Unit 3 AP Human Geography

Culture

The shared beliefs, practices, and values of a group of people.

Cultural Traits

Elements that define a culture, including artifacts, sociofacts, and mentifacts.

Artifacts

Physical objects created by a culture, such as tools and clothing.

Sociofacts

Social structures and organizations that influence social behavior, such as families, government, and educational systems

Mentifacts

The central elements, such as ideas, values, and beliefs, that shape a culture.

Traditional Culture (Folk Culture)

Cultural practices that are passed down through generations within a community.

Indigenous Culture

The original culture of a specific region, often linked to native peoples.

Cultural Relativism

The practice of understanding a culture on its own terms without judgment.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own culture is superior to others.

Cultural Norms

Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members.

Pop Culture

Mainstream cultural practices that are popular and widely accepted.

Global Culture

Cultural practices that have spread across the globe, often influenced by globalization.

Cultural Landscape

The visible imprint of human activity on the landscape.

Identity

The qualities, beliefs, and personality traits that define an individual or group.

Sequent Occupance

The concept that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place.

Ethnicity

A shared cultural heritage or identity based on common ancestry.

Ethnic Neighborhoods

Areas where people of similar ethnic backgrounds live together.

Traditional Architecture

Building styles that reflect the cultural heritage of a community.

Post-modern Architecture

emerged in the 1960s as a reaction to "modern" designs, which emphasized form, structure, and materials

Religion

a system of spiritual beliefs that helps form cultural perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and values

Pilgrimage

A journey to a sacred place for religious reasons.

Language

the carrier of human thoughts and cultural identities

Toponyms

Place names that reflect cultural or historical significance.

Gender Identity

A personal conception of oneself as male, female, a blend of both, or neither.

Safe Spaces

Places where individuals can feel secure and accepted, free from discrimination.

Gentrification

The process of renovating and improving a neighborhood, often displacing lower-income residents.

Third Place

A social environment separate from home and work where people gather.

Placemaking

The process of creating quality public spaces that promote people's health, happiness, and well-being.

Adherents

Individuals who are loyal to a particular religion or belief system.

Denominations

Subgroups within a religion that have distinct beliefs or practices.

Sects

Smaller groups within a denomination that may have differing beliefs.

Centripetal Force

Factors that unify people within a culture or society.

Centrifugal Force

Factors that divide or pull people apart within a culture or society.

Cultural Hearth

The origin point of a culture where it begins and spreads.

Expansion Diffusion

occurs when an aspect of culture spreads outward from where it originated

Contagious Diffusion

The rapid spread of cultural traits through direct contact.

Hierarchical Diffusion

The spread of cultural traits from a person or place of power to others.

Stimulus Diffusion

occurs when the fundamental idea behind a cultural trait stimulates a new innovation

Lingua Franca

A common language used for communication between speakers of different native languages.

Creolization

Interactions between cultures can result in two or more cultural elements blending together

Cultural Convergence

The tendency for cultures to become more alike as they interact.

Cultural Divergence

The process by which cultures become more distinct from one another.

Acculturation

The process of adopting cultural traits from another culture while still retaining their own distinct culture

Assimilation

The interactions between 2 cultures, which result in 1 culture adopting almost all of the cultural traits

Syncretism

The process of traits from 2 or more cultures blending to form a new cultural trait

Multiculturalism

The coexistence of diverse cultures within a society.

Cultural Appropriation

The adoption of elements of one culture by members of another culture.

Collectivist Cultures

Cultures that prioritize group goals over individual goals.

Language Family

A group of languages that share a common ancestor.

Isolate

A language that has no known relationship to other languages.

Language Branch

A subgroup of languages within a language family.

Language Groups

Languages that share a more recent common ancestor.

Universalizing Religions

Attempts to appeal to a wide variety of people, regardless of a person's location, language, or ethnicity

Christianity

A monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Islam

A monotheistic religion founded on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

Buddhism

A religion and philosophy based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama.

Sikhism

A monotheistic religion founded in the Punjab region of India.

Ethnic Religions

Religions that are closely tied to a specific ethnic group.

Hinduism

One of the world's oldest religions, characterized by a variety of beliefs and practices.

Judaism

A monotheistic religion with a rich history and tradition among the Jewish people.

Secularized

The process of becoming less religious or more secular.

Cultural Iceberg

The concept that only a small part of culture is visible, while much is hidden beneath the surface.

Globalization

The process of increased interconnectedness and interdependence among countries.

Taboos

Prohibitions against certain practices or behaviors within a culture.

Diffuse

To spread out or scatter widely.

Endangered Language

A language that is at risk of falling out of use.