MGI Final

Aspects of culture

Aspects of culture

Religions + Traditions

Government

Sports

Clothing/Fashion

What is Location? What are the two types?

• Where in the world a place exists

• Absolute: determined by lat. and long. Relative: what it's near (cities, oceans, rivers)

Interdependence

A relationship between countries in which they rely on one another for resources, goods, or services.

Diffusion

The spread of ideas, objects, inventions, and other practices from place to place. When people migrate or move to a new area, they bring their ideas, objects, etc. with them.

Imports

Goods produced abroad and sold domestically - brought into a country

Exports

Goods produced domestically and sold abroad

Latitude vs longitude

Latitude runs east and west, parallel

Longitude runs north and south, meridian

Monocentric - Examples?

Dominated by a single major political entity, in terms of territory and/or population - North America, Mid. America, Austral, East Asia, and South Asia

Polycentric - Examples?

The appearance, functioning, and organization of the realm are dispersed among a number of more or less equally influential regions or countries - Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East

3 population centers of the world

South Asia, East Asia, Europe

Sovereignty

Right of a state to rule itself and those who live within its territory; to choose its own constitution, form of gov., and economic system

Hinterland

Surrounding zones of a city involved with its economy, culture, etc...

Racism

Judging someone based on the color of their skin - belief in superiority of ones race

Ethnocentrism

Judging other cultures by the standards of your own - belief in superiority of ones ethnic group

Prejudice

Thoughts/feelings towards an ethnic or racial group

Discrimination

Acts against an ethnic or racial group

Stereotype

A generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people

Bigotry

Intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself.

Bias

A particular preference or point of view that is personal, rather than scientific.

Dictatorship

One person or small group possesses absolute power without effective constitutional limitations

Communism

Political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

Democracy

• Government by the people

• Free and fair elections, civic participation and identity, checks and balances, human and civil rights

Facism

A political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and racism and has no tolerance for opposition

Imperialism

Act of spreading a country's influence outside of their border

plutocracy/oligarchy

A system of government based on wealth (plutocracy) or a small group of elites (oligarchy)

Theocracy

• Rooted in religious beliefs

• Ability to override the president & parliment

Anarachy

Anti-government, society without rulers

Capitalism

Economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

Socialism

Political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

Mixed Economy

An economy in which private enterprise exists in combination with a considerable amount of government regulation and promotion.

Pampas

"Plain" - grasslands region in Argentina and Uruguay, Southern South Africa

Andes

A large system of mountain ranges located along the Pacific coast of Central and South America - longest

Patagonia

Dry plateau region found in southern Argentina, southern most tip of SA

Amazon basin

The home of the world's largest tropical rainforests, runs along the the largest river in the world on the continent of South America.

Mestizo

Person of mixed european and amerindian decent

Mulatto

People of mixed european and african decent

Amerindian

Original peoples of North and South America; indigenous people.

Alien

Person born in different country or nation (foreign nation) then where they live now

Illegal Immigration

Any immigrant who does not go through the correct legal procedure to live and work in a country

Refugee

Seeking safety in another country

What is deportation and how might someone experience it?

Sending a person back into their country of origin and not paying taxes once they come to the US

Repatriation

A refugee or group of refugees returning to their home country, usually with the assistance of government or a non-governmental organization.

Extradition

A legal process whereby a state surrenders a person charged with a crime to the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed.

Asylum

Form of protection from the place that you left

Lingua franca

A language mutually understood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages, Ex: English

Ejido

A piece of land farmed communally under a system supported by the state - usually given to peasants

Hacienda

A large estate or ranch; the main house of such a ranch - usually related to a plantation

Peon

Various laborers who are generally landless - serf or servant in debt to a wealthy land owner

Maquiladoras

Factories in Mexico that assemble imported materials into finished goods for export

NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement; allows open trade with US, Mexico, and Canada - led to a major economic boom in the mid 1900's

Hugo Chavez

Popularly elected dictator of Venezuela (2002-2013) - relied on oil for all income and spent all of Venezuela's money

State of Venezuela after Chavez

• Widespread economic crisis and hyperinflation

• Poverty increase

• High migration throughout the country

• Undernourishment leading to death

Evo Morales

First Indigenous president of Bolivia. Represents left leaning force in South America - pledged to reduce poverty, renationalize energy, fight corruption, and increase taxes on the wealthy. Planned many controversial reforms that faced opposition from the wealthy.

Child Labor in Bolivia

Worst forms of child labor; sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and mining - dangerous tasks in agriculture, Devil's Miner Documentary

Altiplano

High elevation plateau, basin, or valley between higher mountain ranges

Dirty War

"Anti-Terrorist" campaign ran by a military junta that made more than 10,000 Argentinians disappear without a trace (1976-83)

Junta

Military or political group that rules a country after taking power by force

Operation Condor

US backed conspiracy to persecute alleged communists - CIA involved, repressed political, trade-union, and student activists around SA (1970's-80's)

Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo

Women in Argentina who protested against the government for information about what happened to their children/families that "disappeared" during the Dirty War - gov took babies from pregnant women resulted in compulsory DNA testing

Deforestation

Destroying forests and trees rapidly for urban use, giving them zero time to regrow - prominent in Brazil

Bolsa Familia

Brazilian funding plan that gives families small amounts of money to keep their kids in school and make sure they have vaccines against disease that mainly affect the poor community

Great Rift Valley

Cradle of biodiversity and human evolution - serious of trenches from moving plates located in East Africa

Atlas Mountains

Largest mountain chain in Africa, mostly unlivable

Sahara Desert

The largest sand desert in the world, covering most of northern Africa

Kalahari Desert

A desert in southwestern Africa, largely Botswana - surrounded by savanna

Congo Basin

Large flat area on the Congo River in Central Africa

Savanna

Grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees - full of life

Sahel

Africa's transition zone - stretches across the northern part of the country and separates the desert from the rainforest

Escarpment

Sudden elevation in the Earth

Cataract

Large waterfall from a river

Desertification

Process by which fertile land becomes desert - excessive crop planting, animal grazing, climate change, and tree cutting

Enclave vs. Exclave

En: small territory surrounded by another one with a different government and culture (Lesotho)

Ex: part of a country that is separated from the rest of the country and surrounded by foreign territory (Cabinda of Angola)

African Transition Zone

A boundary between the Islamic majority in the North and the Christian majority in the South - border marking the dry arid conditions of the desert and the moist conditions of the tropics

Islamic Front

Southern border of the African Transition Zone, marks the religious frontier of terrorist groups - retreat to after attacking places south of the Sahel

Berlin Conference

"Scramble for Africa" - meeting where the major European powers negotiated and claimed territory in Africa

Direct vs. Indirect Control

Direct: single powerful leader, one person (in this case Europeans) that serves as a strict ruler with harsh control. Indirect: local indigenous leader that is appointed by that power to run the country. They still have to follow that power.

Religious influence in Africa

Christianity and Islam, monotheistic and based on the belief in a single, all-powerful deity. These religions were introduced through the efforts of missionaries, religious leaders, and colonists. They have become widespread on the continent. - Tension between Islam and Christianity continues and is a key characteristic of the ATZ.

Problems of newly independent states in Africa

Faced several problems as they transitioned from colonial rule to independence - civil war, political chaos, economic devastation, and the challenge of establishing stable governments

Afrikaner

White native of Cape Province who is a descendant of Dutch settlers and who speaks Afrikaans.

Apartheid

Policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race: 1948-1990 South Africa all-white-minority-ruled government

African National Congress

Anti-apartheid movement, leading political party since 1994

Characteristics of apartheid

Began in 1948 with over 148 laws, separate schools, no interracial marriage, black people live in homelands or townships, whites in cities, black people had to carry ID's

Problems in South Africa today

• Too few South Africans in work

• The quality of school education for most black people is sub standard

• Poorly located and inadequate infrastructure limits social inclusion and faster economic growth

• The ailing public health system confronts a massive disease burden

• The performance of the public service is uneven

• South Africa remains a divided society

Rwandan Genocide

Hutu's vs Tutsi's: colonialism (Tutsi minority rule) and assassination of Hutu president - Hutu's rebelled and imposed their own apartheid-like system; killed 800,000 Tutsi's in 100 days

• UN peacekeeping force unable to protect Tutsi's so they abandoned them.

Results of Rwandan Genocide

• 100,000 Hutus imprisoned

• New government (Paul Kagame, commander of the RPF)

• Economic devastation

• Corruption

• Ethnicity no longer mentioned in Rwanda

Africa's World War

Major war in Africa (mainly DRC) from 1998-2003 - 9+ countries involved making it a sectarian war - political and cultural division of resources

Sectarian War

Involving many different alliances between multiple militaries, rebel groups, and militias

Joseph Kony and the LRA

• founder of LRA (Lords Resistance Army), believed God was speaking to him

• thousands of child soldiers told they were immortal, goal: democracy by the 10 commandments

Janjaweed

Arabic militia responsible for most of the Darfur genocide - targetted ethnic African group

Darfur

Region in western Sudan where black Africans were told to move to under al-Bashir's rule - genocide

International Criminal Court

A court established by the United Nations for indicting and administering justice to people who commit war crimes

Formation of South Sudan

Sudanese Civil War - ethnic and religion disputes between the Arab north and Christian south, led to S-Sudan succession

Nigerian Oil Crisis

In the 1950's Nigeria struck around 37 billion barrels of oil, many oil rigs destroying the environment and local villages (not giving any profit to Nigerians) - US ally

Endemic

Native or confined to a particular region or people

Epidemic

Widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time

Pandemic

Worldwide epidemic of a disease - serious deaths

AIDS/HIV

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome - the body fails to protect itself from sickness

Human Immunodeficiency Virus - the virus that causes AIDS

Why does Africa suffer more from AIDS and HIV?

• HIV/AIDS came from the tropical forest in Africa and quickly spread

• The stigma surrounding how HIV/AIDS is transferred made treating it problematic

• Medication is expensive

• Failure in government leadership

Mesopotamia

A region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that developed the first urban societies - "land between the rivers"

Fertile Cresent

An arc of rich farmland in Southwest Asia, between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea - worlds great source area of agriculture