AP Human Geography Unit 3 Review Notes

Culture

  • Culture is complex and lacks a perfect definition.
  • It comprises material and non-material aspects:
    • Material culture: Physical objects with significance.
    • Non-material culture: Intangible elements like beliefs, values, language, and customs.
    • Both contribute to a society's culture.
  • Example: Japanese tea ceremony
    • Material: Tea utensils, tea room.
    • Non-material: Rules, procedures, hospitality.

Subculture

  • A group within a larger society sharing distinct beliefs, values, and practices.
  • Examples: School culture, grade-level cultures within a school.
  • Culture comprises a society's shared practices, technologies, attitudes, and behavior.

Modern vs. Folk Culture

  • Modern culture (pop culture):
    • Originates in economically developed regions.
    • Spreads through hierarchical diffusion.
    • Prioritizes individualism.
    • Diverse and constantly evolving.
  • Folk culture:
    • Homogeneous and diffuse.
    • Uses relocation diffusion.
    • Emphasizes community and collective experience.
    • Family and religion are central.
    • Aims to preserve traditions, resists modern trends.
  • Indigenous cultures:
    • Tied to specific geographic regions.
    • Strong emphasis on community and traditional values.
    • Unique languages, art forms, and spiritual beliefs.
  • Folk and indigenous cultures are at risk of being replaced by modern culture.

Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural Relativism

  • Ethnocentrism: Viewing another culture through one's own cultural lens, judging by own standards.
  • Cultural relativism: Viewing and evaluating another culture by that culture's standards, without judgment.

Cultural Landscape

  • Visible human modifications of the natural environment.
  • Includes religious practices, linguistic characteristics, infrastructure designs, agricultural practices, architectural styles, and land use patterns.
  • Architectural styles and cultural values:
    • Traditional Architecture: Local resources, incorporates local culture.
    • Modern Architecture: Function over design, less emphasis on local culture.
    • Post-Modern Architecture: incorporating local culture into the design of the building.
  • Shaped by historical events, economic and political systems, and social norms.

Sequent Occupancy

  • How cultures over time have impacted a geographic location.
  • Illustrates how people have left their mark, creating a unique cultural landscape and sense of place.

Cultural Landscape and Cultural Beliefs

  • Reflects cultural beliefs and identities.
  • Land use patterns can reflect traditional attitudes towards gender.
  • Ethnic neighborhoods reflect cultural beliefs and identities through architecture and landmarks.

Human and Physical Characteristics of a Place

  • Human characteristics: Demographic data (birth rates, languages, religions).
  • Physical characteristics: Natural features (rivers, mountains, climate) and man-made structures.
  • Both shape cultural patterns and create a unique sense of place.
  • Language, religion, and ethnicity shape the cultural landscape.

Sense of Place

  • Strong emotional connection to a specific geographic area.
  • Shaped by personal experiences, human and physical characteristics.
  • Shared community, cultural identities, dialects, ethnic traditions, and land use patterns contribute to a sense of place.
  • Lack of unique characteristics and identity leads to placelessness.

Placemaking

  • Community transformation of a public space.
  • Promotes community and social interaction.
  • Examples: community garden, fairs, festivals.

Global Cultural Landscape

  • Increasingly homogenized, especially in urban areas.
  • Global trends can replace unique cultural practices.

Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces

  • Centripetal forces: Bring people together (shared history, language, values).
  • Centrifugal forces: Divide people (cultural differences, multiple languages, ethnic/religious divisions).

Diffusion

  • Spread of a cultural element from one place to another.

Relocation Diffusion

  • Physical movement of a culture or group of people.
  • Hearth shrinks as the trait moves out.
  • Example: Amish migration to the United States.

Expansion Diffusion

  • Spread through person-to-person contact.
  • Hearth remains strong.
  • Types:
    • Contagious Diffusion: Spreads in almost all directions (viral video).
    • Hierarchical Diffusion: Spreads through systems of power (fashion trends from global cities, social media influencers).
    • Reverse Hierarchical Diffusion: Starts at the bottom of a power structure and spreads upwards (business that starts in a small town expands to larger urban areas).
    • Stimulus Diffusion: Original idea is adapted to fit the local culture (McDonald's adapting menus to local tastes).

Historical Causes of Diffusion

  • Colonialism and Imperialism:
    • Diffusion of religions, languages, cultures, and people.
    • Increased immigration to colonies.
    • Cultural exchange between colonizers and colonized.
    • English language became a lingua franca.
    • Missionaries spread Christianity.
    • Creolization: Two cultures create a new third culture.
  • Trade and Commerce:
    • Columbian Exchange: Reshaped Americas and Europe.
    • Triangular Trade: Forced migration of enslaved people, cultural and demographic changes, diaspora.
    • Silk Road: Diffusion of cultures, ideas, goods across Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe.

Contemporary Causes of Diffusion

  • Technology, globalization, and urbanization break down barriers.
  • Increased urbanization diffuses diverse lifestyles and ideas.
  • Technological advancements counter distance decay; time-space convergence.
  • Social media platforms (TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter) facilitate communication and idea sharing.
  • Globalization expands companies (McDonald's, Starbucks, KFC).
  • Political alliances and military bases diffuse culture.
  • English continues to diffuse via the internet and entertainment.
    Threatens indigenous languages/cultures.

Cultural Divergence vs. Convergence

  • Cultural divergence: Separation from one's culture (geographic isolation).
  • Cultural convergence: Cultures become more similar (increased communication).

Religion

  • Universalizing Religions: Appeal to all people, expand through diffusion (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism).
  • Ethnic Religions: Centered around a specific group, diffuse through relocation diffusion (Hinduism, Judaism).

Universalizing Religions

  • Christianity:
    • Monotheistic, hearth in the eastern Mediterranean.
    • Diffused through missionaries, hierarchical diffusion.
    • Shapes cultural landscapes with churches, holidays, and traditions.
  • Islam:
    • Monotheistic, hearth in the eastern Mediterranean
    • Split into Shia and Sunni.
    • Diffused through conquest, trade, and missionary work.
    • Shapes cultural landscapes with mosques and holiday celebrations.
  • Buddhism:
    • Originated in South Asia, no set deity.
    • Diffused through missionaries, trade routes, and stimulus diffusion.
    • Shapes cultural landscape with pagodas.
  • Sikhism:
    • Monotheistic, originated in the Punjab region.
    • Diffused through relocation diffusion.
    • Shapes cultural landscape through cuisine, religious buildings (Golden Temple), and style of dress.

Ethnic Religions

  • Hinduism:
    • One of the world's oldest religions, located predominantly in India.
    • Diffused through stimulus and relocation diffusion.
    • Shapes the cultural landscape through Hindu temples and emphasis on rituals and traditions.
  • Judaism:
    • Originated in the Eastern Mediterranean.
    • Diffused by relocation diffusion due to war and persecution.
    • Shapes the cultural landscape through synagogues, religious attire, and holidays.

Language

  • Proto-lingua: The earliest form of a language.
  • Language family: Group of languages sharing a common ancestor.
  • Language branch: Subdivision of a language family.
  • Language group: Languages within a branch sharing similar vocabulary and grammar.
  • Dialects: Regional variances in language (spelling, vocabulary, pronunciation).
  • Isogloss: Boundary based on linguistic differences.

Effects of Diffusion

  • Assimilation: Adopting the norms of a dominant group, often at the expense of one's own culture.
  • Acculturation: Adopting certain traits of another culture without losing the original culture.
  • Syncretism: Two or more cultures evolve in a similar manner or remain culturally distinct; blending of cultures to create a new religion.
  • Cultural Resistance: Arises from cultural barriers, language differences, or fear of losing a way of life.
  • Multiculturalism: Coexistence of diverse cultures within a society.