cg30820 week 5

habit

a repetitive act that a particular individual performs

custom

a repetitive act of a group, performed to the extent that it becomes characteristic of the group

folk culture

traditionally practiced primarily by small homogeneous groups living in isolated rural areas

popular culture

found in large, heterogeneous societies that share certain habits despite other differences

folk culture odd

Origin: anonymous, sometimes multiple hearths

Diffusion: slowly, through migration diffusion

Distribution: spatially isolated, influenced by local factors

popular culture odd

Origin: specific point of origin, usually developed country

Diffusion: rapidly through hierarchical diffusion

Distribution: widespread wherever technology allows

diffusion of electronic communications

one place does something and everyone else follows

ex In 2005, most cell phones (a) were in Europe
and North America. By 2017, cell phone ownership (b) was
common in much of the world

ex The vast majority of the developed world is
available in Google Street View.

ex Most popular social network, 2009. A wide
variety of social media were in use globally, especially in
Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. By 2018, Facebook
had come to dominate except in countries where the
government limited access

origin and diffusion of music

Folk music is often anonymous origin and tells a traditional story

Popular music is from known authors and is produced for sale

origin and diffusion of sports

Soccer is an example of global popular sport with folk origins

Ice hockey prevails in cold northern climates

Some sports have more distinct regional appeal such as cricket, wushu, lacrosse

Baseball has its origins in the United States but has become popular in the Caribbean and Japan

distribution of clothing

Folk clothing may reflect environmental or cultural
factors, including religious tradition

Popular clothing reflects occupation and income

food customs

Local environmental conditions influence what can be grown

Food taboos may protect the local environment or serve
other functions. Several major world religions have
distinctive food taboos (e.g., Hindus do not consume meat,
Jews and Muslims refrain from eating pork)

terroir

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

folk housing

can have

environmental influences—choice of building materials, climate considerations

cultural influences—beliefs about shape and orientation of house

diffused from 3 hearths: new england, middle atlantic, lower chesapeake and tidewater

new england folk housing

The distinctive style was box
shaped with a central hall. The New England
house types can be found throughout the Great
Lakes region as far west as Wisconsin because
this area was settled primarily by migrants
from New England.

middle atlantic folk housing

The principal house type was known as the “I”- house, typically two full stories in height, one room deep and at least two rooms wide. Middle Atlantic migrants carried their house type westward across the Ohio Valley and southwestward along the Appalachian trails

lower chesapeake tidewater folk housing

The style typically comprised one story, with a steep roof and chimneys at either end. Migrants spread these houses from the Chesapeake Bay and Tidewater, Virginia, area along the Southeast Coast. In wet areas, houses in the coastal southeast were often raised on piers or on brick foundations

electronic diffusion of culture

Television ownership was relatively high in the United States in the1950s. The United States had 86% of the world’s TV sets in 1954

Europe by 1970, but most of Africa and Asia had little TV broadcasting

Near-universal TV access by the start of the 21st century

electronic diffusion internet

Most countries did not have Internet service in 1995. The United States had 63% percent of the world’s users

U.S. Internet use increased rapidly between 1995 and 2000, from 9% to 44% of the population, but the worldwide increase was much greater. The share of the world’s Internet users clustered in the United States declined from 63% to 35%

Internet usage continued to increase rapidly in the United States between 2000 and 2017, to more than 75% of the population, but the share of the world’s Internet users found in the United States continued to decline to 7% in 2017. China now accounts for 22% of the world’s Internet users

governments controlling electronic media

Control use by banning or limiting technology

Censor or filter Internet content

Harass or punish users

China, Russia, and Iran are notorious for violating the rights of individuals in order to exert control

cyber espionage

the deployment of a virus to observe and/or destroy data in the computer system of a government agency or large corporation

maintaining folk culture

The Amish are an example of a people attempting to
maintain their folk culture within the culturally
heterogenous United States. Influenced by the price of land, Amish
settlements have diffused from the culture’s hearth in
Pennsylvania

other example is dowry

cultural homogenization

Popular culture has many positive attributes but poses a
risk to folk culture. The spread of popular culture results
in a loss of localized folk culture diversity

cultural homogenization risks

Pollution of the landscape

Depletion of scarce natural resources

Crowding-out of locally owned businesses by global franchises

ex. golf courses

cultural divergence

Popular culture may diffuse rapidly but differences persist in cultural preferences at several scales. Examples can be found of differences between urban
and rural residents

Rural areas whose economies focus on agriculture and manufacturing tend to value more traditional forms of popular culture

Urban spaces with concentrations of wealth and diverse ethnic groups may value more progressive forms of popular culture