Cultural Patterns and Processes

Flashcards covering cultural landscapes, patterns, and diffusion.

What are some visible forces of culture?

Actions, possessions, and influence on the landscape

What are some invisible forces of culture in the United States?

Competitiveness in school and business, belief in hard work

Define cultural traits.

A series of interrelated traits that make up a cultural complex

What is a culture hearth?

The area in which a unique culture or specific trait develops

Define diffusion.

The spread of something to another place/area

Define taboo.

Behaviors heavily discouraged by a culture

Define space-time compression.

Improvements in transportation and communication have shortened the time required for movement, trade, or other forms of interaction between two places

Define folk culture.

The beliefs and practices of small, homogenous groups of people, often living in rural areas are relatively isolated and slow to change.

Define indigenous culture.

When members of an ethnic group reside in their ancestral lands and typically posses unique cultural traits, such as speaking their exclusive language

Define globalization.

Specifically refers to the increased integration of the world economy since the 1970s

Define cultural landscape.

The modification of the environment by a group and is a visible reflection of that group’s cultural beliefs and values

Define horizontal diversity.

Each traditional culture having its own customs and language that makes it distinct from other culture groups

Define vertical diversity.

More modern societies and are usually heterogenous, or exhibiting differences, within the society and usually contain numerous multiethnic neighborhoods

What kind of location is associated with traditional culture?

Rural and isolated

What kind of location is associated with popular culture?

Urban and connected location

What is the population of a traditional culture?

Homogenous and Indigenous population

What is the population of a popular culture?

Diverse and multiethnic population

Is traditional culture horizontally or vertically diverse?

Horizontally diverse

Is popular culture horizontally or vertically diverse?

Vertically diverse

What does traditional culture emphasize?

Community and conformity

What does popular culture emphasize?

Individualism and making choices

What is a traditional culture's diffusion like?

Relatively slow and limited primarily through relocation with oral traditions and stories

What is a popular culture's diffusion like?

Relatively rapid and extensive, often hierarchical, social media and mass media

How are traditional buildings and housing materials made?

Produced locally, such as stone or grass

How are contemporary buildings and housing materials made?

Materials produces in distant factories, such as steel or glass

How is food in a traditional culture sourced?

Locally produced, choices limited by tradition, prepared by the family or community

How is food in popular culture sourced?

Often imported, wide range of choice, purchased in restaurants

Define artifacts.

The visible, physical objects created by a culture

Define mentifacts.

A group‘s nonmaterial culture and consist of intangible concepts, or those not having a physical presence

Define sociofacts.

The ways people organize their society and relate to one another (families, governments, sports teams, religious organizations, education systems, and other social constructs)

Define ethnicity.

Membership within a group of people who have common experiences and share similar characteristics such as ancestry, language, customs, and history

Define Ethnic Enclaves

Clusters of people of the same culture that are often surrounded by people of the dominant culture in the region; represent other cultures/ethnicities within the majority by including stores and religious institutions that are supported by the ethnic group

Define gender roles.

Women usually handle domestic responsibilities, such as farming, educating children, and caring for family members, while men often work outside the house earning money and serving as leaders in religion and politics

Define Cultural regions

Usually determined based on characteristics such as religion, language, and ethnicity

Define cultural realms

Incorporate more than one region by having a few traits that they all share, such as language families, religious traditions, food preferences, architecture, or shared history

Define charter group.

The first group to establish cultural and religious customs in space

What is a cultural pattern?

Related sets of cultural traits and complexes that create similar behaviors across space

Define Centripetal forces

Those that unify a group of people or region

Define centrifugal forces.

Those that divide a group of people or a region

What does it mean to be a religious fundamentalist?

To attempt to follow a literal interpretation of a religious faith

Define ethnocentrism.

People who believe their own cultural group is more important and superior to other cultures

Define theocracy.

Countries whose governments are run by religious leaders through the use of religious laws

Define relocation diffusion.

The spread of culture and/or cultural traits by people who migrate and carry their cultural traits with them

Define contagious diffusion.

Occurs when a cultural trait spreads continuously outward from its hearth through contact among people

Define hierarchical diffusion.

The spread of culture outward from the most interconnected places or from centers of wealth and influence

Define stimulus diffusion.

When an underlying idea from a culture heath is adopted by another culture but the adopting group modifies or rejects one trait

Define imperialism.

A broader concept that includes various ways of influencing another country or group of people, such as direct conquest, economic control, or cultural dominance

Define colonialism.

A particular type of Imperialism in which people move into and settle on the land of another country

Define lingua franca.

A common language used by people who do not share the same language

Define slang.

Words used informally by a segment of the population

Define pidgin language.

A simplified mixture of two languages

Define creole language.

When two or more separate languages can mix and develop a more formal structure and vocabulary so that they are no longer a pidgin language

Define time-space convergence.

The greater interconnection between places that results from improvements in transportation

Define cultural convergence.

When cultures are becoming similar to each other and sharing more cultural traits, ideas, and beliefs

Define cultural divergence.

The idea that a culture may change over time as the elements of distance, time, physical separation, and modern technology create divisions and changes

Define isogloss.

The boundaries between variations in pronunciations or word usage

Define adage.

Sayings that attempts to express a truth about life

What is a dialect?

Variations in accent, grammar, usage, and spelling

Define toponym.

The name of places that can provide insights into the physical geography, the history, or the culture of a location or region.

What is Ethnic religion?

Belief traditions that emphasize strong cultural characteristics among their followers.

What is Universal religion?

Actively seeks converts to its faith regardless of their ethnic backgrounds.

Define acculturation.

Often, an ethnic immigrant group moving to a new area adopts the values and practices of the larger group that has received them, while still maintaining valuable elements of their own culture.

Define assimilation.

When an ethnic group can no longer be distinguished from the receiving group

Define syncretism.

The fusion or blending of two distinctive cultural traits into a unique new hybrid trait

Define multiculturalism.

The coexistence of several cultures in one society with the idea of all cultures being valued and worthy of study.

Define nativism.

A general dislike of people from other countries, or xenophobia.