Comp 3: Geography & Culture Flashcards
Star-Spangled Banner
National Anthem. Written by Francis Scott Key during an attempted attack by the British at Baltimore during the War of 1812.
Culture
A set of shared attitudes or beliefs common to a group or area
Urbanization
The process of a society becoming more urban, with growing populations in dense city centers and moving away from rural living
Primary Groups
A group of people who have frequent close interactions and intimacy with others in the group
Social Mobility
The ease with which an individual is able to move between (up or down) social classes
Transcendentalism
Started in 1830s. Theorized that all people have the ability within themselves to know things beyond what they can understand in an intellectual manner. Sought truth in nature and spirituality.
Equator
The center line of latitude around the middle of the Earth that divides the globe into a Northern and Southern hemisphere
Status
The position that a person has in a group or setting
Sociology
The study of the relationships and interactions between groups and institutions
Socio-Economic Status
Social and economic standing within a group
Group (in sociology)
Two or more people who have common norms and have interactions over a period of time
Trickle-Down Economics
Economic theory, believed that focusing on the supply-side and loosening regulations for businesses would allow them to create and invest more, leading them to hire more people and eventually kickstart the economy
Fertility Rate
The average number of children that will be born to 1,000 women in a population per year
Cultural Traits
Individual aspects of human activity that shape the social life of a place
Hierarchy
System of organizing people into different ranks or levels of importance
Cultural Region
A region defined by common human characteristics
Structures
The way a group is organized in regard to governing rules and standards in a society; usually developed by those living in the group or community
Elevation
Distance above sea level
Norms
Rules or expectations that help regulate behavior of individuals in a society
Values
A person’s or group’s standards of behavior based on what the person or group feels is important
Yankee Doodle
Folk song written in the late 1700s. Originally sang by British soldiers making fun of Americans, but co-opted by American soldiers as a patriotic revolutionary song
Material Components
Physical items related to a culture
Networks
Social ties from one group or individual to another, usually for information or benefiting others in the groups
Social Conflict
The belief that disagreements will occur in societies where there are differing beliefs and values
Savannah
A flat grassland in tropical or subtropical regions
Sociological Institutions
Groups of people who have come together for a common purpose and have common norms which guide behavior and meet basic needs in the group/institution
Cultural Diffusion
The process by which cultural traits spread from one group to another
Norman Rockwell
(1894-1978) American painter and illustrator. His work displays typical American scenes such as “Before the Shot” and representations of American culture such as “The Problem We All Live With (Ruby Bridges)”.
Surrealism
A cultural and artistic movement that started in the 1920s and sought to bring down rational, traditional values and force new perspectives on the viewer
Henry David Thoreau
(1817-1862) American writer, philosopher, and transcendentalist. He is most known for his work, “Walden” that he wrote as Walden Pond, which was owned by his mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Abstract
Popular around WWII. Uses color and shape to create meaning and represent objects, landscapes, and people.
Negative Sanctions in Socialization
The disapproval of some activities in a society
Democracy
A system of government in which all members of society have a share in decision making
Baby Boomers
The generation born following WWII (1940s). This population bubble has had a significant impact on American culture, economy, and politics as the baby boomers have aged. Their concerns became the primary concerns of the nation.
Equal Employment Opportunity Act
Prohibits discrimination in jobs and education for any kind of discrimination including: race, religion, sex including sexual orientation, gender, maternity status, or disability
Ethnicity
A group of people who share a common language, heritage, and/or other traits
Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ)
A Senator in Texas in the 1950s, he spearheaded the NASA Space Program in Houston, Texas. He later became President of the United States after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. Architect of the Great Society programs to compact poverty.
Secondary Groups
A group of people who have little close interaction or intimacy
Oral Storytelling
The process of passing down a group’s history through stories
Airplane
Invented in 1903 by the Wright Brothers. Sped up travel over long distances.
Sociological Structures
The organization and relationships in social institutions that guide individuals in the way they behave and interact with each other
Social Control
The methods that are used in a society to encourage compliance of rules, regulations, and behaviors
Andy Warhol
(1928-1987) American artist most known for developing the Pop Art movement. His prints of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell’s soup are very famous and he coined the phrase “15 minutes of fame”.
Battle Hymn of The Republic
Famous song written in 1861 by Julia Ward Howe about Union forces fighting during the Civil War
Surface Mining
Extracting resources from near the surface of the earth
Inequality (in economics)
Disparity in income and opportunities such as between the rich and poor, and between different ethnicities. Stems from meaning “not the same”.
Gulf Stream
A strong, warm current in the Atlantic Ocean which accelerates as it travels up the East Coast of North America and shoots out into the open ocean towards Europe
Role
The expected characteristics or behaviors of a person or group as related to others
Social Solidarity
When a society is brought together by common values, work, kinship, and/or education
American Modernism
Occurred after WWI through WWII. Rejected Enlightenment thinking and focused on life in the newly industrialized world. Made America the center of the art world.
Assembly Line
Refined by Henry Ford in 1909 to improve the process of mass production
Georgia O’Keeffe
(1887-1986) American modernist painter most well known for her large and very detailed flowers and her landscape scenes from her native New Mexico. Known as the “Mother of American Modernism”.
Socialization
The process of learning the norms and customs of a group or culture
John James Audubon
(1785-1851) American ornithologist (expert on birds), naturalist, and painter. He is known for his in-depth study of birds that include detailed paintings and drawings.
Cultural Adaptation
Immigrants to a new community adjust to the norms of the new culture, and adopt them as their own
Jonas Salk
Developed the polio vaccine in 1955 which virtually eradicated the disease within a generation of its development
Antarctic
The area south of the Antarctic Circle
Human Migration
The movement of people from one location to another
Tundra
An area with cold temperatures and little to no precipitation. Generally found near the poles.
Steppes
An area found far from the ocean in the middle latitudes. It is marked by extreme seasons.
Dominant Culture
The culture of the strongest cultural group in a society
Canal
A man-made waterway made to allow boats to pass through or to transport water for irrigation purposes
Population Pyramid
Chart that shows the distribution of a population by age (and often by gender as well)
Poverty
When a person family is extremely poor and has minimal money to meet the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Absolute poverty is extreme deprivation of basic needs and sometimes ends in death.
Plate Tectonics
The large-scale movements of portions of the earth’s crust over long periods of time
Climate
A measure of an area’s long-term weather patterns
Social Stratification
The ranking of people in a society into various levels, often based on wealth or power. It is basically social status.
Non-Material Components
Any aspect of a culture that is not physical
Socioeconomic Class
People who have the same or similar status based on their wealth, education, and/or family background
Tropics
The region between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees north latitude) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees south latitude); warm temperatures; high rainfall
Earthquakes
A physical event involving the shaking of the surface of the earth
Mining
Extracting valuable resources from under the surface of the earth
Reclamation
Creating new, useable land or returning land to a former use
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)/Star Wars
Ronald Reagan’s attempted anti-missile system that could stop missiles coming from space
Great Society
A series of domestic programs launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ)
Humid Subtropical
An area found in the middle latitudes along the southeastern coast of continents
Humid Continental
Regions with hot, humid summers and cold winters, with moderate precipitation year round.
El Niño
A phenomenon in which the surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean near the Equator becomes warmer than normal, which changes weather patterns around the world. One major effect is dry weather in Asia when they would normally be in monsoon season.
Discrimination
Unfair treatment towards cultures or individuals who are not in the dominant culture
Mortality Rate
The number of deaths per 1,000 individuals in a population per year
Matrix of Domination
Paradigm showing how race, gender, and social class interact and relate to an individual’s social standing
Desert
An area with extreme temperatures and little to no precipitation (less than 10 inches of rain a year)
Orographic Lift
A redirection of wind when it is forced upward to travel over the top of the mountain and then down the other side
Race
Groups of people who have common biological traits such as body type, skin and hair color, and eye characteristics
Deforestation
Clearing land of trees and other vegetation in order to use it for other purposes like agriculture or urban development
Erosion
The slow wearing away of the surface of the land by wind or water
Transcontinental Railroad
Built between 1863 and 1869 and connected to Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Ronald Reagan
Elected in 1981, giving a strong boost to the conservative movement
Rain Shadow Effect
The phenomenon in which desert-like conditions appear on the leeward side of a mountain or mountain range
Telephone
Invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell. Allowed instantaneous voice communication over a long distance for the first time.
Weather
A measure of an area’s short-term atmospheric conditions
Taiga
An area found in the high latitudes and far from the ocean
Tropical Rainforest
An area with high temperature and precipitation year round. Often has high humidity.
Temperature Zones
The areas between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn (23.5 degrees N and S) and the Arctic and Antarctic Circles (66.5 degrees N and S)
Mediterranean
A large sea between two continents, southern Europe and northern Africa
Situation
How a settlement relates to factors such as available building resources, water supply, food supply, roads, and available natural resources for consumption
Site
The physical setting of a settlement
Grid System
Imaginary lines, spaced equally apart, running horizontally and vertically that divide the world for referencing absolute location
Compass Rose
Symbol on a map that indicates the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west, to orient the reader
Strait of Hormuz
A key physical feature in the Middle East that is a narrow stretch of water between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Legend
Image that explains any symbols found on the map or globe
Relative Location
Describes a place in reference to others
Gobi Desert
One of the key physical features in Asia, it is the fifth largest desert in the world, and covers northern and northwestern China and southern Mongolia
Transition Zones
Areas which exhibit characteristics similar to multiple regions around it
Alps Mountain Range
The key physical feature in Europe, this range runs from Austria to France
Longitude
The vertical lines of the grid system that converge at both poles and measure distance east and west of the Prime Meridian
Movement
How and why people move between areas. One of the 5 themes of geography.
International Date Line
The longitudinal line (180 degrees) that separates two consecutive dates
Region
A collection of different places that have one or more unifying characteristics. One of the 5 themes of geography.
Fertile Crescent
A crescent-shaped area from the Mediterranean Sea on the West to the Persian Gulf on the East that contained extremely fertile soil. Some of the first agricultural communities were settled there and it is sometimes referred to as “The Cradle of Civilization”.
Ural Mountains
Mountain range that divides continental Europe from Asia
Sahara Desert
The key physical feature in Africa; the largest hot desert in the world covering most of northern Africa
Human-Environment Interaction
The ways in which people and places interact with and influence each other. One of the 5 themes of geography
Mississippi River
A key physical feature of North America that runs from Minnesota into the Gulf of Mexico
Latitude
The horizontal lines of the grid system that measure distance above and below the Equator
Location
The particular position of a place, described as absolute or relative. One of the 5 themes of geography.
Prime Meridian
The center line of longitude that divides the Earth into an eastern and western hemisphere
Erie Canal
A man-made navigable water route from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean (via New York City’s Hudson River)
Absolute Location
The location of a place based on a fixed point on Earth
Place
Refers to the physical and human aspects of a specific area. One of the 5 themes of geography.
Suez Canal
A man made navigable water route from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea
Andes Mountains
One of two key physical features in South America, it is the longest mountain range in the world and the second highest range in the world
Appalachian Mountains
A mountain range running vertically in Eastern North America and that serves as one of the key physical features of North America
Himalaya Mountains
One of the key physical features in Asia, they are the tallest mountains in the world and are home to ten of the tallest peaks in the world
Rocky Mountains
A 3,000 mile mountain range stretching from British Columbia in Canada to New Mexico, and are the tallest mountains in North America
Amazon River
One of two key physical features in South America, it is the second longest river in the world, and discharges more water than any other river
Panama Canal
A man-made waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean
