Unit 3 Cultural Patterns and Processes

• Culture

  all of a group learned behaviors, actions, beliefs, and objects

  two types of culture:

  Material Culture/Visible- People's actions possessions and changes in landscape

  Objects that people or society gives values to/ items connecting to physical things

  Non- Material Culture/ Invisible- peoples belief systems customs and traditions

  consists of ideas or beliefs systems customs and tradition

  practices unique to a person

  Ex:

  • holidays
  • how a person celebrates milestones/ weddings
• Culture trait

  building blocks of culture

  things of visible/ material culture and invisible/ non-visible/ material culture

  {Shared practices, beliefs, foods, and more}

  (all of these are culture traits)

  different aspects of life that shape a persons culture/ identities

  in culture there is many different ways a culture is passed on

  how a generation passes a culture to another generation

  Ex:

  informal instruction- a parent reminds a child to say please

  formal instruction- students learn history in school
• cultural complex

  combining the traits make up a cultural complex

  ex:

  american auto mobile

  provides much more than just transportation

  reflects many cultural values that are central to american culture

  One piece of culture and what it symbolizes in that culture

  combines elements that are visible and invisible in a culture
• Culture Hearth

  the place in which a unique or culture

  trait develops

  a place where a culture trait is originated

  • Democracy- ancient greece
  • Rap Music 1970's New York
  • Geographers study how cultures develop in hearths and diffuse to other places
• taboos

  heavily discouraged behaviors in different cultures

  ex:

  not taking off shoes in the house
• Folk Cultures

  beliefs and practices of small group in typically rural or isolated areas

  • very slow to change
  • can be part of a larger culture
  • want to preserve the culture rather than expand
  • creates a sequence of place
  • not a lot of diversity
  • family and religion play a huge role
  • the hearth is anonymous and can have multiple starting points
  • Demonstrates the diversity of each groups physicla enviorment
  • what did people use to make their shelters
• Folk Cultures

  Beliefs and practices of small group in typically rural or isolated areas

  • very slow to change
  • can be part of a larger culture
  • want to preserve the culture rather than expand
  • creates a sequence of place
  • not a lot of diversity
  • family and religion play a huge role
  • the hearth is anonymous and can have multiple starting points
  • Demonstrates the diversity of each groups physical environment
  • what did people use to make their shelters
  • how did they use those materials

  Ex:

  • amish --> switzerland
  • germany
• Culture Regions

  areas that share similar cultural traits

  • formal
  • functional
  • perceptual

  Within a culture region the visual reflections of the culture are the cultural landscape

  • differences in the built environment that reflect the culture practiced there
  • the built environment in a culture region reflects a cultural landscape
• Culture Realms

  areas consisting of multiple regions that share a few cultural traits

  • language
  • food
  • religion
  • architecture

  "A LARGE REGION"
• Globalization

  the intensified interaction of people, governments and companies from different countries

  • specifically relating to interconnecting the world economy
  • increasing as a result of space time compression

  increased globalization has led to the creation and diffusion of popular culture
• Popular Culture

  • cultural trait typically created in urban areas that spread quickly and are adopted by various groups
  • originated in more developed countries
  • culture diffuses through hierarchical diffusion
  • found in diverse societies
  • large institutions or governments play a larger role
  • Ex:
  • europe and america
• Diffusion

  the spreading of cultural aspects to wider areas

  • trades
  • goods
  • items
  • elements
  • services
  • ideas
  • phenomenons
  • anyone kind if thing spreading evenly
• Relocation diffusion

  the spread of culture by people who migrate and bring traits with them (folk culture)

  • migration/ the moving / spreading culture
  • physically move and take their culture with them
  • don't see any knew people adapting
  • hearth dies off
  • because relocated to a new area
  • Ex:
  • Hinduism
  • Judaism
• Expansion diffusion

  the spread of cultural traits though direct or indirect change without migration

  when people physically move instead o f the heath dyit it stays strong because more people are practicing their religion

  • the diffusion isn't moving it is spreading
• Swahili

  a developed as a pidgin language between arab bantu traders is now a creole language official for 4 african countries
• Lingua franca

  • native common language used by people who do not shared the same language

  two individuals do not speak the same language it is when the learn a language to communicate with

  english is the most common lingua franca

  france is another lingua franca

  spanish, arabic, swahili, russian
• Indigenous Culture

  this is a subset of folk culture

  first culture to settle in an area

  • first people that settle in an area
  • have to be there and the first people settled in an area
  • the original settlers
• Functional/Nodal regions

  • here regions have a center point which impacts a surrounding area
  • transportation is normally the connector
  • anyone that lives in that zone is part of the functional regions in the center
• formal/ uniform regions

  a defined by facts and can be proven that it exists |

  • everything on that area has the same cultural characteristics
  • characteristics of this region are the same throughout the space
  • ex:
  • climate
  • language
  • religion
  • countries
  • city
• Hierarchical Diffusion

  spread of a trait form centers of wealth and importance

  grow through systems of powers

  • everyone is not gonna get access to the diffusion right away
  • focus on how the trait is spread --> if it spreads slowly not everyone will get it at once
  • ex:
  • fashion diffuses through global cities around the world- to the major urban areas
  • wealth influences
  • slowly diffuses from those areas to surrounding communities
• contagious diffusion

  spread of traits from its hearth through contact with others

  • when the trait does go through the entire community at once
  • very little resistance that stopped the diffusion to occurring
  • everyone has access to it
  • the trait has spread to everyone within a society--> wasn't any barriers from the diffusion occuring
  • hearth spread outwards
  • ex: type of music
• Stimulus Diffusion

  when a cultural trait is adopted and modified form one culture by another

  another trait is adopted by a culture but modified the culture there

  as diffusion is occurring the trait is changing

  • the main themes and characteristics are staying the same
  • but as diffusion occurs cultures of other areas are fusing with it and modify in their own way
  • Ex:
  • Mcdonalds around the world
  • the concept is still the same but there are different recipes for the same foods depending where you are
• reverse hierarchical diffusion

  spread of a trait from lower classes to higher classes

  walmart was in akransa- arkansa was a small town in the middle f nowhere

  now it is the largest cooperation

  not from a high class; the diffusion spreads upwards
• Official Language

  Designated by law to be the language of the government if no official language

  • used a lingua franca

  US has no official language use a lingua franca
• Homogenous

  countries who only have one major ethnic group

  if want to

  • forced to discourage maintaining original culture
  • forced assimilation by colonizers
  • most likely one language
• Assimilation

  when immigrants can no longer be distinguished from the receiving culture

  they cant tell and become the same thing

  taking on traits of the dominant culture to such a degree they become indistinguishable from other members of the society

  minority culture takes on dominant culture joining ends up losing original culture

  can be voluntary/ usually forced

  ex:

  forced of native america to drive out native american culture
• Cultural Landscape

  physical features of a geographic location

  mountains rivers

  snowy dessert

  diffusion of different religious languages goods and services

  all impact the cultural landscape/ cultural breakdown of a geographic location

  when geographers are analyzing the cultural landscape they are looking for spatial patterns and how do they change over time in regions

  ex:

  cultural elements: woman's role/ diversity

  shape terrain
• Acculturation

  immigrants adopting many elements of the receiving culture but keepings major elements of their native culture

  adopts most of the culture they learn

  but keep the previous culture

  when a culture adopts different culture traits of another culture (original culture is modified not lost)

  ex

  speak english-outside-modern clothes

  speak telugu-inside-eats traditional food
• Pidgin Language

  Simplified mix of two language with limited structure and vocabulary

  not formally combined

  ex

  spanglish- no grammar just two languages slapped together
• Animism

  belief that in animate objects have a soul or spirit spiritual

  spiritual purpose to all objects in nature

  before universal religions

  colonialism and trade

  colonialism was helped to spread religion and culture as a whole

  colonizers brought christianity and pushed out animism

  prevalent

  belief that inanimate objects have soul or spirit

  europeans are the largest colonizers in history

  1500-1800 south africa and the americas

  1800-1950 Africa and south west asia

  although formal colonies are all gone but cultural practices remain
• Diaspora

  specifically against the jewish people

  forced migration originally from Israel(holy land)

  *kicked out*

  that's why judaism isn't concentrated in one place
• Sequence Occupancies

  new groups move in and out of the neighborhoods and areas they change the landscape

  changes the built environment and cultural landscape to fit the new group

  ex

  • crusades
  • fall out of Constantinople
• Charter Group

  first group to establish cultivable and religious customs in an area

  • often shown through toponyms, think Native American place names in the US
  • Ex:
  • North America -- Native American
• Ethnic Islands

  ethnic groups on rural areas form

  • pass to children rather than outwards
  • Ex:
  • the amish in Pennsylvania
• Universal Religions

  Actively seek followers

  • conversion regardless of ethnicity
  • often use missionaries to spread
  • christianity and islam both spread through conquest and colonization
  • broader
  • more diversity
• Ethnic Religions

  Emphasize strong cultural connection between followers

  • spread mostly through relocation diffusion
  • hinduism- migration away from India
  • Judaism- through many forced migrations like Jewish Diaspora

  Closer connection between religion and rest of culture
• Caste System

  si a religious structure

  a ladder in spirituality

  in California we see people bringing discrimination of the caste system to the lower castes
• Pilgrimage

  only religious journey to a sacred place

  ex: part of pillars of the muslims faith

  In mecca saudi arabia
• Buddhism

  • founded in north eastern india by a Hindu prince, Sidharth Gautama
  • shares many hindu principles
  • goal is to escape suffering
  • desire is the cause of suffering
  • achieve nirvana if they do becoming one with world
  • Went into country side for other people in Hinduism
• Karma

  belief that do something good/bad --> something bad/ good will happen to them

  in Hinduism + Buddhism

  if you live lifewell with good habits and doings you will be in the reincarnation move up the ladder in spirituality (caste system)