AP human geography Unit 3 - Vocab

culture

all of a group’s learned behaviors, actions, beliefs, and objects; both visible and invisible

culture examples

people working in offices factories, stores, living in high-rise apartments or suburban homes; might find them attending movies, concerts, or sport events; strong sense of competitiveness in school and business, belief that hard work is the key to success

cultural traits

culture is learned, in that it developed through experiences, and not merely transmitted through genetics; these types of elements are invisible and visible

cultural traits examples

many people in the US have developed a strong sense of competitiveness in school and business, and believed hard work is a key to success

taboos

behaviors heavily discouraged by a culture

taboos examples

many cultures have these against eating certain foods, such pork or insects

traditional/folk culture

used to encompass all three cultural designations, all three types share the function of passing down long held beliefs, values, and practices and are generally resistant to rapid changes in their culture; the beliefs and practices of small, homogeneous groups of people, often living in rural areas that are relatively isolated and slow to change. 

global/pop culture

when cultural traits—such as clothing, music, movies, and types of businesses—spread quickly over a large area and are adopted by various groups; elements often begin in urban areas and diffuse quickly through globalization processes such as the media and internet; these elements can quickly be adopted worldwide, making them part of global culture.

global/pop culture examples

people around the world follow European soccer, Indian Bollywood, and Japanese animation, known as anime; KPOP DEMON HUNTERS

cultural landscape

th boundaries of a region reflect the human imprint of the environment, the visible reflection of a culture, or the build landscape

material culture

tangible things, or those that can be experienced by the senses

material culture examples

art, clothing, food, music, sports, and housing types

artifacts

tangible things that can be experienced by the sense; also studies the techniques to use or build a specific artifact too; can be unique to a particular culture, or can be shared

artifacts examples

language many people need to communicate, the ability to read, write, understand english

mentifacts

nonmaterial culture and consist of intangible concepts or those not having a physical presence; can be unique or shared

mentifacts examples

beliefs, values, practices, aesthetics; the belief of a God/Gods

nonmaterial culture

consists of intangible concepts or those not having a physical presence

sociofacts

the ways people organize their society and relate to one another

sociofacts examples

families, governments, sports teams, religious organizations, education systems, and other social constructs; western cultures tend to view the nuclear family, parents and children, the norm, while in many west African cultures, the norm is to have extended family (multiple generations) under one roof

traditional architecture

a style that reflects a local culture’s history, beliefs, values, and community adaptations to the environment, and typically utilizes locally available materialst

traditional architecture examples

spanish adobe (mud) homes common in southwestern US or the colonial homes that were wood, constructed with steep pitched roof from new england

post modern architecture

developed after the 1960s; a movement away from boxy, mostly concrete or brick structures toward high rise structures made from large amounts of steel and glass siding; uses curves, bright colors, and large glass atriums that bring light into spaces

post modern architecture examples

skyscrapers

cultural realms

geographers also identify larger areas that include several regions; culture within this have a few traits they all share, such as language families, religious traditions, food preferences, architecture, or a shared history; a very large region

sequent occupancy

ethnic groups move in and out of neighborhoods and create new cultural imprints on the landscape in the process; usually a mix of new and old

sequent occupancy examples

pizza hut near the great pyramids in Egypt

cultural hearth

where a religion or ethnicity began

ethnicity

membership in a group of people who share characteristics such as ancestry, language, customs, history, and common experiecnes

centripetal forces

things that unify a groups of people or a region

centripetal forces exampels

common language and religion, a shared heritage and History, ethnic unity and tolerance, a just and fair legal system, a charismatic leader, or other unifying aspects of a culture

centrifugal forces

things that divide a group of people or region; can pull apart societies, nations, and states; essentially centripetal forces in reverse

centrifugal forces examples

different languages and religions, a separate past, ethnic conflict, racism, unequal application of laws, or dictatorial leadership

ethnocentrism 

the belief that one’s own cultural groups pis more important and superior to other cultures; in many cases, they see others by means of generalizations and streotypes, and often do not seek to understand different customs or cultural norms

diffusion

the spread of information, ideas, behaviors, and other aspects of culture from their cultural heaths to wider areas

diffusion exampels

the two major forms are expansion and relocation

relocation diffusion

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

relocation diffusion exampesl

small scale-the spread of pizza from Italian immigrants to the US in the late 19th century; large scale - spread of european culture around the world starting in the 1500s

expansion diffusion

the spread of cultural traits outwards through exchange without migration; three types

contagious diffusion

occurs when a cultural trait spreads continuously outward from its cultural hearth through contact between people

contagious diffusion examples

viral videos

heirarichal diffusion

the spread of culture outward from the most interconnected places or from centers of wealth and influence; cultural traits spread first from one powerful person, city, or powerful class to another powerful person, city, or social class; eventually spreads to less powerful people, cities, social classes, or even countries

reverse hierarchal diffusion

a trait diffuses from a group of lower status to a group of higher status

revers heirarchical diffusion examples

tattoos, hip hop music

stimulus diffusion

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

stimulus diffusion examples

hindus in India adopted the practice of eating fast food, but changed it to vegeterian to accommodate religious beliefs 

lingua franca

a common language used by people who do not share the same native language

lingua franca examples

english is spoken all around the world

pidgin language

when speakers of two different languages have extensive contact with each other, often because of trade, they develop this; a simplified mixture of tow languages; has few Grammer rules and smaller vocabulary than either group

pidgin language examples

afrikaans (dutch and European and African languages), people in Louisiana (French and English)

social constructs

ideas, concepts, or perceptions that have been created and accepted by people in a society or social group and are not created by nature

social constructs examples

these processes influences culture through  media, technological change, politics, economics, and social relationships

time space convergence

greater interconnection between places that results from improvements in transportation; it often makes places less culturally distinct

time space convergence exampels

in 1492, it took Christopher Columbus 36 days to cross the Atlantic ocean. by 1907, that times was reduced to 4.5 days due to the invention of the steam engine

cultural convergnce

when relative distance between places shrinks and the interactions between cultures increases; cultures are becoming similar to each other and sharing more cultural traits, ideas, and beliefs; this cultural homogenizations, or becoming more alike, is a concern for many societies and is met with resistance by some people

cultural divergence

the idea that a culture may change over time as the elements of distance, time, physical separations, and modern technology create divisions and changes. a culture’s isolation because of absorbing barriers of physical geography such as mountains, oceans, or distance, can halt diffusion

indo European language family

one of the 15 major language families; a large group of languages that might have descended from a language spoken around 6,000 years ago; nearly half the world’s population speaks one of the languages of this family; includes about 2.8 billion natives spears of 400-500 languages

romance languages

the unifying language of Latin diverged into dozens of distinct regional languages; most of these later vanished, but Portugese, Spanish, French, Italian, and Romanian, among other survived and grew; the historical connection among these languages is evident in their similar words

isoglosses

the boundaries between variations in pronunciations or word usage

isoglosses exampels

as you move from east to west in Texas, the term “dry creek bed” used near Dallas is replaced by the Spanish word “arroyo”. this represents a boundary between southern dialect and a Texan variation

dialects

variations in accent, Grammer, usage, and spelling; regional variations of a language; variations between these are large enough that most speakers notice them, but small enough that speakers can understand each other easily

official language

a language designated by law to be the language of government

ethnic religions

belief traditions that emphasize strong cultural characteristics among their followers; in most cases, adherents of an ethnic religion are born or adopted into it; members have a shared historical experience or struggle that creates strong bonds; these rarely recruit new followers actively; rather they spread as a result of relocation diffusion

ethnic religions examples

hinduism and Judaism

universalizing religions

actively seeks converts to its faith regardless of their ethnic backgrounds; open to all people regardless of their ethnicity, language, social status or nationality

universalizing religions examples

christianity, island, buddhism

polytheistic

having many Gods

monotheistic

having one god

hinduism

a religion worshiping multiple deities, through they are believed to all be manifestations of the same God; believe in karma, the idea behaviors have consequences in the presents life or future life, and in dharma, which means the righteous path; usued to work closely with the caste system; a rigid class structure that shaped Indian society; the concept of reincarnation or rebirth based on the quality of life a person lived is a central belief

buddhism

grew out of the teachings of a prince named Siddhartha; accepting many beliefs of Hinduism but rejecting the caste system; according to traditions, Siddhartha had been meditating for several days underneath a bodhi tree when he finally understood how to end suffering; doctrines summarized in the four noble truths, which sought to end desire and sufferering  by following the eightfold path; this path requires people to meditate, reflect, and refrain from certain earthly pleasures

sikhism

monotheistic faith founded by Guru Nanak, their faith stresses serving others, honesty, hard work, and generosity rather than rituals; all men who are baptized add the name Singh (lion) and women add the name Kaur (princess); this practice was adopted to break down the influence of family names and the caste system in India in order to create a more equal society; place of worship is called a gurdwara; service is usually once a week; all gurdwaras have a worship gathering space and contain a food kitchen that serves meals to people of all faiths; most holy place is the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

Judaism

one of the first monotheistic faiths; believe that the writing known as the Torah expressed divine will; it is supplemented by other writings as well as unwritten laws and customs; fro the past 2,000 years most Jew lived in Europe and North Africa; often a small minority, they have often suffered persecution; in WWII, the Holocaust strengthened the movement to create a predominantly Jewish state in the Middl east; in 1948 Israel was formed

Chrisianity

began when followers of a Jewish teacher, Jesus, evolved into their own religion based on the belief that Jesus was the son of God and savior of all humans; he emphasized the importance of faith, love and peace; spread outward from middle east to become the dominant religion in Europe; then to America, then other parts of the world; three main branches - Roman Catholic, protestance, and eastern orthodox; culture hearth located in Israel

Islam

believes that Allah revealed his teachings to humans through a series of prophets; the last of which was Muhammed; Muslims believe Allah communicated his teachings to Muhammed who shared them with his people through a holy text called the Quran; the core principles of the Quran became known as the 5 pillars; Muslims evolved a law code based on the Quran, called sharia, with no distinction between religion and civil law; countries who function under it are considered theocracies; two major subdivisions are the Sunni (90%) and the Shia (10%)

acculteration

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

acculteration exampels

in the 1880s, a family migrated from Denmark to the US. Settling in a danish encalve in Iowa; they gave most of their 10 children common danish names, they ate danish foods often; within 3 generations they still ate danish fodds, but had more common American names; another is when children or families speak their native language at home

assimilation

happens when an ethnic group can no longer be distinguished from the receiving groups; this process is rarely complete; the trait that usually lasts the longest is religion

asiimilation exampels

grandchildren from immigrants from India might no longer speak Hindi or eat traditional Indian cuisine daily, but they might still practice their Hindu faith

Syncretism

the fusion or blending of two distinctive cultural traits into a new unique hybrid trait; results in new practices, beliefs, innovations, and traits within a societyand ultimately results in changes to cultrue

syncretism exampels

blending of american fast food with cuisine from another culture (taco bell and panda express); combination of shkiing and skateboarding to make snowboarding; holidays such as Christmas - decorating a tree (German), saint nick/Santa Claus (turkish), a Christian doctrine/birth of Jesus, American commercialization

multiculturism

without full assimilation, most receiving societies, such as the US, are characterized by this, the coexistence of several cultures in one society with the ideal of all cultures being valued and worthy of study

multiculturism examples

foods like corn, tomatoes and potatoes from indigenous American groups; peanuts were first grown in south American and rice was first grown in China, but bother entered the North American diet through Africa; bagels were first made by Jews in eastern europe