AP Human Geography Pop and Folk Culture

Culture

A total way of life held in common by a group of people, including learned features such as language, ideology, behavior, technology, and government.

Cultural Geography

The subfield of human geography that looks at how cultures vary over space.

Perception

The process by which people or societies select, organize, and interpret information to form a meaningful picture of the world.

Material Culture

Tangible, physical items produced and used by members of a specific culture group and reflective of their traditions, lifestyles, and technologies.

Non-Material Culture

Human creations, such as values, norms, knowledge, systems of government, language, religion, belief systems and so on, that are not embodied in physical objects.

Culture Hearth

Center of innovation and invention from which key culture traits and elements move to exert an influence on surrounding regions.

Culture Trait

A single element of learned behavior ranging from language spoken, tools used, games played etc.

Cultural Landscape

Modifications to the environment by humans, including the built environment and agricultural systems, that reflect aspects if their culture.

Culture Complex

Individual cultural traits that are functionally related.

Culture Region

A physical/spatial region within which common culture characteristics prevail.

Culture Realm

A cluster of physical/spatial regions in which related culture systems prevail.

Globalization

A set of processes that are increasing interactions, deepening relationships, and heightening interdependence without regard to country borders.

Cultural Imperialism

Imposing one culture's belief, practices, and artifacts on another culture through mass media and consumer products.

Cultural Convergence

The tendency for cultures to become more alike as they increasingly share technology and organizational structures in a modern world united by improved transportation and communication.

Artifact

Any item that represents a material aspect of culture.

Mentifact

Nonmaterial parts of a culture such as language, religion, artistic pursuits, folk stories, myths, etc.

Sociofact

The institutions and links between individuals and groups that unite a culture, including family structure and political, educational, and religious institutions. Components of the sociological subsystem of culture.

Habit

A repetitive act performed by a particular individual.

Custom

The frequent repetition of an act, to the extent that it becomes characteristic of the group of people performing the act.

Folk Culture

Culture traditionally practiced by a small, homogeneous, rural group living in relative isolation from other groups.

Folklore

Oral tradition of a group; includes proverbs, prayers, common expressions, superstitions, beliefs, narrative tales, and legends.

Folk Songs

Song composed anonymously and transmitted orally. A song that is derived from events in daily life that are familiar to the majority of the people; songs that tell a story or convey information about daily activities such as farming, life cycle events, or mysterious events such as storms and earthquakes.

Popular Culture

Culture found in a large, heterogeneous society that shares certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics.

Pop Music

Song-based music typically oriented toward the youth market, featuring short verse-chorus songs often with a catchy beat and simple lyrics.

Terroir

The contribution of a location's distinctive physical features to the way food tastes.

Cultural Norm

Rule that specifies the appropriate consumer behavior in a given situation within a specific culture.

Mores

Customs, manners, or morals of particular group.

Built Environment

All buildings, spaces, and products that are created or modified by people in which people live and work on a day-to-day basis.

Folk Housing

Building styles that are particular to the culture of the people who long inhabited the area. Most common materials are wood and brick, but other materials like stone, grass, sod, and skins may be used.

Taboo

A restriction on behavior imposed by social custom.

Uniform Landscape

The spatial expression of a popular custom in one location being similar to another.

Diffusion

The process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time.

Relocation Diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another.

Expansion diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in a snowballing process.

Hierarchical Diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places.

Contagious Diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population.

Stimulus Diffusion

The spread of an underlying principle. even though a specific characteristic is rejected. The idea may spread, but parts may be left out or adapted to fit.

Distance Decay

The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin.

Environmental Determinism

A doctrine that claims that cultural traits are formed and controlled by environmental conditions.

Possibilism

The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives.