aphg: ch 4 - folk & pop. culture

globalization

the expansion of economic, political, & cultural processes to the point that they become global in scale and impact; has resulted in uneven economic development.

cultural landscape

the visible imprint of a culture (human activity) on the natural landscape; examples include agricultural practices, industry, religions, languages, & architecture.

environmental determinism

the idea that cultural traits are determined by environmental conditions; its extreme form is now entirely discredited.

possibilism

the idea that human decision making, not the environment, is the crucial factor in cultural development; can be observed in any situation where humans conquer their environment

contagious diffusion

the rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout a population by contact of adjacent areas & individuals.

hierarchical diffusion

the spread of an innovation from places or persons of power (elites, big cities) to other places of power, jumping over intervening areas; pop. culture traits.

relocation diffusion

the spread of an innovation by the bodily movement of people from one place to another (i.e. migration); folk cultures.

stimulus diffusion

when an innovation is not adopted in its entirety but nevertheless stimulates some experimentation or imitative behavior in the new community; ex. german hip hop, mcdonald’s menu adapted to local diets.

cultural ecology

the study of how humans adapt to changes in the natural environment; ex. housing or clothing adapted to local materials and climate.

cultural geography

the study of the spatial distributions of cultures and cultural traits.

culture

the body of customary beliefs, social forms (including institutions & customs), & material artifacts that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people & gives unique identity to the people of a region.

cultural trait

the smallest building blocks of culture; this could be any individual artifact, sociofact, or mentifact.

artifact

any physical object made & used by & representative of a given culture; these are the basic building blocks of material culture.

• three main components of any culture’s material culture: food, clothing, shelter

• anything in a culture

sociofact

any institution or social structure in a culture that dictates social behavior; the way in which a culture organizes itself; ex. families, tribes, states, etc.

mentifact

any idea, value, or belief in a culture; language is the prime mentifact b/c all other mentifacts are encoded & preserved via language.

cultural complex

a functionally related group of cultural traits; ex. nationalism, democracy, modern business etiquette, etc.

culture region

an area defined by similar culture traits and cultural landscapes; culture regions are vernacular (aka perceptual regions); ex. the central coast, the rust belt, the south, etc.

culture realms

global scale culture regions; these may be defined variously by some combination of religion, language, diet, customs, or economic development; aka macrocultural regions; ex. latin america, western europe, etc.

culture hearth

location where a specific culture or cultural trait first arises; ex. hip hop origins in the bronx, soccer in scotland, etc.

four ancient culture hearths

mesopotamia, nile valley, indus valley, north china; all sprang up along large rivers which allowed irrigation & agriculture at large scales & facilitated trade.

folk culture

a culture traditionally practiced by a small, homogeneous, rural group living in relative isolation.

big five traits for folk culture

• practiced by small, homogeneous (alike), isolated, rural communities.

• hearths/origins often anonymous, based on the everyday activities of rural life.

• changes slowly, conservative (resists change).

• diffuses slowly & over small scale via relocation diffusion.

• preserves local diversity. food, clothing, housing, all reflect local environment & values.

popular culture (aka pop culture)

the culture traits found in large, heterogeneous, typically urban society that shares habits despite differences in other characteristics.

big five traits for popular culture

• practiced by large, urban populations that are heterogeneous (different) but share pop. culture traits.

• hearths well known: n. america, europe, japan, based on profit motive & leisure time.

• changes rapidly, fluid.

• diffuses rapidly & globally via expansion diffusion (hierarchical + contagious)/electronic media.

• threatens local diversity, imported onto & likely to modify local environments and values.

habit

the repetitive act of an individual person not necessarily adopted by the group; a habit is not a custom until it is adopted by a group.

custom

the repetitive act of a group.

material culture

the visible things that people construct in a culture.

built environment

the landscape created by humans; the physical part of the cultural landscape that provides the setting for human activity; ex. cities, homes, paths, roads, etc.

cultural convergence

the process whereby cultures today are becoming more alike as they increasingly share technology & organizational structures in a modern globalized world; ex. fast food restaurants, the english language, cell phones, etc.

cultural appropriation

the process by which cultures adopt customs from other cultures for their own benefit; greatly accelerated by globalization; ex. dreadlocks, hindu bindi, etc.

maladaptive diffusion

the diffusion of a culture trait with negative side effects, often because image takes precedence over practicality. (aka “what works well in one culture doesn't work in another”); ex. jeans worn in hot climates, ranch style houses in cold climates, etc.

landscape distinctiveness

the quality of any cultural landscape that is unique or otherwise recognizably different from those around it; created by folk cultures that reflect the local environment, history, & culture; ex. amish, pueblo indians, etc.

uniform landscape (placelessness)

the loss of uniqueness in a cultural landscape so that one place looks like every other; created by popular culture b/c businesses want their brand to be recognizable everywhere; ex. strip malls, big box stores, etc.

localism

the attempt to rediscover, promote & preserve the unique cultural identity & heritage of a community, often as a reaction against globalization’s tendency to create uniform landscapes; an attempt to fight against uniform landscapes & encourage landscape distinctiveness; ex. solvang, slo farmer’s market, etc.

commodification

the process by which a cultural trait that was not previously regarded as something to be bought or sold becomes something to be bought or sold; native American headdresses worn by models, chinese symbol tattoos, etc.

problems with commodification

culture traits--whether sacred objects, sacred sites, religious rites, rituals, dances, music, clothing--may be sanitized to conform to the stereotyped expectations of tourists, losing their original context within the local culture.

acculturation

the adoption of just enough the behavior patterns of the surrounding dominant culture so as to be able to function economically & socially; to some degree one’s original culture is preserved.

assimilation

the process by which a small population loses its culture to & becomes indistinguishable from a larger dominant culture; can be voluntary or forced.

syncretism

the fusion of two distinctive cultural traits into a unique hybrid; ex. african culture + christmas = kwanzaa.

multiculturalism

the existence & acceptance of different cultures within a single country or society; can create divisiveness if people identify only with their subculture, not the larger culture & civic values.

ethnocentrism

the practice of viewing & judging someone else's culture based on the values & beliefs of one's own culture (usually because of a belief that one’s own culture is superior to all others); ex. a person who condemns or is appalled by the eating of insects just because it is not common in his own culture is practicing ethnocentrism.

cultural relativism

the practice of regarding the culture traits of a given culture within the context of the beliefs, values, & traditions of that culture; ex. the canadian government makes an exception to the ban on whaling for the inuit people because whale hunting is a longstanding & sacred part of the inuit culture.

taboo

the restriction on behavior imposed by social custom; ex. islamic & jewish food taboos against porking, mormon taboos against alcohol, etc.

geomancy

the art of placing or arranging buildings or other sites auspiciously (for good luck); example of culture traits reflecting religious values or customary beliefs.

imperialism

control of territory already occupied & organized by an indigenous group; has been a major contributor to the diffusion of a wide variety of culture.

sequent occupance

the phenomenon by which successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place each contributing in turn to the cumulative cultural landscape of that place; ex. the mix of native, colonial, & modern architecture seen in former colonial cities like new delhi, etc.