Cultural Patterns and Processes Flashcards
architectural structure
the style of a particular culture or society’s buildings, which varies dramatically over space and time
for example, sacred buildings or houses or worship, through their form or structure, can often easily reveal the type of religion being practiced in that building. Mosques differ dramatically from cathedrals or Hindu temples
artifacts
the technological subsystem of culture; consisting of material objects necessary for meeting basic needs such as tools
mentifacts
compromise the ideological subsystem of culture; including ideas, beliefs, and knowledge, and how these things are communicated
sociofacts
comprise the sociological subsystem of culture; including the expected and accepted patterns of interpersonal relations within a people or group
buddhism
originated in the 6th century BC in northern India
traces origins and many traditions from hinduism
while still centered in east asia, has gained an increasingly large following in europe and north america since the 1950s
a pattern attributable in part to emigration by asian people to western nations and in part to buddhism’s teachings, which resonate with many westerners
nearly half of buddhists in the US live in southern california
build environments
refers to spaces that have been modified by human activity
includes houses and other structures that human activity takes place in, but also includes reservoirs, parks, dams, and other facilities that reflect human-induced change in the landscape
charter group
the first ethnic group to establish cultural norms in an area
sometimes called the “first effective settlement” or “first self-perpetuating society.” whose imprint affects modern cultural geography of an area
for example, the cultural geography of the eastern US was heavily influenced by British settlers, while southwestern cultural geography displays more Spanish influence
christian denominations in the united states
Baptist denominations are predominant in the “Bible Belt” region, which is essentially the southeastern states
The upper Midwest is predominantly Lutheran
The midland states are predominantly Methodist
Spanish Catholicism is dominant in the southwestern states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas; it also has dominant pockets in Florida
Mormonism is dominant in Utah and parts of its surrounding states
Catholicism is dominant in the northeastern states
The West (including large parts of California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) is largely categorized as being of mixed religions
christianity
The world’s most widespread religion
A monotheistic religion with its origins in Judaism
The 3 major categories include Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and Roman Catholic
Roman Catholicism is prominent in large parts of Central and South America, North America, and Western Europe
Protestantism includes distinct denominations and is especially prevalent in North America
Eastern Orthodox is dominant in Eastern Europe and Russia
confucianism
Belief system derived from the 5th Century BCE by Confucius, a Chinese philosopher and teacher
Emphasizes relationships among all living things and therefore stresses harmoy or balance through the following of particular standards or processes
Followers of Confucianism believe strongly in filial piety, or respect for elder
countering language extinction
In the last couple of decades, movements have arisen to revive native languages
In parts of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, native languages are being brought back from near extinction
In Israel, Hebrew was revived after WWII, when it became an independent state
Native Americans from Alaska to South America maintain distinct and unique linguistic heritage
cultural assimilation
When integration of new arrivals into the economic and cultural mainstream of a host society is complete
Behavioural assimilation is essentially acculturation; integration into a common cultural life through language, intermarriage, and shared experiences.
Structural assimilation involves two-way full acceptance of cultural values and practices.
Once people of an “outside” culture rise to positions of political leadership, structural assimilation has taken place
cultural imperialism
Dominance of one culture over another
Historically, often occurred as a result of colonization
Occurs in present day as pop culture, which is so easily diffused across national boundaries; causes local traditions to either die out or become completely commercialized
Sometimes called cultural homogenization, as pop culture continually pervades the globe
cultural traits
Specific customs that are part of everyday life, including language, religion, ethnicity, and social institutions
all have hearths, or places of origin
may expand broadly through processes of diffusion, adoption, and assimilation; referred to collectively as transculturation
a cultural complex is the group of traits that define a particular culture
culture
derives from the latin cultus, meaning “to care about”
dates back to Enlightenment, when culture referred to a variety of human endeavours, such as agriculture
currently defined as all the ideas, practices, and material objects associated with a particular group of people
cultural geographer study how cultures vary over space
denominations
subgroups of a larger belief system that have slightly different rituals or interpretations from other subgroups
for example, christianity has many different denominations. while the basic belief system is relatively similar among all subgroups (or denominations), they vary in terms of certain beliefs, rituals or customs
common christian denominations include: presbyterian, episcopalian, baptist, methodist, and lutheran among many others
as in the case with Christianity, all of the world’s major religions have a variety of different denominations
dialects
geographically distinct versions of a single language that vary somewhat from parent form
for example, english contains numerous dialects, reflecting historical, social, and geographic differences between many diverse people
while the primary language is Houston, London, NY, Sydney, and Toronto is English, speakers in each place have different words for the same thing and different ways of saying the same word (as reflected in their accent)
diaspora
experiences of people who come from a common ethnic background but live in different regions or ethnic neighbourhoods
often used to refer to jews or blacks of african descent, who maintain aspects of their common heritage despite living outside their home community
often illustrates itself through music, food, or religious traditions that allow individuals to celebrate and maintain common heritage outside of their native culture region
diffusion
process by which an idea or innovation is transmitted from one individual or group across space
relocation diffusion involves spacial spreading as a result of physical movement to a new place
expansion diffusion typically involves the spreading of an innovation through communication
environmental determinism
environmental determinists claim that cultural traits are formed and controlled by environmental conditions
certain types of people, who come from cultures that arose in certain physical environments, may be smarter, more attractive, or more able to govern themselves as a result
ethnic cleansing and genocide
cleansing involves the effort to rid a country or region of everyone of a particular ethnicity either through forced migration or genocide
genocide is a premeditated effort to kill everyone from a particular ethnic group
ethnic enclaves
a relatively small area occupied by a distinct culture or ethnicity, which largely results from chain migration
“little italy” or “chinatown” are common names of ethnic enclaves that exist in numerous american cities
eases the adaptation process by providing business opportunities, community, and cultural items, and traditions from home such as food and clothes
ethnic islands
small, rural areas settled by a single ethnic group as opposed to ethnic neighbourhoods or enclaves, which are urban
formed in the US by later settlers including Scandinavians in the north central states; germans in the appalachians, upper midwest, and Texas; Slavics in the western plains; and Armenians and Italians in California
Leave their imprint in rural areas through housing, barn style, and farmstead layouts
ethnic neighbourhoods
concentration of people from the same ethnicity in certain pockets of the city
result from friends and relatives who have immigrated, encouraging friends and relatives back home to join them where opportunities or freedom are more available
when ethnic groups are forced to live in segregated parts of the city, the ethnic neighbourhood becomes a “ghetto”
ghettos exist in some of the least desirable locations within a city
ethnic provinces
when entire regions become associated with ethnic or racial aggregations
include french canadians in quebec; african americans in the us southeast; native americans in Oklahoma, the southwest, the northern plains and prairies; and hispanics in the southwestern border state
ethnicity
refers to a group of people who share a common identity
first came into popular usage during the 1940s as an alternative to the term “race” which was negatively associated with Hitler’s Nazi regime
involves more than physical characteristics associated with race; also includes a person’s perceived social and cultural identity
ethnocentrism
tendency to evaluate other cultures against the standards of one’s own, implying superiority of one’s ethnic group
can be negative in multiethnic societies by provoking social discord and isolation
can be positive when ethnic groups exist in relative isolation by providing familiarity through traditions, friends, business opportunities, and political identification
folk culture
refers to cultural practices that form the sights, smells, sounds, and rituals of everyday existence in traditional societies in which they developed
usually rural, with strong family ties and strong interpersonal relationships leading to cohesive group identity
usually form a subsistence economy, where most goods are handmade, and most individuals perform a variety of tasks rather than specializing in any one area
elements vary dramatically from place to place but do not change much over times
fundamentalism vs extremism
fundamentalism is strict and literal adherence to a set of principles, beliefs, or teachings
members of any religion can be fundamentalists
fundamentalism differs from extremism, which is violent fundamentalism, and is becoming more prevalent across the globe
gender and sex
gender refers to socially created distinctions between masculinity and femininity, while sex connotes biological differences between males and females
geographers are increasingly interested in spatial behaviour pattern differences between males and females
for example, females, for safety reasons, may be less willing to travel alone in certain parts of a city as compared to males
culture can play a strong role in determining a woman’s role in society, which often has implications for economic development
global vs ethnic religions
global religions have numerous members, are widespread, and their doctrines have global appeal (buddhism, christianity, and islam are global religions)
ethnic religions appeal to small groups of people with a common heritage or to large groups of people living in a single region (hinduism and judaism are ethnic religions)
