Geography 135 Flashcards
Multiculturalism
The doctrine that many different cultures can and should coexist peacefully and equitably in the same space.
Ethnicty
A group with a common origin and cultural tradition and cultural hearth/homeland that exists within a host culture
We are born into it
Problems of with the word ethnic and its meaning?
The way we use it
“Mexican Americans is a language base”
Functions of Ethnic groups
Still exists Keepers of tradition Have political power base Business successes Friendship/marriage
How does perception play into ethnicity?
May not see eye to eye
Dont understand dynamics of other groups
Stereotyping
Who’s defining the ethnicity?
Acculturation
A group changes enough to function within a host society
Ex: clothing changes
Assimilation
Complete blending with the host society
US and Canada
US is often called a melting pot
Canada is often called a tossed salad
Can a ethnic group assimilate?
There is some connecting of cultures
Nationality
An identity within a group of people who share legal attachment or personal allegiance to a particular country
Race
An artificial classification based on minor biological/genetic differences
Ex: Jim Crow Law
Does racism still exist in the US?
Yes, because of recent police brutality in the news and many other issues
Past generations hold grudges
Ethnicity and Diversity
Mixed ethnicities
Language
Spanish and Portuguese
Creole
A mixture of native and new languages
Haciendas and Plantations
Land use management types
Religion
Christian, some indigenous religion
Population Distribution
Latin American inland
Most live in cities
Primate city: overwhelming impact
Doctrine of 1st Effective Settlement
First culture to effectively dominate an area will have the largest lasting effects on it
Colonization
The patter of one country asserting power in establishing a reliance abroad to increase economic power and wealth back home
Began in 1492
Imperialism
Expansion of a countries territory over another, often an unequal relationship centered on domination
Post-colonialism
Study of the impacts of colonialism
How is colonialism still alive in Latin America?
Food: bananas and fruit Missionary work Panama canal Drugs/oils Cuba
Development
Process of improving the conditions of people, usually economically, through diffusion of knowledge, technology and finance
Policies and Funding to promote development:
Policies: self-sufficiency, global trade and fair trade
Funding: loans (IMF/world bank), micro-loans
Neocolonialism
Using economic, political and cultural controls to influence another country (often a former colony)
Globalization
Increased linkages between cultures breaking down traditional barriers and making traditional borders less meaningful
Nation
A group of people who share a common cultural background and history
Family-Clan-Tribe-NATION
Diff from ethnicity? Ethnicity is a minority culture within a nationality
State
A legalized territory with an effective independent (sovereign) system of governance
Nation-State
When nation and state boundaries coincide
Ex: Iceland, Sweden
Boundary
A thin vertical plane with no width that separates two territories
What role do boundaries play for nations? States?
Nations: Protection/separation, values
States: Distinguish authority, economies, resources, identity
Boundary Creation: 4 Types
Description
Delimitation (official mapping)
Demarcation (physical implementation)
Administration (maintenance)
Three Types of Morphological Boundary Types
Mathematical/Geometric: straight or curved lines
Physiographic (natural): lakes and oceans, ex: Ohio River
Ethnographic/Anthropogenic: drawn with respect to cultural things, ex: languages
Three Types of Evolutionary Boundary Types
Antecedent: drawn before they settle
Subsequent: after cultures plant themselves in place, after wars
Superimposed: outside power stating the boundaries they want to see, ex: Africa
Relic Boundaries
Ancient boundaries, doesn’t function anymore, still see it though
Ex: Great Wall of China
Centripetal Forces
An attribute, object or influence that unifies people, nations or states
Ex: sports, tragedy, holidays
Rasion D’etre
“Reason for being”
An idea, ideology, common purpose that binds people together
Iconography
A symbol
Ex: Flag
Centrifugal Forces
An attribute, object, or influence that tends to disrupt or tear apart people, nation or state.
Ex: politics, religion, war
Roma People in Europe
Live on less than $12 a day
Live 15 years less than the average human
Roma women were in the parliament
In 2004 they joined the council of Europe
They are a transnational nation
They get along with other people (centripetal)
Different states (centrifugal)
Post colonialism in Europe
“More than any other region, Europe has shaped the human geography of the modern world”
Ex: Denmark cartoons, London bombing of 2005, Paris attacks
Supranational Organizations
Unification of several states/nations into a group that carries out government functions and economic roles for that group of states/nations
Ex: United Nations, NATO, European Union
Regions Name and Significance
Russia and the Near Abroad Post Soviet Region Russia and its Neighbor USSR Sphere of Influence
USSR
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Iron Curtain Enemies Satellite States Eastern BLOC/communist BLOC Russian/Soviet Empire
Warsaw Pact
Group of countries that allied themselves to the soviet union
Impact of Imperialism
Borders, big countries broken up into smaller countries
Multinational States
State with large expansions, many different nations within a state
By force an empire become a centripetal force
Yugoslavia
5 nationalities 4 languages 3 religions 2 alphabets Many different empires Joseph Tito died, all hell broke loose
Balkanization
Named after the geographic feature –> Balkan Peninsula
Fragmentation of a region into smaller, other hostile political units (the process)
Shatterbelt
Broken up group of countries
A region where boundaries have been redrawn many times (the pattern)
Ex: Yugoslavia
Ethnic Cleansing
The process where a more powerful ethnicity removes a less powerful one in order to create an ethnically homogenous region
Ethnic Conflict
Longstanding conflict
Desire for autonomy
Desire for supremacy
Fear of oppression
Switzerland vs. Yugoslavia
Switzerland: 4 nationalities, 3 religions, no empire, maintained neutral stance, most peaceful country
Differences: neutrality, money, ecology of the place
Why? Because they haven’t had an empire, they govern themselves, physical geography is influenced
