Unit 1 Vocab and Ideas

Sense of place

A term referring to the subjective and emotional attachment that an individual or a community associates with a specific place.

Perception of place

Similar to sense of place but involves the emotional connection to a location even if the individual has not physically been there.

Relative location

Describes a location in relation to other locations, providing a spatial context without specific coordinates.

Absolute location

Defines a precise point on the Earth's surface using latitude and longitude coordinates.

Cartogram

A map that distorts geographic areas to represent a variable such as population or economic data.

Choropleth map

A thematic map where areas are shaded or patterned in proportion to the value of a variable being represented.

Culture

The social behavior and norms found in human societies, including beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits.

Distance decay

The decrease in the intensity of interaction, communication, or diffusion of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its source.

Diffusion

The spread of ideas, cultural traits, or phenomena from one area to another.

Hierarchical diffusion

The spread of an idea or innovation from nodes of authority or power to other people or places.

Contagious diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population.

Relocation diffusion

The spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another.

Environmental determinism

A theory that suggests that human behavior is strongly affected and determined by the physical environment.

Sequent occupance

The notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, each contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape.

Pop culture

Modern popular culture transmitted via mass media and reflecting mainstream society.

Folk culture

Traditional, rural, or indigenous cultural practices and beliefs.

Culture hearth

A center where cultures developed and from which ideas and traditions spread outward.

Assimilation

The process through which individuals or groups of differing ethnicities are absorbed into the dominant culture of a society.

Cultural appropriation

The adoption of elements of a minority culture by members of the dominant culture, often without understanding or respect.

Neo-colonialism

The use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries, often former colonies.

Neolocalism (James Shortridge's definition)

A term coined by James Shortridge referring to a renewed interest in sustaining and promoting the uniqueness of a place or locality.

Commodification

The transformation of goods, services, ideas, or other entities that were not previously considered to have economic value into commodities.