Unit 3 Cultural Patterns and Processes Flashcards

Practice flashcards covering definitions, diffusion types, spatial concepts, and key terms from Unit 3 Cultural Patterns and Processes.

What is the definition of culture according to the notes?

Shared practices, technologies, attitudes, and behaviors transmitted by the members of a society that are not the result of biological inheritance.

What is urbanization?

The movement of people to towns/cities and the resulting expansion of the rural countryside to absorb the increase in people.

What is time-space convergence?

The increasing connectivity between cultures that occurs as a result of communication technology, such as the internet.

What is cultural convergence?

The process where cultures become more alike as their interactions increase, such as through the increasing use of English.

What is cultural divergence?

The tendency for culture groups to disassociate from others in order to protect or preserve their culture from influence or change.

What is local culture (folk culture), and what are examples of groups practicing it?

Culture traits of usually small, traditional, homogenous, rural communities; examples include the Amish, Hutterite, Mennonite, and Inuit.

What is cultural diffusion?

The spread of an idea, innovation, cultural trend, or disease from its source area to other areas.

What is relocation diffusion?

A type of cultural diffusion when an innovation or idea spreads by the actual movement of individuals who have adopted the idea and carry it to a new place.

What is expansion diffusion?

A type of cultural diffusion when an innovation or idea develops in a source area and remains strong there while also spreading outward through fixed populations in a wave-like manner.

What is contagious diffusion?

A type of expansion diffusion where nearly all individuals are affected as it spreads outward, such as the spread of Islam.

What is hierarchical diffusion?

A type of expansion diffusion when particular groups are affected as an idea or innovation leapfrogs over areas, such as FAX machines or AIDS.

What is stimulus diffusion?

A type of expansion diffusion where a small portion of the population adopts an idea or modifies it, such as vegetable burgers in India.

What is a Lingua Franca?

A language mutually understood by people who speak different languages, usually for the purpose of trade.

What is creolization?

The blending of European, Amerindian, and African cultures in the New World as a result of colonialism to create something new, such as the Haitian Creole language or Santeria religion.

What is colonialism?

The policy of acquiring control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

What is cultural imperialism?

The dominance of one culture over another, historically occurring as a result of colonization and in present day as pop culture commercializes local traditions.

What are indigenous communities?

The original settlers of an area (pre-invasion/colonialism) who have retained their culture apart from the colonizers, such as Native Americans, First Nations, and Aborigines.

What is an ethnic neighborhood?

An area within a city occupied by a distinctive minority culture, such as Little Italy in NYC.

How does gender differ from gender roles in the notes?

Gender refers to social and cultural differences between males and females, whereas gender roles are learned behaviors deemed appropriate to gender as determined by cultural norms.

What are gendered spaces?

Areas in which gender expression is either welcome or unwelcome.

What is the difference between sense of place and a strong sense of place?

Sense of place is attachment to and comfort in a particular place deeply felt by inhabitants; a strong sense of place is felt by visitors as well as inhabitants.

What is place making?

How a culture makes a place fit their identity by shaping the landscape to show what they believe and value through buildings, statues, sacred sites, and other structures.

What is the difference between centripetal and centrifugal forces?

Centripetal forces are forces that unite a country, while centrifugal forces are forces that divide a country.

What is a culture trait?

A single attribute of a culture, such as food preferences, architecture, and land use.

What is the difference between material and nonmaterial culture traits?

Material culture traits are physical items like clothing, food, literature/art, and buildings, while nonmaterial culture traits are non-physical aspects like language, religion, education systems, government/law systems, and music/holidays.

How does ethnicity differ from race?

Ethnicity is a group of people who share a common cultural identity (e.g., Hispanic, German, Italian, Hmong, Japanese), whereas race is a historical classification used to categorize human populations with shared physical traits (e.g., White, Asian, Black or African American).

What is the difference between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism?

Ethnocentrism is judging another culture based on the values of one's own culture, whereas cultural relativism is the idea that a person's beliefs, values, and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture.

What is a cultural landscape?

The combination of physical features, agricultural and industrial practices, religious and linguistic characteristics, sequent occupancy, traditional and postmodern architecture, and land use patterns.

What is sequent occupance?

The combined imprint on an area when it has been inhabited by a succession of cultures, such as buildings, transportation systems, farms, irrigation, and recreation facilities.