Comprehensive Geography: Society, Culture, and Environment

Reference maps

Intended to accurately communicate info about locations of geographic phenomena.

Thematic maps

For analytical purposes to illustrate spatial distribution of a geographic phenomena.

Dot maps

Each dot represents an occurrence of a geographic phenomena being mapped.

Choropleth maps

Use tonal shading that is proportional to intensity of geographic phenomena in that area.

Cartograms

Size and shape intentionally distorted to emphasize geographic attributes being mappers.

Culture

Way of life of a society's members including belief systems, norms and material practices (i.e. language, religion, clothing, foods, forms of settlement, social practices, etc).

Cultural regions

Areas having a degree of homogeneity in cultural characteristics; areas with similar cultural landscapes.

Formal cultural regions requirements

Criteria for inclusion, defining characteristics, date or time period, spatial scale, boundary lines.

AJ Toynbee

Identified 26 civilizations: 16 abortive and 10 surviving.

Surviving civilizations

Polynesian, nomad, and inuit civilizations as 'arrested' bc overspecialized response to difficult environment.

Regionalization of US

Based explicitly on first effective settlement; includes 5 regions: west, middle west, south, midland, new england.

Sense of place

Emotional attachment.

Cultural Adaptation

Changes in technology, organization, and ideology that allow for sound relationships to develop between humans and their physical environment.

Core, domain, sphere model

A cultural region/landscape can be divided into 3 areas: the core (hearth area), domain (area where culture is dominant), sphere (outer fringe).

Cultural Diffusion

Process of spread in geographic space and of growth through time.

Neighbourhood effect

Situation where diffusion is distance based; individual's behaviour is strongly conditioned by local social environment.

Hierarchical effect

When large centres adopt first and subsequently diffuse spatially and vertically down urban hierarchy.

S-shaped curve

Begins gradually, then picks up pace, but slows down in final stages.

Language

A cultural variable → a learned behaviour that initially evolved so humans could communicate in groups.

Language families

Group of closely related languages derived from a common but distant ancestor.

Pidgin

A simplified language and small vocabulary combining two languages.

Nationalism

Expression of belonging to and self-identifying with a nation (cultural group).

Exonyms

Name given to a place by a group other than the people who the name refers to.

Artificial state

A country whose political borders don't align with desires or ethnic makeup of the people within them.

Minority language

Language spoken by a minority group in a country where the majority of the population speaks another language.

Lingua franca

An existing language used as a common means of communication between different language groups.

Creole

A pidgin language that assumes the status of a native language (mother tongue) for a group.

Religion

A social system involving a set of beliefs and practices through which people make sense of the universe and their place within it.

Ethnic religions

Religion that is tied to a particular ethnic or tribal group and doesn't actively seek converts.

Universalizing religions

Religion that expands and diffuses through active conversion of new members.

Animism

Set of beliefs that attribute a spirit or soul to natural phenomena and inanimate objects.

Polytheistic

Religion which adherents worship multiple gods.

Monotheistic

Religion which adherents worship a single god.

Apartheid

South African policy by which groups of people, as defined by authorities, were spatially separated.

Genocide

Organized and systematic effort of destroying a racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, or other minority group through violence, persecution, or both.

Ethnicity

Socially constructed system of affiliation, or identity, with a group of people arising from a common ancestry, culture, or both.

Ghetto

Residential district in an urban area with a concentration of a particular ethnic group.

Chain migration

Movement from one location to another through time, sustained by social links of kinship or friendship.

Assimilation

When an ethnic group is absorbed into a larger society and loses its own identity.

Acculturation

When an ethnic group is absorbed into a larger society while retaining aspects of distinct identity.

Multiculturalism

Policy that endorses the right of ethnic groups to remain distinct rather than be assimilated into a dominant society.

Geography

Study of patterns and processes on the earth's surface.

Space

Areal extent of something → the area that comprises something.

Location

A particular position in space.

Place

A location with a particular identity, meaning or significance.

Placemaking

Deliberate transformation of 'space' or location into 'place'.

Placeless

Places that evoke little or no meaning.

Distance

Amount of space between 2 or more locations.

Absolute/physical distance

Shortest distance between 2 points in space.

Time/travel distance

The actual way you travel to get somewhere (i.e. roads, transit, etc).

Economic distance

Economic or financial cost when you travel through space (e.g. fuel, tickets, mail cost).

Psychological distance

How our perception changes if we're moving fast or slow (e.g. we're in a rush vs we're enjoying the trip).

Distribution

Geographic phenomena can often be explained through the distance between them and their spatial organization.

Density

Frequency with which something exists in a measured area.

Concentration/dispersion

How something is spread over an area.

Concentrated/clustered (agglomerated)

Objects are close together (e.g. shops and bars in a town's tourist area).

Dispersed (scattered)

Objects are far apart (e.g. service Canada locations, movie theatres, recycling facilities).

Pattern

Spatial arrangement of objects (e.g. linear, rectilinear, random, uniform/ordered, etc).

Region

Part of the world that is different/distinct from the rest.

Scale

A way to think about society at different levels or layers.

Landscape

The visible features of the land/area, which can be natural/physical or human/cultural or both.

Cultural landscape

Outcome of interactions between people and their environments; the visible imprint on the land.

Diffusion

Movement/spread of geographic phenomena across space and over time.

Relocation diffusion

Spread of ideas, cultural characteristics, etc from one area to another via the physical movement of people.

Expansion diffusion

Spread of innovations, trends, ideas and other phenomena that doesn't require people's relocation.

Hierarchical diffusion

Ideas, innovations, diseases, etc leapfrogging from one important person (or city) to another, temporarily bypassing less significant ones.

Contagious diffusion

Characteristic diffuses rapidly throughout an immediate population and area, spreading outwards.

Mental maps

A unique personal representation of reality that reflects imperfect knowledge.

Map

A two-dimensional graphical representation of the world used to communicate information and analyze spatial problems.

Terra Incognita

Unknown land.

Large scale

Refers to a small area on a map that provides more detail.

Small scale

Refers to a large area on a map that provides very little detail.

Perspective

How the map is oriented and tools in the map to orient yourself, such as a north arrow or compass rose.

Antipocentric map

A south-oriented map to counteract the notion that the global north is 'better'.

Atlantic-centric map

A map that reflects a European world-view.

Pacific centric map

A map that reflects an Asian world-view.

Projection

The method of portraying a 3-D sphere in 2-D, which can cause parts to get squished and others to get stretched.

GIS

Geographic Information Systems/Science used for analyzing complex spatial problems.

Isopleth maps

Maps that use colour to connect locations of equal data value, such as rainfall or temperature.

Globalization

Economic, political, and cultural changes that bring about increasing interconnectedness of people and places.

Consumer capitalism

An economic system characterized by the consumption of goods and services.

Mass media

Various means of communication that reach large audiences.

Cultural region

Area with a degree of homogeneity in cultural characteristics.

Hearth area

Area from which a cultural activity emerges or is most concentrated.

Sub-culture

The values, beliefs, lifestyle of a minority group within society.

Linguistic minorities

Cultural minorities defined by their language.

Language suppression

A way that states engage in cultural assimilation of minority ethnic groups.

Language family

A group of closely related languages that likely share a common origin.

Language branch

A sub-set of a language family with a more recent origin.

Romance languages

Languages derived from Latin, including French, Italian, and Spanish.

Germanic languages

Languages that include Dutch, German, and English.

Indo-European languages

Languages that originated from a single hearth area located in modern-day eastern Europe near the Black Sea.

Language death

Occurs when a language is not passed on intergenerationally.

Global communication

The ability to communicate across the globe, often facilitated by a common language.

Cremation

A method of disposing of a body that may be adopted due to cultural adaptation.

Cultural attitudes toward poverty

Reflections of societal views and responses to poverty as seen in cultural landscapes.

Migration

Widespread diffusion of people from one region to another.

Economic Advantage of Language

If speaking the language carries economic advantage.

Prestigious Culture

If it's related to prestigious, impressive culture.

Mandarin vs English

Mandarin has more speakers but is more concentrated; English is more widespread and carries prestige.