Unit 3

What is culture

The shared practices, technologies, attitudes, and behaviors transmitted by a society

What are cultural traits

Elements of culture like food preferences, architecture, land use, and traditions.

Cultural relativism

Evaluating a culture by its own standards

ethnocentrism 

Judging another culture by your own cultural values

What is a cultural landscape

visible imprint of human activity: architecture, land use agriculture, religion, language, ethnicity

what is sequent occupancy

layers of cultural imprints left by different groups over time

Examples of how gender/ethnicity affect land use

• Ethnic neighborhoods

• Indigenous land stewardship

• Women’s workforce participation shapes public/private space

What contributes to a “sense of place”

Language, religion, ethnicity, and cultural identity

How do language and religion act as centripetal forces

Common indenture brings unity(e.g., shared official language)

How can they be centrifugal forces

Multiple languages or religions can cause division or conflict

What is relocation diffusion

People physically move and bring culture with them

Contagious diffusion

Rapid, widespread(viral TikTok trend)

Hierarchical diffusion

From authority/celebrity/city to lower levels

What is stimulus diffusion 

Spread off underlying idea, but trait changes(e.g., McDonald’s menu adapting in India)

How did colonialism and imperialism spread culture

Through forced language adoption religion diffusion, economic restructuring 

Define lingua franca

Common global language used for trade (often English)

What is creolization

Blending of cultural traits into new forms (ex:Caribbean creole languages)

How does globalization affect diffusion

Speeds spread of ideas due to media internet, travel → cultural convergence 

What is time-space compression

Technology reduces time it takes for culture to diffuse across space

Example of cultural divergence due to globalization

Local cultures reinforcing traditions to resist global culture

Define acculturation

One culture adopts SOME traits of another but keeps core identity

Define assimilation

Minority culture fully absorbs into dominant culture

Define syncretism

Blending of cultural traits into new hybrid forms

What is multiculturalism

Coexistence of diverse cultures in a society