Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes Recap

Culture

Complex concept with material and non-material aspects.

  • Material culture: physical things (clothes, artifacts, tools, architecture, technology).

  • Non-material culture: values, social norms, beliefs, language, symbols, rituals, ethics, traditions, and customs.

  • Subculture: a group within a larger society sharing distinct beliefs and practices (e.g., an AP Human Geography class within a school, goth subculture, or fandoms).

Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural Relativism

  • Ethnocentrism: judging another culture from the perspective of one's own culture, often leading to misunderstanding and bias.
  • Cultural relativism: judging a culture by its own standards; understanding a culture from its own perspective without necessarily agreeing with it. This fosters tolerance and appreciation of cultural diversity.

Cultural Landscape

  • Visible human modifications of the natural environment. Includes buildings, parks, monuments, and pathways that reflect human activity.
  • Reflects a society’s culture, economic development, politics, and cultural values.
  • Observations of cultural landscapes provide insights into societal structures (economic development, cultural values, population density).
  • Examples:
    • Building materials and styles (e.g., flat roofs in warm climates, peaked roofs in colder climates, influence of available resources).
    • Agricultural practices (e.g., terrace farming, crop rotation).
    • Religious structures (e.g., churches, temples, mosques).
    • Modern vs. traditional clothing (e.g., cultural attire reflecting history).

Sequent Occupancy

  • Impact of past cultures and societies on a geographic area; past cultures shape present-day society. The theory emphasizes that each wave of occupants modifies the landscape isn a way that is informed by their specific cultural practices.
  • Example: Berlin Wall as a relic boundary, reflecting historical political divisions.

Architecture

  • Traditional: reflects cultural and historical characteristics of a society, often using locally sourced materials and historical design elements:
    • Examples include Gothic cathedrals, Indigenous housing styles, traditional Chinese pagodas.
  • Modern: focuses on simplicity, functionality, and minimalism, emphasizing clean lines and open spaces.
  • Postmodern: incorporates historical references, diversity, and eclectic design elements.

Land Use

  • Humans modify land for various reasons including economic, recreational, residential needs, and agriculture.
  • Patterns: agricultural (field crops), recreational (parks), commercial (shopping centers), residential (housing developments), industrial (factories), transportation (roads, railways).
  • Land use reflects a society's priorities, values, and economy. For instance, urban areas may prioritize residential development over agricultural spaces.

Culture and Places

  • Place is made up of physical and human/cultural characteristics, giving it unique meaning.
  • Place Making: A process where communities come together to transform public areas into spaces reflecting local culture and identity.
  • Centripetal Force: pulls people together, fostering unity and social cohesion.
  • Centrifugal Force: forces people apart, leading to fragmentation and division within communities.
  • Sense of Place: emotional connection individuals have with a specific area, tying in personal experiences and memories.
  • Placelessness: a condition where a place lacks unique characteristics and does not evoke a strong emotional response, often due to homogenization.
  • Built Environment: human-made structures that shape the physical characteristics of a place (e.g., roads, bridges, buildings).

Homogenized vs. Unique Cultural Landscapes

  • Homogenized landscapes: uniform, lacking unique cultural elements (e.g., "cookie-cutter" neighborhoods, ubiquitous chain stores).
  • Unique landscapes: distinct sense of place due to historical and cultural elements that enhance community identity (e.g., historical districts, local artisans).

Diffusion

  • Relocation diffusion: physical movement of a cultural trait or group from one place to another; origin point shrinks, impacting local culture.
  • Expansion diffusion: spread of a cultural trait through person-to-person contact; origin point expands as traits are adopted.
  • Contagious diffusion: spreads rapidly without regard to social class or power (e.g., viral videos, internet memes).
  • Hierarchical diffusion: spreads from top-down through a power structure (e.g., corporate decisions influencing cultural adoption).
  • Reverse hierarchical diffusion: spreads from the bottom up, often seen in grassroots movements (e.g., emergence of pickleball).
  • Stimulus diffusion: spread of an idea or trait with innovation and changes, leading to modifications based on local preferences (e.g., McDonald's adapting menus to local tastes).

Historical Causes of Diffusion

  • Colonialism, imperialism, and trade led to diffusion through relocation (people moving) and expansion (cultural practices spreading).
  • Lingua franca: a commonly used language for communication between people who speak different languages (e.g., English as a global lingua franca).
  • Creolization: when cultures converge and mix, creating new cultural practices, languages, and identities, typically in the context of colonization (e.g., Haitian Creole).
  • Diaspora: dispersion of groups from their homeland due to forced migration or voluntary relocation (e.g., the Atlantic slave trade).

Contemporary Causes of Diffusion

  • Globalization, urbanization, technology advancements, military, and political and economic relationships drive contemporary cultural diffusion.
  • Technology and social media play a vital role in accelerating the diffusion of ideas and cultural practices globally.

Cultural Convergence vs. Divergence

  • Cultural convergence: cultures become more similar over time due to globalization and increased interaction, leading to shared practices and norms.
  • Cultural divergence: cultures become more distinct due to separation, often leading to tension or the strengthening of unique identities (e.g., preservation of Basque culture in Spain).

Religions

  • Focus on origin, place of worship, and brief description rather than memorizing all historical details; understanding core beliefs and practices is crucial.
  • Universalizing religions: seek to appeal to all people, emphasizing a global mission (e.g., Christianity - church; Islam - mosque; Buddhism - pagoda; Sikhism - Golden Temple).
  • Ethnic religions: tied closely to specific cultural groups, often without the goal of conversion (e.g., Hinduism - temple; Judaism - synagogue).

Language

  • Isogloss: a boundary defined by linguistic differences, showcasing regional dialects and language variations.
  • Dialect: regional variances within a language, showcasing cultural identity and heritage.
  • Endangered language: at risk of disappearing due to globalization and promotion of dominant languages, often with a loss of cultural identity.
  • Dead language: a language no longer spoken as a native language, yet may still be used in literature or religious rituals (e.g., Latin).

Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces

  • Centripetal forces: pull people together, often fostering unity and collective identity (P for pull).
  • Centrifugal forces: forces that push people apart, leading to societal divisions (F for force). These forces can shift over time based on social, political, or economic changes.

Assimilation, Acculturation, Syncretism, and Multiculturalism

  • Assimilation: adopting the cultural norms of the dominant group, often leading to loss of original identity.
    • Forced Assimilation: instances such as Native American boarding schools aimed at erasing indigenous cultures.
  • Acculturation: the process of adopting certain traits of another culture while retaining original cultural characteristics.
  • Syncretism: the merging of two or more distinct cultures into new cultural forms; they remain distinct yet also foster innovation.
  • Creolization: more focused linguistically, referring to new traditions blending together from different cultural backgrounds.
  • Multiculturalism: the coexistence of diverse cultural backgrounds within a society, advocating for