Ap Human Geo U3

1. Folk and Popular Culture

Key Concepts

  • Folk Culture: Culture traditionally practiced by small, homogeneous, rural groups, often isolated from other groups.

    • Origin: Usually anonymous, with multiple, independent hearths.

    • Diffusion: Primarily through relocation diffusion (migration), moving with people as they travel.

    • Distribution: Highly localized, influenced by environmental conditions, geography, and cultural traditions.

  • Popular Culture: Culture found in large, heterogeneous societies that share certain habits despite other personal differences.

    • Origin: Usually traceable to specific individuals or corporations in developed countries.

    • Diffusion: Rapidly through hierarchical diffusion via technology and media.

    • Distribution: Widespread across areas with high technology access, less influenced by physical environment.

  • Ethnic enclave is a group of people participating in folk culture that isolate themselves in order to preserve their traditions, language, and culture

  • Hearths are centers of a culture or idea that spreads from there

  • Ethnocentrism - belief that one’s own culture is superior to others

Elements of Material Culture

  • Material Culture: Physical objects, resources, and spaces people use, including clothing, food, and shelter.

    • Folk Clothing: Reflects environmental and cultural factors, such as climate and religious beliefs. Examples include wooden shoes in the Netherlands, veils in North Africa and the Middle East.

    • Popular Clothing: Often reflects personal occupation and income. Global fashion trends spread quickly due to mass media.

    • Folk Food: Based on locally available ingredients and environmental conditions, with cultural taboos (e.g., pork in Islam and Judaism) and customs.

    • Popular Food Preferences: Regionally varied, shaped by global corporations (e.g., Coca-Cola is more popular in North America, Pepsi is preferred in certain countries).

    • Housing:

      • Folk Housing: Strongly influenced by the environment, using local materials and adapted for climate (e.g., houses with steep roofs in snowy areas).

      • Popular Housing: Standardized and mass-produced, more influenced by fashion than the local environment.

Leisure Activities

  • Sports:

    • Folk Sports: Region-specific activities often tied to local customs (e.g., cricket in the UK, wushu in China, lacrosse among Indigenous groups).

    • Popular Sports: Require a global appeal to qualify for the Olympics (e.g., soccer). The popularity of sports like soccer extends even to countries that haven’t fielded teams for international competitions.

Media and Cultural Diffusion

  • Diffusion of Television, Internet, and Social Media:

    • Television: Originated in the United States and diffused to other developed countries in the 20th century. By 2005, TV ownership was widespread worldwide, except in the least developed countries.

    • Internet: Diffused quickly, reaching most developed and many developing regions by 2014. Social media platforms like Facebook became dominant globally.

    • Challenges in Accessing Media: Some governments restrict or monitor internet and social media usage, censor content, or ban platforms to control information.

    • Cultural convergence - the diffusion of ideas from multiple cultures via technology, social media, internet, etc. that makes cultures more similar to each other over time

Sustainability Challenges

  • Folk Culture: Faces erosion from the influence of popular culture, often threatening traditional practices like gender roles and dowries.

  • Popular Culture: Leads to uniform landscapes (areas that look alike regardless of location) and high resource demands (e.g., water usage for golf courses, particularly in arid areas).

2. Languages

Language Families, Branches, and Groups

  • Language Family: The largest classification of languages, containing languages with a common ancient ancestor.

    • Indo-European: Dominant language family in Europe, the Americas, and South Asia, accounting for nearly half the world’s speakers.

    • Sino-Tibetan: Major family in East Asia, encompassing languages like Mandarin, the world’s most spoken language.

    • Other Families:

      • Afro-Asiatic: Includes Arabic and Hebrew, spoken in the Middle East and North Africa.

      • Niger-Congo: Predominant in Sub-Saharan Africa; includes Swahili, spoken by 30 million Africans.

      • Austronesian: Found in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.

  • Language Branch: A division within a language family, with more recent and pronounced differences (e.g., Romance and Germanic branches in Indo-European).

    • Germanic Branch: Divided into North and West Germanic groups (e.g., English, German).

    • Romance Branch: Includes Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian.

    • Balto-Slavic Branch: Dominates Eastern Europe (e.g., Russian, Polish).

    • Indo-Iranian Branch: Includes Hindi and Farsi, spoken primarily in South Asia.

  • Language Group: A set of languages within a branch with relatively recent and minor differences (e.g., West Germanic includes English and German).

Key Terms

  • Dialect: A regional variation of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation (e.g., American vs. British English).

  • Standard Language: The dialect widely accepted as the most correct or prestigious (e.g., British Received Pronunciation).

  • Lingua Franca: A language mutually understood and used in trade by people with different native languages (e.g., English globally).

  • Isolated Language: A language unrelated to any others (e.g., Basque in northern Spain).

  • Endangered and Revived Languages: Efforts to preserve languages at risk of extinction, like the revival of Hebrew in Israel and efforts to preserve Celtic languages.

  • cultural relativism - practice of attempting to understand and accept other cultures by their standards rather than comparing them to our standards and practices

  • Pidgin - simplified slang version of

Theories of Language Diffusion

  • Nomadic Warrior Hypothesis: Suggests Proto-Indo-European spread via conquest by horseback riders from the steppes.

  • Sedentary Farmer Hypothesis: Proposes that Proto-Indo-European spread with agricultural practices from Anatolia.

Language Diffusion and Globalization

  • Relocation Diffusion: Language spread by people as they move to new locations (e.g., Spanish in the Americas).

  • Hierarchical Diffusion: Language spread through centers of power, such as governments or media (e.g., the global influence of English).

  • Language Preservation: Countries and communities work to protect endangered languages, maintaining linguistic diversity.

3. Religions

Types of Religions

  • Universalizing Religions: Seek to appeal to all people, regardless of location or culture.

    • Christianity:

      • Beliefs: Centers on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ; emphasizes salvation and the Holy Trinity.

      • Branches:

        • Roman Catholic: Led by the Pope, with sacraments central to practice.

        • Protestant: Emphasizes salvation by faith alone, diverse denominations (e.g., Baptist, Lutheran).

        • Orthodox: Prominent in Eastern Europe, focuses on traditional practices.

      • Diffusion: Spread through relocation diffusion (missionaries) and hierarchical diffusion (Roman Empire).

    • Islam:

      • Beliefs: Based on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad; the Five Pillars guide Muslim practices.

      • Branches:

        • Sunni: Largest branch, found in most Muslim-majority countries.

        • Shiite: Significant in Iran and parts of Iraq, believes leadership should descend from Muhammad’s family.

      • Diffusion: Spread through conquest, trade routes, and relocation diffusion to parts of Africa and Asia.

    • Buddhism:

      • Beliefs: Founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha); emphasizes the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to achieve enlightenment.

      • Branches:

        • Mahayana: Predominant in East Asia, emphasizes compassion.

        • Theravada: Found in Southeast Asia, focuses on monastic life.

        • Vajrayana: Concentrated in Tibet, incorporates rituals for spiritual enlightenment.

      • Diffusion: Spread relatively slowly, aided by Emperor Asoka and trade routes.

  • Ethnic Religions: Primarily appeal to one group in a specific location.

    • Hinduism: Predominantly in India, focuses on karma, dharma, and the pursuit of moksha (liberation).

    • Judaism: Monotheistic, based on a covenant with God, with major populations in Israel and the U.S.

    • Other Examples:

      • Confucianism and Taoism: East Asian philosophies blending with Buddhism in some regions.

      • Animism: Belief that natural objects have spirits, common in parts of Africa.

Sacred Spaces and Rituals

  • Sacred Sites: Locations of religious significance, often associated with the life of the religion’s founder or a deity (e.g., Mecca in Islam, the Ganges River in Hinduism).

  • Pilgrimage: Religious journey to sacred places, significant in Islam (Hajj to Mecca) and Hinduism (Ganges River).

Religious Diffusion and Space

  • Ethnic Religion Diffusion: Generally limited; remains in cultural hearths unless adherents migrate.

  • Religious Settlements: Some founded primarily for religious purposes (e.g., Salt Lake City by Mormons).

  • Religious Calendars:

    • Ethnic Religions: Closely tied to natural events and seasons.

    • Universalizing Religions: Celebrate key events in the lives of founders (e.g., Easter, Ramadan).