AP Human Geography - Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes

Flashcards about Cultural Patterns and Processes

Cultural Traits

Specific customs that are part of the everyday life of a culture (language, religion, etc)

Cultural Complexes

Group of traits that define a particular culture

Folk Culture

Beliefs of small and homogeneous groups

Popular Culture

Beliefs found in large and heterogeneous groups

Space-Time Compression

Faster movement and communication, meaning ideas, beliefs, and customs are shared across the world quickly which leads to more of a global culture

Cultural Landscape

The visible reflection of a culture (built landscape); the built landscape shows what people see as important (national parks, signs with different languages, different types of buildings- offices, skyscrapers, places of worship, etc)

Ethnic Islands

Concentrations of a certain ethnic group in a rural area. These groups have less interactions with other groups because they are in sparsely populated rural areas.

Ethnic Neighborhoods

Concentrations of a certain ethnic group in an urban area. These groups have more interactions with other groups because they are in densely populated urban areas.

Sequent Occupancy

Ethnic groups move in and out of neighborhoods and create new cultural imprints on the landscape

Universalizing Religions

Religions that appeal to people regardless of ethnic background, actively seek converts, and have diffused globally

Ethnic Religions

Religions that appeal primarily to people that belong to a specific ethnic group, do NOT seek converts, and rarely diffuse very far from the religious hearth (origin)

Centripetal Force

When people speak the same language and follow the same religion they have things in common, which usually connects them together

Centrifugal Force

When people speak different languages and follow different religions they have conflicting traits and beliefs, which usually pushes them away from each other

Relocation Diffusion

Refers to the spread of a cultural trait by migrants who relocate and physically take their cultural traits with them.

Expansion Diffusion

Refers to the spread of a cultural trait in an outward flow from the trait's hearth or origin.

Contagious Diffusion

Refers to diffusion of a cultural trait very quickly and from person to person.

Hierarchical Diffusion

Refers to the "top-down" diffusion of cultural traits or trends beginning with a person, group, or region seen as an expert or authority.

Reverse-Hierarchical Diffusion

Refers to the "bottom-up" diffusion of a cultural trait or trend beginning with a group of people who are not looked to for their opinions or expertise.

Stimulus Diffusion

Refers to the diffusion of a core idea; however, as the cultural trait or idea spreads, groups will change aspects of the trait to fit their cultural preferences.

Creole Language

Language that was created by the mixing of two different languages. This language has a formal structure and can be taught in schools.

Pidgin Language

Language that was created by the mixing of two different languages. This language does not have a formal structure and cannot be taught in schools.

Acculturation

When a person or group adopts some cultural traits of a dominant culture while maintaining some of their own cultural traits

Assimilation

When a person or group sheds its own cultural complex in the process of adopting the cultural complex of the dominant group

Cultural Preservation

The intentional practice of maintaining cultural heritage for the benefit of present and future generations