Unit 4 Flashcards
Culture
- Can be distinguished from habit and custom
- The body of material traits, customary beliefs, and social forms that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people
- EX: American culture is to speak out about your opinions
Habit
a repetitive act that a particular individual performs, such as wearing jeans to class every day
custom
a repetitive act of a group. For
example, on Thursdays in the fall, LZHS students wear jerseys and /jorts/
Folk culture
Small, fairly homogenous groups • Today, mostly isolated in rural areas • Spreads by relocation dif
EX: Cow-tipping
Popular culture
Large, diverse groups • Widespread, urban • Spreads through media
-EX: hip hop
Folk culture origin
Anonymous hearth, center of innovation
• Possible to have multiple hearths each originating independently • Anonymous sources • unknown dates • Unidentified originators
Popular culture origin
Product of developed countries
• Typically North American or European • Origin often traceable to specific person or
corporation in a particular place
Folk culture diffusion
Smaller scale and slower transmissions from one location to another
primarily through relocation diffusion
(migration)
Pop cultur diffusion
Tends to be transmitted by way of hierachal diffusion
• Diffuses rapidly and extensively form hearths or nodes
of innovation with help of modern communications
Folk culture distribution
Combination of local physical and cultural
factors influence distinctive distributions.
• Isolation from other cultures because of physical barriers—e.g., distance and
mountain ranges • Religion
Distribution
Arrangementof a feature in space
Pop culture distribution
Widely distributed across many countries with little regard for physical factors
• Principal obstacle to access is lack of income to purchase the material
What are the elements of the origin and characteristics of folk music
Originates anonymously
Transmitted orally
• Modifications to songs over successive generations to represent changes in
conditions.
• Content of songs centers on events in daily life that are
familiar to the majority of people. (Like life cycle events like birth )
Migration (relocation diffusion) of people also diffuses the music.
Elements of the origin and diffusion of popular music
Popular music is written by specific individuals for the purpose of being sold to a large number of people. -hierarchical diffusion from hearths or nodes of innovation
Origin and diffusion of soccer
-Origin British folk
The transformation of soccer from an English folk
custom to global popular culture began in the
1800s
• Sport became a subject that was taught in
school
Increasing leisure time permitted
people not only to view sporting events but to
participate in them.
• With higher incomes spectators paid to
see first-class events.
-Diffused to Dutch students who had been in Britain
-Diffused through worldwide British Empire
-Further diffused by new communication systems, especially radio and television
What elements in society explain clothing style in folk culture
Clothing in a traditional society is strongly influenced by the environment and by
occupation – but it isn’t just a
matter of protection.
• Traditional clothing can be worn for practical reasons – or as an expression of culture and
pride.
What is an example of how the environment can impact clothing preferences
- Fur-lined boots in the artic and snowshoes
- Wooden shoes in the rainy Netherlands
What does pop culture clothing style reflect
Generally reflects occupation and income (update wardrobe often)
• Business suits Æ professionals
• Designer clothes Æ affluent
How had improved communications impact the diffusion of the clothing style
- Central to rapid diffusion
- Permitted rapid diffusion of clothing styles from one region of Earth to another and you can now buy cheaper versions of designer online cheaper
What are food preferences strongly influenced by
Cultural traditions
What is a taboo
A restriction of behavior imposed by a social custom to eat particular plants or animals that are believed to embody negative forces
is a taboo
EX: chopsticks sticking up in rice, eating cats in america
Bible/Hebrew food taboo and why
- Can’t eat animals that don’t chew their cud or have cloven feet or fish lacking fins or scales
- Concern for the environment-> pig sedentary but population nomads and meat spoils quickly in their heat
Muslim taboo and why
- Pork
- Pigs are unsuited for the drylands of the Arabian peninsula and would compete with humans for food and don’t do work
- Raising pigs widespread would be an ecological disaster
Hindu taboo and why
- Cattle
- They need a lot of oxen in India because every field is plowed at about the same time-> when monsoons arrive
- Prevents loss of oxen and increasing population