Understanding Material and Nonmaterial Culture in Social Traditions

Ap Human Geography Notes: Introduction to Culture Culture comprises customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits constituting a group’s distinct tradition. Material & non material -Nonmaterial culture, The beliefs, practices, and values of a group of people culture The physical items produced and used by members of specific cultural groups reflect their traditions, lifestyles, and technologies. “Customary beliefs” & “social forms” “Material traits” Local (folk) & popular culture Local (folk) - Culture is traditionally practiced by a small, homogenous group, rural, group living in relative isolation from other groups. EX: Indigenous groups Popular culture, or “pop culture,” is found in a large, heterogeneous society that shares certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics. Cultural Components Culture trait- A defining characteristic of the culture that d by most, if not all, members. Cultural traits: are characteristics of a particular culture -Practices, technologies, attitudes & behaviors -Material or nonmaterial -Folk or popular Artifacts -Visible objects and technologies (houses, clothing, tools, etc) Sociofacts - Structures and organizations that influence behavior (define the way people act around others and establish rules that govern behavior) Mentifacts -elements of a culture that reflect shared ideas or values Taboo - A description of behavior imposed by social custom. Dietary laws: Halal (Islam) Kashrut (Judaism) - Both prohibit the consumption of pork Cultural Evaluation Ethnocentrism -Evaluating other cultures based exclusively on the perspective of one’s own culture. Cultural relativism - The study of culture from the viewpoint of members of the culture, as opposed to the perspective of a researcher from a different culture Cultural Patterns 3.3 Patterns Of language Language - a system of commutation through the use of speech, a collection of sounds understood by a group of people to have the same meaning. Language family - A collection of languages thought to have descended from a single, common ancestral tongue, long before recorded history. Patterns Of Religion Religion - A system of beliefs and practices that attempts to order life in terms of culturally perceived ultimate priorities. Cultural Patterns Senese of place Disctinve & important Placemaking Efforts to develop a unique sense of place Cultural Forces Centripetal forces - Forces tend to bind together a state's citizens, thus promoting its unity. Centrifugal Forces - Forces that tend to divide a country threatening the unity of a state. Types Diffusion Diffusion- The process of spreading a feature or trend from one place to another over time. Relocation Diffusion- The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another. Expansion Diffusion - The spread of an innovation or an idea through a population in an area in such a way that the number of those influenced grows continuously larger, Resulting in an expanding area of dissemination Types: Contagious diffusion - the rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout the population by contact from person to person Hierarchical diffusion -The spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places Stimulus diffusion - A form of diffusion in which a cultural adaptation is created due to the introduction of a cultural trait from another place. Historical Causes of Diffusion 3,5 Historical Diffusion Imperialism- a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. Colonialism- the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. Trade- the action of buying and selling goods and services. Economic development/spread of technology- The transfer of technology has helped to boost innovation and productivity. Migration-The movement of a person or people from one country, locality, place of residence, etc., to settle in another New forms of cultural Expression Pidgin- A form of speech that adopts a simplified grammar and limited vocabulary of a lingua franca; used for communications among speakers of two different languages. Creole- A language developed from pidgin to become the native tongue of a society A mix of languages between colonizers & Indigenous lingua Franca Lingua franca- A “common language,” a language used among speakers of different languages for trade and commerce Bilingualism- Describing a society’s use of two official languages Contemporary Causes of Diffusion 3.6 Contemporary Diffusion Globalization- The expansion of economics, political, and cultural processes to the point that they become global in scale and impact Cultural Change Convergence- The idea that cultures are converging, or becoming more alike Divergence- The adaptation of globalized products to local tastes and contexts. Diffusion of Language & Religion 3.7 Cultural Hearth - Place of origin of a major culture Language classification 1. Language Families 2. Language Subfamiles 3. Languages 4. Dialects Dialect- Local or regional characteristics of a language. While accent refers to the pronunciation differences of standard language, a dialect, besides pronunciation variation, has distinctive grammar and vocabulary. Religion Classification: Religions: Buddhism (U) Christianity (U M) Hinduism (E P) Islam (U M) Judaism (E M) Sikhism (U M) Monotheistic religion - The doctrine or belief of the existence of only one god. Polytheistic religion - Belief in or worship of more than one God. Universalizing religion - A religion that claims global truth and applicability, regardless of ethnicity or culture group, and seeks the conversion of all people via evangelism and missionary work. (58%). Ethnic religion - A religion with a relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose principles are likely to be based on physical characteristics of the particular location in which its adherents are concentrated; ethnic religion do not actively seek converts. (26%) Impacts of culture