ap human geography | cultural landscapes, patterns, and diffusion

culture

a group’s learned behaviors, actions, beliefs, and objects

cultural traits

elements ; visible + invisible that make up a culture

culture complex

a series of interrelated traits

culture hearth

the area in which a unique culture or specific trait develops

diffuse

to spread

taboos

behaviors that are heavily discouraged by a culture

traditional culture

used to encompass the merged version of traditional, folk, and indigenous culture

folk cultures

culture of small, homogenous groups of people, often living in rural areas that are slow to change

indigenous culture

when members of an ethnic group reside in their ancestral lands and typically possess unique cultural traits

globalization

the increased integration of the world economy

popular culture

when cultural traits spread quickly over a large area and are adopted by various groups

global culture

elements that can quickly be adopted worldwide

cultural landscape/built environment

the modification of the environment by a group and is a visible reflection of that group’s cultural beliefs and values

artifacts

a tangible, physical object, representing a society’s material culture

mentifacts

consists of intangible concepts such as beliefs, values, and practices, representing a culture’s nonmaterial culture

sociofact

the way people organize their society and relate to one another, representing a culture’s nonmaterial culture

placelessness

a phenomenon in which many modern cultural landscapes exhibit a great deal of homogeneity

traditional architecture style

reflects a local culture’s history, beliefs, values, and community adaptations to the environment, and typically uses locally available materials

postmodern architecture

architecture developed after the 1960s

movement away from mainly concrete + brick structures towards high rise structures made of steel + glass

contemporary architecture

architecture style formed during the 21 century (2000’s)

ethnicity

memership within a group of people who have common experiences and share similar characteristics such as ancestry, language, customs, and hsitory

ethnic enclaves

clusters of people of the same culture that are often surrounded by people of the dominant culture in the region

cultural regions

usually determined based on characteristics such as religion, language, and ethniciy

culture realms

larger areas that include several regions

sacred places/sites

specific places and natural features that have religion significance

christian landscaping

churches often feature a tall steeple topped with a cross

the hearths of that faith are more likely to resemble the original architecture

most bury the deceased underground

hindu landscaping

hindu temples often have elaborately carved exteriors with multiple manifestations of deities or significant characters

sacred sites, such as the ganges river, provide pilgrims a place to bathe for purification purposes

practice cremation and ashes are often spread in the ganges river

buddhist landscaping

practices vary widely from place to place and ethnic group to ethnic group

stupas, structures to store important relics and memorialize events + beliefs

pagodas later developed from stupas

the decision to cremate or bury is a personal choice

judist landscaping

jews worship in synagogues or temples

jews were once concentrated in the middle east before being spread throughout the world because of exile or persecution or through voluntary migration

burial of the dead

diaspora

when one group of people is dispersed to various locations

islam

mosque, often domes surrounded by few minarets

burial of the dead, often cemetaries

shinto

shinto, emphasizes honoring one’s ancestors and the relationship between people and nature

common features is impressive gateways, or torii that make the transition from the outside world to a sacred space

charter group

the first group to establish cultural and religious customs in a space

ethnic islands

in rural areas, ethnic concentrations form ethnic islands

they maintain strong + long-lasting sense of cohesion

sequent occupancy

when ethnic groups move in and out of neighborhoods and create new cultural imprints on the landscape

neolocalism

the process of re-embracing the uniqueness and authenticity of a place

cultural patterns

consist of related sets of cultural traits and complexes that create similar behaviors across space

nationality

people’s connection not a particular country

centripetal forces

forces that unify a group of people or region

centrifugal forces

forces that divide a group of people or a region

sharia

the legal framework of a country derie from Islamic edicts taken from their holy book, the qur’an

blue laws

laws that restrict certaain activities on sundays

fundamentalism

an attempt to follow a literal interpretation of a religious faith

theocracies

countries whose governments are run by religious leaders through the use of religious laws

example ; iran

ethnocentric

the belief their own cultural group is more important and superior to other cultures

cultural relativism

the concept that a person’s or group’s beliefs, values, norms, and practices should be understood from the perspective of the other gourp’s culture

counters ethnocentricity

cultural appropriation

the action of adopting traits, icons, or other elements of another culture

diffusion

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

relocation diffusion

the spread of culture by people who migrates and carry their cultural traits with them

expansion diffusion

diffusion without migration

requires a different person to adopt the trait

contagious diffusion

a type of expansion diffusion

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

hierarchial diffusion

a type of expansion diffusion

the spread of culture outward from the most interconnected place or from center of wealth and influence

reverse hierarchial diffusion

a type of expansion diffusion

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

stimulus diffusion

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

imperialism

a concept that includes a variety of ways of influencing another country or group by direct conquest, economic control, or cultural dominance

colonialism

a particular type of imperialism in which people move into and settle on the land of another country

native speakers

those who use the language learned from birth

lingua franca

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

slang

words used informally by a segment of the population

pidgin language

a simplified mixture of two languages

creole language

when two or more separate languages mix and develop a more formal structure over time, past the pidgin language threshold

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

time-space convergence

the greater interconnected between places that results from improvements in transportation

makes places less culturally distinct

cultural convergence

cultures becoming similar to each other and sharing more cultural traits, ideas, and beliefs

cultural divergence

the idea that a culture may change over time as the elements of distance, physical separation, and modern technology create divisions and changes

linguists

scientists who study languages

language tree

a graph that suggests how several languages are related to each other, as well as how one language grows out of another

indo-european language family

a large group of languages that might have descended from a language spoken around 6000 years ago

nearly ½ of the world speaks one of the languages of the indo-european language family

romance languages

a branch of the indo-european language family that diverged from latin

includes portuguese, spanish, french, italian, and romanian

isoglosses

the boundaries between variations in pronunciations or word usage

dialects

variations in accent, grammar, usage, and spelling

adages

saying that attempt to express a truth about life, often distinct within dialects

official language

one designated by law to be the language of the government

homogenous

(of a country)

made up largely of ethnically similar people

adherents

believers in their faith

ethnic religions

belief traditions that emphasize strong cultural characteristics among their followers

hinduism + judaism

universal religions

actively seeks converts to its faith regardless of their ethnic backgrounds

christianity, islam, buddhism

polytheistic

having many gods

monotheistic

having one god

karma

the idea that behaviors have consequences in the resent life or a future life

caste system

a rigid class structure that shaped indian society

hinduism

originated in indus valley

polytheistic/monotheistic based on perspective since all deities are manifestations of one god

karma, dharma, reincarnation, caste system

rivers are sacred + symbolic of life and purification of sin

buddhism

originated in india around 600 bce with siddhartha

branched off of hinduism

four noble truths, eightfold path

nirvana will end the cycle of reincarnation

sikhism

founded by guru nanak in the punjab region in the 16th century

stresses serving others, honesty, hard work, and generosity

baptized men add the name singh and women add the name kaur in order to break the caste system

gurdwara is a sikh’s place of worship

holy place is the golden temple in amristsar, india

what are the three major religions that trace their history to abraham?

judaism, christianity, islam

judaism

one of the first monotheistic faiths

believes in the torah

lived primarily in europe and north africa before suffering persecution, migrating to isreal

christianity

jesus was the son of god and the savior of humans

emphasized importance on faith, love, and peace

spread outward from the middle east to become the dominant religion in europe

what are the three main branches of christianity?

roman catholic, protestant, and eastern orthodox

where do catholics trace their heritage to?

romance languages

where do protestants trace their heritage to?

northern europe + germanic languages

what religions are prominent in eastern european countries?

eastern orthodox, judaism, and islam

what are the five pillars of islam?

- belief in one god ; allah

- ritual prayer

- almsgiving (charity)

- fasting

- pilgrimage to mecca

islam

allah taught people through a series of prophets, the last of which was muhammad, who lived in saudi in 6 and 7 centuries

evolved a law code based on the quran, called sharia

what are the two major subdivisions of islam?

sunni (90%)

shia (10%)

pilgrimage

a religious journey taken by a person to a sacred place of his or her religion

homogenization

making people of different places more alike

acculturation

an immigrant group moving to a new area adopts the values + practices of the larger group around them while still maintaining valuable elements of their own culture

assimilation

when an ethnic group can no longer be distinguished from the receiving group

syncretism

the fusion or lending of two distinctive cultural traits into a unique new hybrid trait

glocaliation

a form of syncretism that involves the creation of produces or services for the global market by adapting them into local cultures