Cultural Patterns and Processes - PowerPoint Presentation

1. Cultural Patterns and ProcessesUnit Three

2. Schools of Thought in Cultural GeographyEnvironmental determinism - physical environment actively shapes cultures so that human responses are almost completely molded by environmentPossibilism - cultural heritage is at least as important as physical environment in shaping human behaviorEnvironmental perception - emphasizes importance of human perception of environment rather than actual character of the land; shaped by cultureCultural determinism - human culture ultimately more important than physical environment in shaping human actions

3. Basic Definitions What is the cultural landscape?modification of the natural landscape by human activitiesWhat is cultural geography?transformation of the land and ways that humans interact with the environmentWhat is cultural ecology? studies relationship between natural environment and culture

4. What is culture? What is the difference between non-material and material culture?Culture = mix of values, beliefs, behaviors, & material objects that together form a people’s way of lifeNon-material culture = abstract concepts of values, beliefs, behaviorsValues = culturally-defined standards that guide way people assess desirability, goodness and beauty & serve as guidelines for moral livingBeliefs = specific statements people hold to be true, almost always based on valuesMaterial Culture = includes wide range of concrete human creations = artifacts

5. Where are the cultural hearths located? Areas where civilizations first began that radiated the customs, innovations, and ideologies that culturally transformed the worldDeveloped in SW Asia, North Africa, South Asia, East Asia - river valleys

6. Key words:Acculturation a change in the cultural behavior and thinking of a person or group of people through contact with another cultureAssimilationThe process through which people lose originality differentiating traits, such as dress, speech, particularities, or mannerisms, when they come into contact with another society or culture.Transculturationcultural borrowing that occurs when different cultures of approximately equal complexity and technological level come into close contact SyncretismThe blending traits from two different cultures to form a new trait.

7. What is the difference between folk culture and popular culture?Folk = traditionally practiced by small, homogeneous groups living in isolated rural areasPopular = found in large heterogeneous societies that are bonded by a common culture despite the many differences among the people that share it

8. What are examples or characteristics of folk culture?Controlled by traditionResistant to changeSelf-sufficientExample - AmishRelatively isolatedUsually agricultural with limited technologyEx. Dutch wearing wooden shoes to adapt to working in wet fields below sea levelEx. Hindu taboos against eating beefHousing styles - based on environment materials

9. What are the types of folk housing styles?New England Housing -Cape Cod, two Chimney, salt box, front gable or wing Mid Atlantic - "I" house; 3 stories in shape of "I" Chesapeake - tide water; front porch wraps around house

10. What is folk music? North American folk music began as immigrants carried their songs to the New World but became Americanized and then new songs about American experiencesRegionsNorthern song sectionSouthern and Appalachian song areaWestern song areaBlack Song Style Family

11. What is the environmental impact of folk culture?Misuse or overuse of the land Can lead to desertification and deforestation

12. What are characteristics and examples of popular culture?Primarily urban basedGeneral mass of people conforming to and then abandoning ever-changing cultural trends Breeds homogeneity (uniform landscape)Popular culture takes on a national characterGlobalization of popular culture has caused resentmentJeans Soccer

13. What is the environmental impact of popular culture?Uniform landscapes - fast food restaurants, chain hotels, gas stations, convenience stores; designed so residents and visitors immediately recognize purpose of building or name of companyIncreased demand for natural resources - fads demand animal skins; consumption of food not efficient to produce (ex. 1 lb beef requires animal consuming 10 lbs grain; ratio for chicken 1 to 3)Pollution - high volume of wastes

14. Cultural Landscape = Cultural IdentityLandscapes & values = Native Americans vs. EuropeansLandscapes & identity = people express culture by transforming elements into symbols like flags, slogans, religious icons, landscaping and house stylesCan clash like Muslim practice of never depicting Allah or Muhammad in drawings clashed with western freedom of press Symbolic landscapes = all landscapes are symbolic - signs and images convey messages

15. Language = key to culture=systematic means of communicating ideas and feelings through the use of signs, gestures, marks, or vocal soundsAlso allows for continuity of culture (cultural transmission)Writing invented 5000 years agoMost people illiterate until 20th century

16. LanguagesCurrently between 5000-6000 languages10 languages spoken by 100+ million people: Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, German, Mandarin and Wu Chinese, English, Hindi, Bengali, Arabic, and JapaneseLinguistic fragmentation = many languages spoken especially by a relatively small number of people; ex. Eastern Europe

17. Language Families- What is the largest language family?Languages usually grouped into families with a shared, fairly distant originIndo-European family - languages spoken by half the world’s people, Spanish most widely usedOther families = Afro-Asiatic, Niger-Congo, Dravidian, American Indian

18. What is language is the most spoken language in the world? What language family does it come from? - Mandarin – Sino-Tibetan What languages stem from the Latin based Romance languages? - French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanish What is the widely most used language in the Afro-Asiatic family? - Arabic

19. Key termsStandard languages - recognized by govt and intellectual elite as norm for use in schools, govt, media, & other aspects of public lifeOfficial languages - language endorsed & recognized by govt as one that everyone should know and useDialects - regional variants of a standard languageIsoglosses - boundaries within which words are spoken

20. Key termsBilingualism - ability to communicate in 2 languagesMultilingualism - ability to communicate in more than 2 languagesPidgin - amalgamation of languages that borrows words from severalCreole - when a pidgin becomes the first language of a group of speakersLingua franca - established language that comes to be spoken & understood over a large area through tradeToponymy - study of place names - “town”, “ton”, “burgh”, or “ville” = town

21. What are examples of extinct languages?Gothic, died out in 16th centurySome organizations try to preserve endangered languages like European Union’s Bureau of Lesser Used Languages; ex. Welsh in Wales, Quecha in Peru

22. ReligionVaries in its cultural influence Distinguished from other belief systems by emphasis on the sacred and divineExplains anything that surpasses the limits of human knowledgeAffected most societies in history but today has been replaced in some places by new ideasHumanism - ability of humans to guide their own livesMarxism - communism

23. What is the difference between universalizing and ethnic religions?Universalizing Religions = Christianity, Islam, Buddhism; 60% of world’s religionsEthnic Religions = appeal primarily to one group of people living in one place; 24% of world’s religions16% of world identifies with no religion

24. Divisions within religionBranches - large, basic divisions within religionDenominations - divisions of branches that unite local groups in a single administrative bodySects - relatively small groups that do not affiliate with the more mainstream denominations

25. Christianity2 billion followersMost widespread distributionPredominant religion in North & South America, Europe & Australia3 major branches:Roman Catholic - 50%Protestant - 25%Eastern Orthodox - 10%Remaining 15% cannot be categorized into the 3 main branches

26. Religion in the United StatesOver 50% Protestant25% Catholic2% JewishWhat about the Mormons?

27. Islam1.3 billion adherentsPredominant in Middle East from North Africa to Central AsiaAbout half of world’s Muslims live in Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and IndiaGrowing faster than Christianity7-10 million Muslims in USAYoungest of world religions

28. Divisions of IslamSunni - 83% of Muslims; Indonesia largest concentrationShiite - 16% of Muslims; concentrated in Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and YemenSplit occurred over the rightful successor of Muhammad

29. Buddhism365 million followersBegan on Indian subcontinentDiffused through Silk Road and water routes across Indian Ocean to East and Southeast Asia

30. 3 Main Branches of BuddhismMahayana - 56% - “Big Wheel” - East AsiaTheraveda - 38% - stricter adherence to Buddha’s teachings - Southeast AsiaTantrayana - 6% - Tibet and MongoliaAccurate count difficult because eastern religions don’t require followers to identify with one religion

31. Other Universalizing ReligionsSikhism - 21 million in Punjab region of India; combo Hinduism and Islam; founder Guru NanakBaha’i - founded in 1844, most in Iran, viewed by some Shiite Muslims as heretics, believe in a different prophet

32. Ethnic ReligionsHinduismConfucianismDaoismShintoismJudaismShamanism

33. Spatial Impact of ReligionLarge cities - tallest, most centralized & elaborate buildings are often religious structuresChurches, mosques, temples, synagogues, pagodasBodhi trees in Buddhist areasHow religions dispose of the dead

34. Unit III. Cultural Patterns and Processes, Part 1AcculturationAssimilationCultural adaptationCultural core/periphery patternCultural ecologyCultural identityCultural landscapeCultural realmCultureCulture region• Formal—core, periphery• Functional—node• Vernacular (perceptual)—regional self-awarenessDiffusion types• Expansion—hierarchical, contagious, stimulus• RelocationInnovation adoptionMaladaptive diffusion

35. Sequent occupanceAdaptive strategiesAnglo-American landscapeArchitectural formBuilt environmentFolk cultureFolk foodFolk houseFolk songsFolkloreMaterial cultureNonmaterial culturePopular cultureTraditional architectureCreoleDialectIndo-European languagesIsoglossLanguageLanguage familyLanguage groupLanguage subfamilyLingua francaLinguistic diversityMonolingual/multilingualOfficial languagePidginToponymyTrade language

36. Religion Animism Buddhism Cargo cult pilgrimage Christianity Confucianism Ethnic religion Exclave/enclave Fundamentalism Geomancy (feng shui) Hadj Hinduism Interfaith boundaries Islam Jainism Judaism Landscapes of the dead Monotheism/polytheism Mormonism Muslim pilgrimage Muslim population

37. Proselytic religion Reincarnation Religion (groups, places) Religious architectural styles Religious conflict Religious culture hearth Religious toponym Sacred space Secularism Shamanism Sharia law Shintoism Sikhism Sunni/Shia Taoism Theocracy Universalizing Zoroastrianism

38. Ethnicity Acculturation Adaptive strategy Assimilation Barrio Chain migration Cultural adaptation Cultural shatterbelt Ethnic cleansing Ethnic conflict Ethnic enclave Ethnic group Ethnic homeland Ethnic landscape Ethnic neighborhood Ethnicity Ethnocentrism Ghetto Plural society Race Segregation Social distance Gender Dowry death Enfranchisement Gender Gender gap Infanticide Longevity gap Maternal mortality rate