Globalization, Diffusion, and Culture - Quick Notes

Globalization and Cultural Change

Globalization: increasing connectedness through technology and communication; more people gain access to technology over time.
Consequences: world becomes more homogeneous; cultures and languages can fade; regional differences blur.
Examples:
- Global brands (e.g., North Face) have centers worldwide; not present in every ecological region, but broadly global.
- Fast food and consumer culture spread globally; McDonald’s franchises in many countries with local variations.
Diversity and tourism:
- Globalization can reduce visible cultural diversity (traditional dress, languages) even as people travel and experience other cultures.
- Tourism can showcase and sometimes mock traditional lifestyles, while everyday life becomes more globalized.
Everyday life implications:
- Access to technology (e.g., cell phones) in remote areas; solar panels enabling charging and communication.
- Global culinary experiences and regional foods can be harder to find in some places, but globalization increases cross-cultural food exposure.

Hearths (starting points):
- Many foundational cultural traits (religion, language, practices) trace back to early civilizations in the Middle East; these are hearths for certain cultural elements.
Diffusion: how ideas and practices spread from one place to another.
Three diffusion types discussed:
- Relocation diffusion: spread occurs as people move and carry their practices with them.
- Expansion diffusion: the area around a source grows as activities/population increase; example: urban sprawl expands a city.
- Stimulus diffusion: an idea or practice spreads and stimulates new, modified forms elsewhere; examples include development projects to attract people, or word-of-mouth spreading housing developments.

Java island case: capital concentrates population; outer islands receive stimulus to develop amenities (electricity, water) to attract residents back.
Job-driven stimulus: new housing with nearby stores and services to attract residents.
Word-of-mouth: early adopters spread the idea to friends, expanding the diffusion.

Simple working definition: Culture is the shared set of practices, beliefs, norms, and material traits that characterize a group.
What to pull from definitions:
- Everyday behavior, language, religion, customs, technology, and artifacts all form culture.
Quick research activity (from transcript):
- Use a blank map to draw how different people might define the South; compare overlaps and differences to study perspectives and regional identity.