AP Human Geography Chapter 4: Culture Vocabulary

Comprehensive question-and-answer flashcards covering all key terms, definitions, and concepts from the Chapter 4 Human Geography vocabulary packet.

How is "culture" defined in the packet?

A mix of values, beliefs, behaviors, and material objects that form a people's way of life (which is learned, not inherited).

What is cultural ecology?

The field that studies the relationship between the natural environment and culture.

What is folk culture, and what example is noted in the text?

The practice of a relatively small group of people in a focused area (e.g., haterites).

What is popular culture?

Cultural traits such as dress, diet, and music that are a part of today's global society.

How is a local culture defined?

People who see themselves as a collective/community, share customs, and work to keep those customs in place.

What is material culture, and what are examples of it?

Physical aspects of culture that are made by people, such as clothes and art.

What is nonmaterial culture, and what is an example?

Non-physical aspects of culture that are defined by people, such as beliefs.

What is hierarchical diffusion?

The spread of an idea or innovation from person to place based on hierarchy.

What is cultural appropriation?

When one culture adopts a custom from another culture and uses it for their own benefit.

What is neolocalism?

A conscious effort to define a sense of place for local or regional culture.

How is gentrification described?

The renewal or rebuilding of a lower-income neighborhood by a middle/upper-class neighborhood, driving up rents or property values and leading to the dispossession of lower-income residents.

What is an ethnic neighborhood?

An area within an urban area where a large group of people from the same ethnic group live.

What is commodification?

The transformation of goods and services into products that can be bought, sold, or traded.

How did Carl Sauer define the cultural landscape?

The visual imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape.

What is authenticity?

The idea that one place or experience is the true, actual one.

What is a cultural hearth?

The area where an idea or innovation originates.

What happens during reterritorialization?

A local culture shapes an aspect of popular culture as their own, adapting popular culture to their local culture.

What is placelessness?

The loss of uniqueness of a place in the cultural landscape to the point that one place looks like the next.

What is syncretism?

A blend of religious beliefs and traditions, forming a new one.

What occurs during cultural assimilation?

Immigrants lose their native customs and take on the culture of the dominant group.

How is an indigenous local culture defined?

People who see themselves as a community and identify as indigenous/original to a group.

What is ethnocentrism, and what examples illustrate it?

The tendency to judge other cultures in terms of one's own customs and values (e.g., reacting with "this is weird" or "oh gross").

What is cultural relativism?

Learning to look at things from a point of view different from your own and not making value judgments based on your belief.

What is a taboo?

Something a society or culture considers forbidden or unacceptable.

What is stimulus diffusion according to the packet?

A process of diffusion where two cultural traits blend to create a new/distinct trait.

What is time-space compression?

Increasing connectedness between world cities resulting from improved communications and transportation networks.

What is relocation diffusion?

A process of diffusion where an innovation spreads from its hearth.

What is cultural convergence?

The process by which different cultures become more similar over time.

What is cultural divergence, and what example is cited as causing it?

The process by which different cultures become more distant and separate over time (e.g., the Atlantic Ocean causes this).

What is globalization?

The process heightening interactions and deepening relations across country borders.

What is contagious diffusion?

The spread of an idea from one person to another based on proximity.

What is the global-local continuum?

The concept that local actions continuously influence the wider world.