineteenth century. Please check this article at (copy and paste) http://geocurrents.info/geographical-thought/environmental-determinism-ellsworth-huntington-and-the-decline-of-geography and in particular the reaction by German geographer Franz Boas. Many texts today cite evidence that students still subscribe to the stereotypes of environmental determinism – for example, ideas held by northerners about people living in the southern states – (that the climate dictates a slow paced lifestyle, etc.). 
  
Look over the links provided above in this document, read the section on Cultural Ecology in your text and think about notions that may be held today about certain peoples of the world and how the climate may be perceived as a determining factor in their cultural makeup. What are some of the stereotypical views that you may have or perceive of other cultures that could be influenced by the environment – whether fact of fiction?