Human Geo 4.1 Questions Flashcards
Why might two locations have similar cultural beliefs, objects, and institutions?
Because people bring along their cultural identity when they migrate. Differences emerge over time when 2 groups have limited interaction.
What produces a group’s material culture?
A collection of social customs produces a group’s material culture (ex. jeans are abadge of youth that typically represent American informality). Custom may be used to denote an element of material culture, whereas culture refers to a group’s entire collection of customs.
How is the distinctive character of a wine derived?
From a vineyard’s unique combination of soil, climate, and other physical characteristics at the place where the grapes are grown. At the same time, wine is mostly made today in places that have a tradition of excellence in making it and people who can afford it/like drinking it.
Where are most grapes for wine grown?
Near the Mediterranean Sea or in areas of similar climate. Income, preferences, and other social customs also influence the distribution of wine production (as well as the physical environment), as seen in Islamic countries south of the Mediterranean (where there are lower wine production levels).
Why are the distributions of folk and popular culture different?
Because of connection or lack of it. The region covered by a folk culture is typically much smaller than that covered by a popular culture. A group’s distinctive culture comes from experiencing local social and physical conditions in a place that is isolated from other groups. Even groups living close to each other may adopt different folk cultures because of limited connections.
What is the dominance of popular culture threatening? (2 things)
- The survival of unique folk culture. The disappearance of local folk culture reduces local diversity and the intellectual stimulation that arrises from differences in backgrounds.
- The quality of the environment. Each cultural group takes particular elements from the environment into its culture and in turn builds landscapes (built environments) that modify nature in distinctive ways. Popular culture is less likely to reflect concern for the sustainability of physical conditions and more likely to modify the land in accordance with material culture preferences.
What are 2 elements of culture emphasized in this chapter?
- Daily necesities of food, clothing, and shelter. All people eat, wear clothing, and find shelter, but different cultural groups do so in distinctive ways.
- Leisure activities, like arts and recreation. Each cultural group has its own definition of meaningful art and stiumlating recreation.
How do folk and popular culture differ in their origins?
- Folk culture often has anonymous hearths or sources, at unknown dates, through unknown originators. It may also have multiple hearths.
- Popular culture is usually traceable to a specific person or corporation in a particular place. It is most often a product of developed countries.
What is an example of how traceable the origins of a popular culture trend are?
Hip hop is considered to have originated on August 11, 1973, at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, NYC Bronx Borough, during a block party with DJ Kool Herc. The music reflected conditions prevailing in the neighborhood (street gang, arson, crime, demolition of housing, forced relocation to build the Cross Bronx Expressway).
How do popular music and other elements of popular culture arise?
From a combination of advances in industrail technology (which permits the uniform reproduction of objects in large quantities, like iPods, T-shirts, and pizzas) and increased leisure time (which has increased because of the widespread change in the labor force from agriculture work to service/manufacturing jobs.
How do folk and popular culture differ in their processes of diffusion?
Folk culture is transmitted from one location to another slowly and on a small scale, primarily through relocation diffusion (migration).
Popular culture typically spreads through a process of heirarchical diffusion, rapidly and extensively from hearths or nodes of innovation with the help of modern communications.
What are 2 examples of popular culture diffusion?
- The music group Sigur Rós first performed in Iceland, but as their popularity increased, they performed elsewhere in Europe & in other regions.
- Hip Hop music diffused from Bronx to Philly during the 1970s, to other US cities during the 1980s, then Western Europe & Japan, then Caribean
countries. Recently, it has reached Latin America, Asia, & Africa, where local cultural styles influenced the music. Though hip hop has declined in the US in popularitiy since 2005, alternative hip hop (also from the East Coast) has become more popular.
What study did geographers P. Karan and Cotton Mather do about artistic customs in the Himalaya Mountains?
Their study revealed that distinctive views of the physical environment emerge among neighboring but isolated cultural groups. The study area was a narrow corridor of 1,500 miles in the Himalayas of Bhutan, Nepan, N. India, and S. Tibet (China). They found 4 religious groups:
1. Tibetan Buddhists in the north
2. Hindus in the south
3. Muslims in the west
4. Southeast Asian folk religionists in the east
How do each of the religious groups in the Himalayas differ in the subjects of their paintings?
- The Buddists in the north painted divine figures (monks & saints), some being depicted as bizarre or terrifying, reflecting the inhospitable environment.
- The southern Hindus painted scenes from everyday life & familiar local scenes. The paintings sometimes had a deity in a domestic scene, & they represent the region’s violent/extreme climate.
- The western Muslim’s paintings were inspired by their beautiful plants and flowers instead of climate.
- The folk religionists painted symbols and designs that derive from their religion instead of their environment.
What does the distribution of artistic subjects in the Himalawas show?
How folk customs are influenced cultural institutions such as religion and by environmental processes such as climate, landforms, and vegeation. These groups were also unique in their dance, music, architecture, and crafts.
