AP Human Geography Vocab Unit 3

Culture

comprised of a groups shared practices, technologies, attitudes, and behaviors

Cultural traits

the smallest units of culture

cultural hearth

the birthplace of a culture and the location from which that culture has spread

cultural relativism

the idea that all cultural practices, beliefs, and values should be understood and evaluated within their own cultural context, rather than being judged against the standards of another culture

ethnocentrism

the tendency to view one's culture as superior and to judge other cultures based on its standards

cultural landscape

the visual imprint of human activity and culture on the physical landscape

built landscape

specifically things people build on the landscape (almost same as cultural landscape)

traditional architecture

indigenous and local architecture is often more directly tied to the physical landscape

postmodern architecture

an electric, colorful style of architecture that appeared in the late 1970s

sequent occupance

describes how the cultural landscape of a place evolves as different groups of people occupy and transform it over time

ethnic neighborhoods (ethnic enclaves)

"pockets" within cities with a high concentration of people from the same ethnic group, often immigrants

indigenous communities

people with historical ties to a specific territory and unique cultural practices, languages, and traditions

Imperialism

the motivating impulse or desire to control more territory

colonialism

the actual act of controlling a foreign territory

time-space convergence

reduced travel time between places makes them "actually" closer together

cultural convergence

cultures are becoming more and more alike as their interactions increase due to globalization

globalization

the growing connection of the worlds economies, cultures, and populations

urbanization

places becoming more urban

cultural divergence

distinct cultural traits within a society cause it to become increasingly dissimilar from other cultures

acculturation

occurs when an ethnic or immigrant group adopts enough of the ways of the host culture to be able to function economically and socially

assimilation

occurs when a minority or immigrant group blends with the host culture and loses many culturally distinct traits

multiculturalism

the presence and acceptance of multiple distinct cultural or ethnic groups within a society

syncretism

elements from different cultures blend to create something new and distinct