Unit 4 Vocab (Culture)

culture

the learned beliefs and practices of a group of people.

non-material culture

Beliefs/Ideas such as religion/folklore or languages

material culture

Objects (can see or be touched) such as food or fashion

cultural hearth

the origin of a cultural trait

cultural diffusion

the spread of a cultural trait

expansion diffusion

traits diffuse outwards from the hearth

contagious diffusion

most people adjacent to the hearth adopt the trait

hierarchical diffusion

people with power adopts the trait first, then it spreads to others

stimulus diffusion

the trait is adopted in a new form

relocation diffusion

traits are being brought to a new location via human migration

connectivity

a measure of interaction across space

The Gravity Model (Tobler’s First law of Geography)

close spaces are more similar [connected] than distant places

distance decay

as distance increases, connectivity decreases

space time compression

a decrease in the time that it takes for something to diffuse from one place to another

local culture (folk culture)

a shared belief, practice or custom that is specific to a localized group of people
Changes quickly over space
Has a sense of place
Diffuses via relocation diffusion
Changes slowly over time
Origin is unknown

Pop Culture

ideas that are widespread and mainstream around the world.
They are made for sale
Change slowly over space
Creates placenessless
Changes quickly over time
Diffuses via expansion diffusion
Origin is known

globalization

increased connectivity across natioanl borders

cultural convergence

When 2 cultures become similar to one another, through contact and interaction

placelessness

similarity in the appearance of cultural traits

transnational corporation

a business who operates in many countries