Human Geography Flashcards
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.
Religious institutions such as Catholicism or Methodism.
Suez Canal
A man made navigable water route from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea
Transcontinental Railroad
Built between 1863 and 1869 and connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Cultural Traits
individual aspects of human activity that shape the social life of a place
Antarctic
The area south of the Antarctic Circle
Humid Continental
An area found inland in the middle latitudes. It is marked by four distinct seasons.
Race
Groups of people who have common biological traits such as body type, skin and hair color, and eye characteristics.
Most people who live in China are of the Asian race.
Status
The position that a person has in a group or setting.
Surface Mining
extracting resources from near the surface of the earth
Canal
A canal is a man-made stream that lets boats pass through or moves water for farming.
Socialization
The process of learning the norms and customs of a group or culture.
Hierarchy
system of organizing people into different ranks or levels of importance
John James Audubon
American bird expert, naturalist, and painter. His intricate bird paintings and drawings are famous.
Negative Sanctions In Socialization
The disapproval of some activities in a society.
Smoking marijuana has a negative sanction in many areas of society.
Socioeconomic Class
People who have the same or similar status based on their wealth, education, and/or family background.
Non-Material Components
any aspect of a culture that is not physical
Democracy
A system of government in which all members of society have a share in decision making
Social Stratification
The ranking of people in a society into various levels, often based on wealth or power. It is basically social status.
Reclamation
creating new, useable land or returning land to a former use
reforestation, reclaiming submerged land
Social Control
The methods that are used in a society to encourage compliance of rules, regulations, and behaviors.
Transcendentalism
1830s start. Theorized that everyone can know things beyond their intelligence. Seeked spiritual and natural truth
El Niño
A weather pattern change that happens when the top temperature of the Pacific Ocean near the Equator gets warmer than usual. One of the biggest effects is that it is dry in Asia when it would normally be rainy season.
Secondary Groups
A group of people who have little close interaction or intimacy.
Members of different grades in schools are often considered to be in secondary groups.
Gulf Stream
A strong, warm current in the Atlantic Ocean that speeds up as it goes up the East Coast of North America and shoots out into the open ocean toward Europe.
Social Mobility
The ease with which an individual is able to move between (up or down) social classes
The status of the new class president rose considerably after his election.
Cultural Adaptation
Immigrants to a new community adjust to the norms of the new culture, and adopt them as their own
Equal Employment Opportunity Act
Discrimination based on race, religion, sex (including sexual orientation), gender, maternity status, or disability is not allowed in work or schools.
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.
Rules developed by City Councils
Matrix of Domination
This is a model that shows how race, gender, and social class affect a person’s social standing.
American Modernism
After World War I and through World War II. Rejected the ideas of the Enlightenment and focused on life in a world that was just becoming mechanized. America the center of the art world
Social Conflict
The belief that disagreements will occur in societies where there are differing beliefs and values.
Positive Sanctions In Socialization
The approval of some activities in a society.
Cultural Region
A region defined by common human characteristics
Midwest
Push Factor
Situations or things in a person’s home country that make them want to leave or make them have to leave.
Abstract
Popular around WWII. Uses color and shape to create meaning and represent objects, landscapes, and people
Material Components
physical items related to a culture
Cultural Diffusion
the process by which cultural traits spread from one group to another
Dominant Culture
The culture of the strongest cultural group in a society.
Henry David Thoreau
American writer, philosopher, and transcendentalist. His most famous work, “Walden,” was written near Walden Pond, owned by his tutor Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Sociological Structures
The organization and relationships in social institutions that guide individuals in the way they behave and interact with each other.
Schools must have expected social structure in order for students to have the best opportunity to learn.
Pull Factor
Pull factors are situations or events that make people want to move to a certain place.
Panama Canal
A man-made waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean.
Elevation
distance above sea level
Fertility Rate
The average number of children that will be born to 1000 woman in a population per year
Mining
extracting valuable resources from under the surface of the earth
Andy Warhol
merican 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”
Erie Canal
A man-made navigable water route from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean (via New York City’s Hudson River)
Mortality Rate
The number of deaths per 1000 individuals in a population per year
Mediterranean
A part of land along the western coast of a continent that is in the middle latitudes.
Human Migration
the movement of people from one location to another
Sociology
The study of the relationships and interactions between groups and institutions.
Battle Hymn of The Republic
Julia Ward Howe wrote a well-known Civil War song about the Union troops in 1861.
Norms
Rules or expectations that help regulate behavior of individuals in a society.
Socio-Economic Status
social and economic standing within a group
American Progress
Painting from 1872 representing forward progress, specifically Manifest Destiny
Inequality (in economics)
Differences in income and chances, like between rich and poor people or between people of different races. Comes from a word that means “not the same.”
Ethnicity
A group of people who share a common language, heritage, and/or other traits.
Social Solidarity
When a society is brought together by common values, work, kinship, and/or education.
Norman Rockwell
American painter and illustrator. His work displays typical American scenes such as “Before the Shot
Group (in sociology)
Two or more people who have common norms and have interactions over a period of time.
Values
A person’s or group’s standards of behavior based on what the person or group feels is important.
The values of neighbors are often very different based on their background.
Primary Groups
A group of people who have frequent close interactions and intimacy with others in the group.
Grade level teachers often form primary groups.
Assembly Line
Refined by Henry Ford in 1909 to improve the process of mass production.
Role
The expected characteristics or behaviors of a person or group as related to others.
Underground Mining
extracting resources from deep underground using people and machines
Steppes
A place in the middle latitudes that is far from the ocean. It has very different seasons.
Surrealism
A cultural and artistic movement that began in the 1920s and tried to get rid of rational, traditional beliefs and make people see things from a different point of view.
