AP Human Geography: Comprehensive Guide to Cultural and Political Geography
Cultural Identity and Integration Processes
Acculturation: This term describes the specific process of adopting certain traits or characteristics of another culture. A defining feature of acculturation is that the individual or group continues to keep significant aspects of their original culture while integrating the new elements.
Assimilation: This occurs when a minority group fully adopts the dominant culture of the society they are in. As a result of this process, the group loses much of its original identity and blends into the majority.
Spatial Distribution and the Diffusion of Culture
Relocation Diffusion: This specific type of diffusion occurs when people move from one location to another and carry their culture with them to the new area. Unlike expansion patterns, the growth relies on the physical movement of the carriers.
Expansion Diffusion: This is a broad category where ideas spread outward from a central source or hearth. A key characteristic is that the idea or innovation remains strong in the original source area while it simultaneously grows elsewhere. It includes several sub-types: * Hierarchical Diffusion: The spread of an idea through a sequence of levels. It typically moves through important people, elites, or major cities first before trickling down to other populations. * Contagious Diffusion: This involves the rapid and widespread person-to-person spread of an idea throughout a population, similar to the way a disease spreads. * Stimulus Diffusion: In this case, an underlying idea or principle spreads to a new group, but the specific form it takes changes to adapt to the new culture or context.
Classifications of Culture
Folk Culture: This refers to traditional culture practiced by small, homogeneous groups. It is usually deeply tied to a specific geographic place and changes very slowly over time.
Popular Culture: This refers to widespread culture that changes rapidly. It is characterized by its broad reach across heterogeneous populations, largely spread through media and modern technology.
Global Religions and Belief Systems
Buddhism: A religion based on the foundational teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. The primary focus of the faith is on ending human suffering and achieving a state of enlightenment.
Hinduism: Recognized as one of the world’s oldest religions, originating in India. Core tenets include the belief in karma (the sum of a person's actions), dharma (cosmic law and order), and reincarnation (the rebirth of the soul in a new body).
Judaism: An ethnic monotheistic religion that originated in the Middle East. Its sacred text is known as the Torah.
Monotheism: The religious belief in the existence of only one god.
Polytheism: The religious belief in or worship of multiple gods.
Religious Practice and Categories
Pilgrimage: Defined as a specific journey taken to a sacred religious place for spiritual reasons.
Universalizing Religion: A religion that actively seeks converts worldwide and is not restricted to a specific ethnic group or region. Examples provided include Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.
Ethnic Religion: A religion that is closely tied to one specific ethnic group or a particular geographic region. Examples include Judaism and Hinduism.
Religious Conflict: Any conflict that is fundamentally caused by differences in religious beliefs, doctrines, or practices.
Cultural Perspectives and Human Rights
Ethnocentrism: The belief that one's own culture is superior to all others; viewing the world primarily from the perspective of one's own ethnic group.
Cultural Relativism: The practice of judging and understanding cultures by their own standards and context rather than applying your own cultural lens.
Genocide: A deliberate and systematic attempt to destroy a specific group of people based on their identity.
Ethnic Cleansing: The forced and often violent removal of an ethnic group from a specific geographic area.
Cultural and Political Dynamics
Cultural Centripetal Force: Specific forces that serve to unite a society and hold it together. Factors include a shared language, common religion, or strong nationalism.
Cultural Centrifugal Force: Forces that work to divide a society and pull it apart. These often manifest as ethnic conflicts, religious differences, or linguistic divides.
Self-Determination: The political right of a group of people to choose their own government and determine their own political status.
The Geography of Politics and the State
State: A politically organized territory that possesses a permanent population, a government, clearly defined borders, and sovereignty.
Nation: A group of people who share a common culture, history, and often an attachment to a specific territory, but do not necessarily have their own sovereign government.
Nation-State: A specialized form of state where the population is comprised mostly of one single nation. Japan is cited as a primary example.
Stateless Nation: A nation that possesses a shared cultural identity but does not have its own sovereign state. The Kurds are provided as a notable example.
Multinational State: A state that contains two or more nations within its borders. India is cited as an example.
Sovereignty: The authority of a state to govern its own territory and maintain independence from outside control or interference.
Territoriality: The connection that people, culture, and power have to a specific geographic area.
Processes of Political Change and Conflict
Balkanization: The process by which a region breaks up into smaller, often hostile states or groups, usually based on ethnic lines.
Devolution: The transfer of specific powers from a centralized national government to regional or local governments.
Irredentism: A political claim by a country to territory that is currently part of another state but is inhabited by people who share the same ethnicity.
Shatterbelt: A geographic region that is caught between competing internal or external powers and is frequently subject to conflict. Eastern Europe during the Cold War serves as a historical example.
Political Centripetal Force: Factors that create national unity, such as strong nationalism or a shared national identity.
Political Centrifugal Force: Factors that cause division within a country, such as regionalism or internal ethnic conflict.
Colonialism and Historical Boundaries
Colonialism: The practice of establishing settlements and exercising political control over distant territories.
Imperialism: The process of extending a nation's power and influence through diplomacy, military force, or economic control.
Berlin Conference: A historical meeting where European powers divided the continent of Africa into colonies. This was done with little to no regard for the existing ethnic groups or indigenous political structures.
Historic Boundaries: Boundaries that were established before current political systems were in place and continue to influence modern conflicts and political landscape.
Areas of Restricted or Shared Control
Antarctica: A continent that is unique in that it is governed by an international treaty; notably, no single country holds ownership over the land.
DMZ (Demilitarized Zone): A specific area where military forces and activities are strictly restricted. The border between North Korea and South Korea is the primary example.
Choke Points: Narrow, strategic passages that are critically important for international trade and military movement. An example is the Strait of Hormuz.
Structures of Governance and Internal Politics
Federal State: A system of government where power is shared and distributed between a central national government and regional or sub-national governments. The United States is a key example.
Unitary State: A system where most political power is concentrated and held by the national or central government. France is a key example.
Supranationalism: An agreement or cooperation among multiple states for mutual benefit (economic, political, or military), which involves sharing some degree of sovereignty. The European Union (EU) is a primary example.
Internal Boundaries: Political boundaries that exist within a state to divide it into smaller units, such as provinces, districts, or states.
Gerrymandering: The practice of redrawing electoral district boundaries specifically to provide an unfair advantage to a particular political party or group.