Unit 3: Cultural Landscapes, Patterns, and Diffusion

Question 1

Culture

Answer 1

Shared practices, attitudes, behaviors, and technologies amongst a group of people

Question 2

Social construct

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Cultural trait

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

Folk culture

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Popular(pop) culture

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Ethnocentrism

Answer 6

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!”

Question 7

Cultural relativism

Answer 7

Keeping an open mind to other cultures and assuming all cultures are relatively equal and are different rather than wrong.

Question 8

Indigenous culture

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Artifacts

Answer 9

Made up of material culture which is of tangible things.

Question 10

Mentifacts

Answer 10

Comprised of nonmeterial culture which is of intanglibe concepts like beliefs, values, practices, and aesthetics. Mentifacts determine what people view acceptable or desirable.

Question 11

Sociofacts

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

Built environment

Answer 12

Visible artifacts of cultural traits
e.g., Buildings, signs in languages

Question 13

Cultural landscape

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

Traditional architecture

Answer 14

Rectilinear building design with use of traditional materials like stone, brick, and steel

Question 15

Post-modern architecture

Answer 15

wavy and bending building design with non-traditional materials like metal, or recycled materials

Question 16

Ethnicity(Ethnic group)

Answer 16

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)

Question 17

Ethnic neighborhoods(ethnic enclaves)

Answer 17

When people of the same ethnicity live in the same area
e.g., Chinatowns, Korea towns in many US cities

Question 18

Gender

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

Cultural region

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

Cultural realm

Answer 20

They include several regions where the cultures within the real shares common traits such as language and religion

Question 21

Sacred places

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Sequent occupancy

Answer 22

The idea that each society leaves their cultural imprints on a place
e.g., Hagia Sofia in Istanbul

Question 23

Cultural hearth

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

Sense of place

Answer 24

Concept of emotional attachment to be a certain place
e.g., Mahabodhi Temple in India where Buddha is believed to be enlightened

Question 25

Placemaking

Answer 25

Planning, design, and management of public spaces to create a more significant sense of place

Question 26

Centripetal force

Answer 26

A force that unifies people
e.g., Rugby uniting South Africa following the end of Apartheid

Question 27

Centrifugal force

Answer 27

A force that divided people
e.g., Sunni and Shia Islam has led to much conflict in the Middle East

Question 28

Cultural diffusion

Answer 28

The spreading of culture and cultural traits that has two main types; relocation diffusion and expansion diffusion

Question 29

Relocation diffusion

Answer 29

The spread of culture and cultural traits by people who migrate and physically move
e.g., Pizza in the United States from Italian immigrants

Question 30

Expansion diffusion

Answer 30

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.

Question 31

Hierarchical diffusion

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Stimulus diffusion

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Contagious diffusion

Answer 33

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

Question 34

Reverse hierarchical diffusion

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Colonialization

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Imperialism

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Globalization

Answer 37

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

Question 38

Cultural divergence

Answer 38

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

Question 39

Cultural convergence

Answer 39

When different cultures become more similar over time.
e.g., many countries now using English regardless of their original language

Question 40

Language family

Answer 40

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)

Question 41

Language tree

Answer 41

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”

Question 42

Dialect

Answer 42

Regional variations of the same language
e.g., People in the UK and US both speak English but use different words

Question 43

Pidgin

Answer 43

A mixture of two languages
e.g., Swahili which is the combination of Arabic and indigenous African languages

Question 44

Creole

Answer 44

A mixture of two languages to form a new language
e.g., Jamaican creole which is the mixture of English and Akan

Question 45

Lingua franca

Answer 45

A common language used by people who do not share the same native language. It creates dominant languages such as English to be widespread.

Question 46

Language extinction

Answer 46

The loss of indigenous languages

Question 47

Toponyms

Answer 47

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.

Question 48

Ethnic religion

Answer 48

Belief traditions that emphasize strong cultural characteristics among their followers that spread through relocation diffusion

Question 49

Universal religion

Answer 49

When they are open to all ethnic backgrounds and missionaries universalize religion through activity such as charity.

Question 50

Polytheism

Answer 50

Having many gods like in Hinduism

Question 51

Monotheism

Answer 51

Having one god

Question 52

Pilgrimage

Answer 52

A religious journey taken by a person to a sacred place of his or her religion

Question 53

Acculturation

Answer 53

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.

Question 54

Assimilation

Answer 54

When an ethnic group can no longer be distinguished from the receiving group.

Question 55

Syncretism

Answer 55

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

Question 56

Multiculturalism

Answer 56

The coexistence of several cultures in one society with the ideal of all cultures being valued and worthy of study.

Question 57

Nativism

Answer 57

Anti immigrant attitudes that sometimes bring violence and government action against the cultural conflict.