AP Human Geo - Unit 3 (Cultural Patterns & Processes)

Culture

the collective experience of people who live together in a particular place.

Cultural trait

a single element of culture (like a tradition, belief, food, language, or style of clothing) that is shared by a group of people.

Material/surface culture

traits that are easily seen when observing a culture.

eg: food, clothing.

Nonmaterial/deep culture

traits that aren't as noticeable because they exist under the surface of a culture.

eg: belief systems, gender roles.

Indigenous culture

the original inhabitants of a region that are no longer dominant because of immigration, colonization, etc.

eg: native americans

Local culture

a small, homogeneous group of people who share similar customs and live close together.

eg: amish

Popular culture (global)

the ideas, trends, music, movies, fashion, slang, and entertainment that are liked by many people in society (especially young people) at a certain time.

eg: k-pop

Cultural diffusion

the spread of a cultural trait to another area in the world.

Acculturation

learning/adopting parts of a new or different culture.

eg: an egyptian moving to france and speaking french/eating french food.

Enculturation

learning your own culture.

Assimilation

abandoning your original culture for a new one.

Integration

learning a new culture while still maintaining your original culture.

Separation/isolation

maintaining your own culture and staying in your own little bubble. not bothering to learn about a new culture.

Marginalization

not being part of any culture. the new culture doesn't welcome you when you try to fit in.

Transculturation

when two cultures exchange traits equally and both change as a result — a two-way blending.

Ethnic enclave

communities of people of the same ethnicity so they can live comfortably in their cultural bubble.

Acultural stress

cultural shock.

Acculturation gaps

generational differences in acculturation and how it leads to conflict within the family.

eg: immigrant kids are way more familiar with the new culture than their parents.

Homogenous culture

everyone speaks the same language, shares beliefs, celebrates the same holidays, etc.

eg: egypt

Heterogenous culture

people from all over the world live side by side.

eg: new york city

Customs

common ways of doing things in a society; norms.

Traditions

beliefs/activities passed down from generation to generation.

Multiculturalism

appreciation of cultural diversity.

Preadaption

when a culture already has traits that help it adjust easily to a new environment/situation.

Imperialism

controlling or influencing another country/region from afar, often for power or money; doesn't always involve settling there.

Colonialism

when a country takes over land and settles it with its own people to control it directly.

Cultural clash

brief often unintentional misunderstandings between cultures.

Cultural conflict

longer, deeper struggle between groups because of different beliefs, traditions, or lifestyles.

Genocide

deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially because of their race, religion, or ethnicity.

Race

physical characteristics like skin color, facial features, or hair type that societies use to categorize people.

Ethnicity

cultural identity, including shared language, ancestry, traditions, religion, and history.

Ethnocentrism (etic)

believing ur own culture is better than others and judging other cultures by ur own standards.

Cultural relativism (emic)

understanding and judging a culture based on its own values and beliefs, not your own.

Cultural landscape

the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape.

Symbolic landscape

places with visual info ab the language, religion, gender roles, and deeper cultural practices of the ppl that live there.

Sequent occupency

evidence of other cultures having been in a place before.

Placelessness

many places looking similar to each other rather than uniquely culturally distant from one another.

Placemaking

all the efforts to make an area better so that people connect a positive sense of place with it.

Sense of place

how we perceive a place based on past experiences, how it's depicted in the media, and what we've heard about it from others.

Modern architecture

very simple. includes straight lines, big windows, and are highly functional.

Postmodern architecture

blends historical foundations with modern touches.

Local architecture

architecture that's specific to a certain area/culture.

Centripetal force

things that bring people together in a place.

Centrifugal force

things that tear a community apart.

Secularization

a society becoming less religious.

Relocation diffusion

moving to a new place and bringing ur cultural traits with you.

Hierarchical diffusion

the spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places.

Contagious diffusion

the rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population.

Stimulus diffusion

trait that spreads to a new area but is slightly changed by the culture of a new area.

Absorbing barriers

completely stop a cultural trait from being spread.

Permeable barriers

allow a trait in but will change it in a more acceptable way.

eg: egypt and the gay scene in the barbie movie

Cultural hearth

where a religion originated.

Monotheistic

belief in one god.

Polytheistic

belief in multiple gods.

Universalizing religions

try to get more people to convert.

Missionary

a person sent on a religious mission, especially one sent to promote Christianity in a foreign country.

Christianity

most common religion. monotheistic and follows Jesus Christ.

Buddhism

believe in a Buddha: a man, not a god.

Islam

monotheistic. believe in Allah and prophet Mohammed.

Ethnic religions

focus on one ethnic group and generally have not spread into other cultures.

Shintoism

religion; located in japan and related to Buddhism; focuses particularly on nature and ancestor worship.

Hinduism

indian religion. believe in brahman as the essence and the gods brahma, vishnu, and shiva.

Judaism

the monotheistic religion of the Jews.

Syncretic

mix of 2 or more religions or cultural beliefs blended together.

Proselytic

describing a religion that spreads its message to others through missionary work.

Animism

belief that natural objects like trees, rivers, or animals have spirits or souls.

Language

system of communications used for speech between a group of people.

Language family

group of languages that come from the same ancient language.

Lingua franca

common language used by people who don't share the same native language — it helps them communicate.

eg: english.

Official language

the language adopted for use by the government for the conduct of business and publication of documents.

Endangered languages

language at risk of disappearing because very few people speak it.

Pidgin

a simplified form of speech developed from two or more languages.

Creole

pidgins that become a full language.

Esperanto

a made-up (constructed) language created in the 1800s to be an easy international language so everyone could communicate.

Extinct languages

languages no one speaks anymore.

eg: latin.

Dialects

regional variety of a language within its own vocab, grammar, or pronounciation.

Accents

the way words are pronounced in a language.

Isogloss

boundary line on a map that shows where certain words, pronunciations, or grammar features change between regions.

Polyglot

someone who speaks multiple languages.

Toponyms

the names that we give places.