Unit 3: Cultural Landscapes, Patterns, and Diffusion Flashcards
Culture
Shared practices, attitudes, behaviors, and technologies amongst a group of people
Social construct
An idea that is not objective, but has come to be accepted by a group of people
e.g., Different people may have different ideas about what constitutes gender or race and therefore what/who falls into what category
Cultural trait
A single element of practice within a culture
-Invisible cultural traits are ideas of a society
-Visible cultural traits are the things people make and often give value to like cars, homes, and so on.
Folk culture
They have anonymous origins and are rooted into traditional societies like rural or local areas that are isolated from the rest. They have strong family ties and interpersonal relationships that create a homogenous group of people.
e.g., Louisiana creole cuisine, Amish
Popular(pop) culture
It is a widespread culture on a local, national, and global scale usually located in the urban areas where they are relatively uniform wherever it goes. It is heterogenous and is spread by globalization.
e.g., Big Mac, Taylor Swift, Game of Thrones
Ethnocentrism
It’s the belief that one’s culture is superior and judges other cultures based on their own ways of doing things
e.g., “It’s gross that people in Southeast Asia eat insects!”
Cultural relativism
Keeping an open mind to other cultures and assuming all cultures are relatively equal and are different rather than wrong.
Indigenous culture
When members of an ethnic group share ancestral ties to the land and practice distinct cultural traits from where they originated or have been displaced from
Artifacts
Made up of material culture which is of tangible things.
Mentifacts
Comprised of nonmeterial culture which is of intanglibe concepts like beliefs, values, practices, and aesthetics. Mentifacts determine what people view acceptable or desirable.
Sociofacts
The ways people organize their society and relate to one another. Sociofacts can be symbolized through families, governments, sport teams, and other social constructs that can be similar as a whole but unique in their individual parts.
Built environment
Visible artifacts of cultural traits
e.g., Buildings, signs in languages
Cultural landscape
The reflection of human imprint on the environment which is basically the combination of the built environment and natural environment. Cultural landscapes can be physical features, agricultural practices, religious characteristics, and linguistic characteristics.
Traditional architecture
Rectilinear building design with use of traditional materials like stone, brick, and steel
Post-modern architecture
wavy and bending building design with non-traditional materials like metal, or recycled materials
Ethnicity(Ethnic group)
A group of people who share a common identity based on history, language, geography, religion, and custom.
e.g., Han Chinese, Tatar(Russia and post-Soviet countries)
Ethnic neighborhoods(ethnic enclaves)
When people of the same ethnicity live in the same area
e.g., Chinatowns, Korea towns in many US cities
Gender
At first gender was defined as the biological sex then sex based structures and roles(gender roles) were introduced that created more debate over gender identity. The concept of gender is flexible, dynamic, and has changed over time.
Cultural region
They are determined based on characteristics such as religion, language, and ethnicity. Cultural regions don’t necessarily follow political borders and a transitional zone often exists.
Cultural realm
They include several regions where the cultures within the real shares common traits such as language and religion
Sacred places
Specific places that have religious significance.
-Shinto view certain mountains and rocks as homes to spirits
-Jews, Christians, and Muslims honor Mt.Sinai because they believe it’s where God handed the Ten Commandments to Moses
-Jews, Christians, and Muslims visit Jerusalem
-Islam believers visit Mecca
Sequent occupancy
The idea that each society leaves their cultural imprints on a place
e.g., Hagia Sofia in Istanbul
Cultural hearth
The area where a unique culture or cultural trait originated from
e.g., Buddhism originated from ancient India, Democracy originated from ancient Greece, and Rap music originated from NYC in 1970s.
Sense of place
Concept of emotional attachment to be a certain place
e.g., Mahabodhi Temple in India where Buddha is believed to be enlightened
Placemaking
Planning, design, and management of public spaces to create a more significant sense of place
Centripetal force
A force that unifies people
e.g., Rugby uniting South Africa following the end of Apartheid
Centrifugal force
A force that divided people
e.g., Sunni and Shia Islam has led to much conflict in the Middle East
Cultural diffusion
The spreading of culture and cultural traits that has two main types; relocation diffusion and expansion diffusion
Relocation diffusion
The spread of culture and cultural traits by people who migrate and physically move
e.g., Pizza in the United States from Italian immigrants
Expansion diffusion
The spread of culture and cultural traits through direct or indirect exchange without migration. The three major types of expansion diffusion is hierarchical diffusion, Stimulus diffusion, and contagious diffusion.
Hierarchical diffusion
The spread of culture and cultural traits from people/places of high class and rank to other people/places
e.g., AirJordan, social media trends
Stimulus diffusion
The spread of culture and cultural traits by new people adopting form of culture but modifying it to meet their own culture.
e.g., changes to McDonald’s menu in different countries
Contagious diffusion
The spread of culture and cultural traits one area at a time through contact between people
e.g., paper coming from China to Europe through trade routes
Reverse hierarchical diffusion
The spread of culture and cultural traits from a group of lower status to a group of higher status.
e.g., having tattoos being a symbol of low social status in the US until it diffused throughout different classes
Colonialization
When one country has direct control over the affairs of a territory or group of people. It is usually associated with relocation diffusion and hierarchical diffusion.
Example of cultural diffusion through colonialism includes Canada which speaks English and French because both countries used to control parts of Canada
Imperialism
When one country has direct control or indirect control over the affairs of a territory on a group of people. Indirect control can include strong political, military, economic, or cultural influence. It is usually associated with relocation diffusion and hierarchical diffusion.
e.g., Introduction of Christianity of Africa through Europeans
Globalization
The increase interaction and integration among people worldwide; increase of time-space compression. It is associated with contagious diffusion, stimulus diffusion and all the categorizes of diffusion.
Globalization has led to the change of cultural practices like learning English through language apps and online lessons
Cultural divergence
Division within a culture or resistance to elements of convergence
e.g., Bolivia’s refusal to let American fast food chains establish restaurants in the country
Cultural convergence
When different cultures become more similar over time.
e.g., many countries now using English regardless of their original language
Language family
All languages belong to a language family and the two largest types are Indo-European(Including English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Hindi) and Sino-Tibetan(Including Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean)
Language tree
Used to differentiate languages in a particular language family and can divide the families into smaller groups.
e.g., French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese are a part of Indo-European’s Romance “branch”
Dialect
Regional variations of the same language
e.g., People in the UK and US both speak English but use different words
Pidgin
A mixture of two languages
e.g., Swahili which is the combination of Arabic and indigenous African languages
Creole
A mixture of two languages to form a new language
e.g., Jamaican creole which is the mixture of English and Akan
Lingua franca
A common language used by people who do not share the same native language. It creates dominant languages such as English to be widespread.
Language extinction
The loss of indigenous languages
Toponyms
A place name which can tell people about the diffusion of language.
e.g., the main language in Boston, Baton, Rouge, and San Diego being English but named from the cultures in the past.
Ethnic religion
Belief traditions that emphasize strong cultural characteristics among their followers that spread through relocation diffusion
Universal religion
When they are open to all ethnic backgrounds and missionaries universalize religion through activity such as charity.
Polytheism
Having many gods like in Hinduism
Monotheism
Having one god
Pilgrimage
A religious journey taken by a person to a sacred place of his or her religion
Acculturation
When an ethnic group immigrate to a new area and adopt the values and practices there while maintaining a valuable element of their own culture.
e.g., When a Spanish family in the US speaks Spanish at home but uses English at school or work.
Assimilation
When an ethnic group can no longer be distinguished from the receiving group.
Syncretism
The fusion or blending of two distinctive cultural traits into a unique new trait.
e.g., Blending of snow skiing with skateboarding to create snowboarding
Multiculturalism
The coexistence of several cultures in one society with the ideal of all cultures being valued and worthy of study.
Nativism
Anti immigrant attitudes that sometimes bring violence and government action against the cultural conflict.
