Unit 3 Cultural Patterns and Processes

culture shared practices, technologies, attitudes, and behaviors transmitted by the members of a society that are not the result of
biological inheritance (socially constructed)

ethnicity a group of people who share a common cultural identity

-Hispanic
-German
-Italian
-Hmong
-Japanese

race: historical classification that is used to categorize human populations with shared physical traits (not culture)
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
- Black or African American
- White
- Asian

culture trait a single attribute of a culture, such as food preferences, architecture, and land use

attitudes toward ethnocentrism: judging another culture based on the values of one’s own culture (language, religion, customs)
cultural difference
cultural relativism: the idea that a person’s beliefs, values, and practices should be understood based on that person’s own
culture, rather than be judged against the criteria of another

cultural landscape the combination of physical features, agricultural and industrial practices, religious and linguistic characteristics, sequent
occupancy, traditional and postmodern architecture, and land use patterns

sequent occupance: the combined imprint on an area when it has been inhabited by a succession of cultures
e.g. buildings, transportation systems, farms, irrigation, recreation facilities

attitudes toward indigenous communities: the original settlers of an area (pre-invasion/colonialism) who have retained their culture apart from
ethnicity and gender the colonizers
shape the use of e.g. Native Americans, First Nations, Aborigines
space in a society
ethnic neighborhood: an area within a city occupied by a distinctive minority culture
e.g. Little Italy in NYC

gender: social and cultural differences between males and females (not biological differences)
 gender role: learned behaviors that are deemed appropriate to gender as determined by cultural norms
role of women in workforce: women engaged in paid work outside the home has increased substantially over 2nd half of the
20th century

gendered spaces: areas in which gender expression is either welcome or unwelcome

e.g. Muslim society: public space (employment, politics) belongs to men and private space (home) belongs to women
e.g. U.S. society: public restrooms divided by gender

patterns of language, sense of place: term used to connote attachment to and comfort in a particular place with a strong identity that is deeply felt
religion, and ethnicity by inhabitants
shape the cultural
landscape strong sense of place: sense of place that is felt by visitors as well as inhabitants
e.g. Amish country, Little Italy

place making: how a culture makes a place fit their identity by shaping the landscape to show what they believe and value
(buildings, statues, sacred sites, etc.)

language, religion, centripetal forces: forces that unite a country

and ethnicity are
forces that can unite centrifugal forces: forces that divide a country
or divide a country

spread of culture cultural diffusion: the spread of an idea, innovation, cultural trend, or disease from its source area to other areas

relocation diffusion: type of cultural diffusion when an innovation or idea spreads by the actual movement of individuals
who have adopted the idea and carry it to a new place
e.g. the spread of Christianity to the New World
e.g. the spread of Spanish and English to the New World

expansion diffusion: type of cultural diffusion when an innovation or idea develops in a source area and remains strong there
while also spreading outward the innovation or idea moves through fixed populations (wave-like)

3 types:
contagious diffusion: type of expansion diffusion where nearly all individuals are affected as it spreads outward
e.g. spread of Islam

hierarchical diffusion: type of expansion diffusion when particular groups are affected as it leapfrogs over areas
e.g. FAX machines, AIDS
 stimulus diffusion: type of expansion diffusion where a small portion of the population adopts an idea or modifies it
e.g. vegetable “burgers” in India
culture changes Lingua Franca: a language mutually understood by people who speak different languages, usually for the purpose of trade
and/or disappears e.g. English as language of international business
over time e.g. Swahili as language of trade in East Africa
through interactions e.g. Arabic as language of trade in Southwest Asia
between groups
creolization: the blending of European, Amerindian, and African cultures in the New World as a result of colonialism to
create something new
e.g. Haitian Creole language in the Caribbean
e.g. Santeria religion in the Caribbean
historical processes colonialism: the policy of acquiring control over another country, occupying it with settlers and exploiting it economically
impact current
cultural patterns e.g. English pilgrims landing in America
e.g. Spanish conquistadors landing in America

cultural imperialism: dominance of one culture over another, historically, often occurred as a result of colonization
e.g. Spanish and English cultures imposed on the Native People in the Americas
e.g. occurs in present day as pop culture, which is easily diffused and causes local traditions to become commercialized

trade: people move from place to place around the world as they trade and come into contact with new ideas and cultural
practices

culture is socially culture is socially constructed: the practices and beliefs (culture) that appear to be natural and obvious to people who
constructed and accept
change through both it, but are actually learned behaviors
small scale and large e.g. race is not biological, but an agreed upon set of ideas about how humans are differentiated
scale processes
culture change: occurs through media, technological change, politics, economics, and social relationships

globalization: the process of increased interconnectedness among countries most notably in the areas of
economics,
politics, and culture

urbanization: refers to the movement of people to towns/cities and the resulting expansion of the rural countryside
to absorb increase in people

communication time-space convergence: increasing connectivity between cultures that occurs as a result of communication technology
technologies are e.g. internet
accelerating
interactions and cultural convergence: cultures become more alike as their interactions increase
e.g. increasing use of English
changing cultural
practices
cultural divergence: the tendency for culture groups to disassociate from others in order to protect or preserve their culture
from influence or change
e.g. Amish, Hutterite, Mennonite, Inuit

local culture (folk culture): culture traits of usually small, traditional,

homogenous, rural communities
e.g. Amish, Hutterite, Mennonite, Inuit
 loss of indigenous languages: consequence of colonialism and policies of assimilation

culture (language, culture hearth the source of civilization: place where a civilization
religion, gender roles) began and their ideas and practices spread to surrounding areas
spread from culture
hearths civilization: a society with an advanced state of social development
possessing recordkeeping (writing), advanced cities (urbanization),
technology, specialized workers, complex institutions (government, religion)

language: method of communication (spoken/written)

language family: a group of languages with a shared but fairly distant origin

dialect: variant of a standard language along regional or ethnic lines

e.g. differences in vocabulary, syntax, pronunciation, cadence, and pace

world religions: belief systems that originated in a hearth and diffused

Christianity (2.1 billion)
Islam (1.3 billion)
Nonreligious (1.1 billion)
Hinduism (900 million)
Chinese traditional religion (394 million)
Buddhism 376 million.
Animism - indigenous (300 million)
African traditional (100 million)
Sikhism (23 million)
Judaism (14 million)

ethnic cultures: members share cultural heritage, ancestry, origin myth, history, homeland, language/dialect, symbolic
systems (religion/mythology), rituals, cuisine, dressing styles, art, or physical appearance
e.g. Greek, Spanish, Italian

diffusion of language, diffusion of language, religion and ethnic cultures: trade, migration, invasion, conflicts, conquests, missions, and the spread
religion, ethnic of agriculture
cultures can be Indo-European language family: family of languages believed to all come
represented on maps, from a single language (Proto-Indo-European) that spread outward
charts, and toponyms
Conquest Theory: theorizes that the source of the Indo-European language
lay somewhere in the steppes of present-day Ukraine and Russia more than
5000 years ago and spread by conquerors on horseback who moved westward

Agriculture Theory: theorizes that the source of the Indo-European language

lay somewhere in the mountainous terrain of Anatolia in modern Turkey
between 7000 and 9000 years ago and spread with the diffusion of agriculture

diffusion of religion:

toponym: place-names that can uncover historical information about a place and its origins, such as the language of the
original inhabitants and succeeding settlement history and population dispersal
e.g. Osceola County, Florida
religions have distinct hearths of religions
places of origin from
which they diffused culture hearths of the World’s Major Religions
Hinduism: South Asia
Buddhism: South Asia geographic distribution of the World’s Major Religions
Sikhism: South Asia Hinduism: Indian subcontinent
Islam: Southwest Asia Islam: Southwest Asia, Northern Africa, and parts of Southeast Asia
Christianity: Southwest Asia Christianity: Australia, Europe, North America, Central and South America
Judaism: Southwest Asia Buddhism: Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia
Judaism: North America (U.S.), Southwest Asia (Israel), Europe, Russia

universalizingIsla universalizing religion religions that actively seek converts because they view themselves as offering belief systems of
m
religions spread universal applicability and appeal
through relocation
and expansion Buddhism:
diffusion - founded by Siddhartha Gautama in northern India with roots in Hinduism (reincarnation)
- lost its following in India, becoming the most widespread religion in East Asia
- spread by relocation diffusion to East Asia
- spread by expansion diffusion in China, Korea, Thailand, Burma, Japan

Christianity:
- religion with roots in Judaism, founded in Southwest Asia and based on the
Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as told in the New Testament
- spread by both relocation and expansion diffusion throughout the world
- location of three major branches of Christianity:
Roman Catholicism: branch of Christianity prominent in Europe,
N. America, S. America, Central America
Protestantism: branch of Christianity prominent in North America and England
Eastern Orthodox: branch of Christianity prominent in
Eastern Europe and Russia

Islam:
- religion with roots in Judaism, founded in Southwest Asia and based on the
belief that there is one god, Allah, and that Muhammad was Allah’s prophet
- spread by expansion diffusion in Southwest Asia and Africa and by relocation
diffusion to Southeast Asia, Europe, and the U.S.
- location of two major branches of Islam
Sunni: largest branch prominent throughout Southwest Asia and North Africa
Shiite (Shia): second largest branch found mostly in Iran and parts of Iraq
Sikhism:
- religion with roots in both Islam (Muhammad as a prophet) and
Hinduism (reincarnation), founded in Northern India and based on the
teachings of Guru Nanak
- spread by expansion diffusion throughout India and by relocation diffusion
to Southeast Asia, Europe and North America
- spread through expansion diffusion in the Middle East and relocation North Africa,
as well as Europe, S.E. Asia, and U.S.

ethnic religions are ethnic religion: religions that do not actively seek converts and are generally found near the hearth or spread through
generally found near relocation diffusion
the hearth or spread
through relocation
diffusion Hinduism:
- oldest major religion founded in India that cannot be traced
to one founder and is a collection of religious beliefs that is strongly
connected to Hindu culture and is based on the belief in reincarnation
- spread by expansion diffusion throughout India
- spread by relocation diffusion to Southeast Asia, South Africa,
North America and South America

Judaism:
- religion founded by Abraham in Southwest Asia that is believed by
many to be the first monotheistic religion dedicated to serving one god (God)
- spread by relocation diffusion as a result of the Diaspora: the scattering of
Jews from their homeland by the Romans
- many Jews relocated back to Southwest Asia following WWII and the
creation of Israel

animism:
- probably human’s oldest religion, pre-dating civilization and centered on
the belief that inanimate objects, such as mountains, rivers, and trees
possess spirits and should be revered
- found among Native Americans in North and South America, and among
traditional Africans as well as other indigenous groups around the world

effects of diffusion of assimilation: process in which members of one cultural group adopt the beliefs and behaviors of another group, but
culture still retain some original uniqueness; often occurs as a result of colonization or immigration
e.g. Native Americans forced to learn English language
e.g. Chinese immigrant relocates and learns English language

acculturation: process by which a person or persons acquire the social and psychological characteristics of a group and
cannot be distinguished from anyone else
e.g. European immigrants in America

multiculturalism maintaining a diversity of ethnic cultures within a community that are valued and respected for their unique
differences
e.g. New York City

syncretism: development of a new cultural trait as a result of the blending of two distinct but interacting cultures
e.g. “Americanized” Chinese food, “Americanized Mexican food
placelessness: loss of distinct local features (uniqueness) in favor of standardized landscapes which happens as a result of
pervasiveness of pop culture and mass production and availability of a wide variety of consumables
e.g. strip malls

pop culture: culture traits of large, heterogeneous, urban populations (usually rapidly changing)

interfaith boundaries: conflict between the world’s major faiths

e.g. Islam and Judaism in Israel
e.g. Hinduism and Buddhism in Sri Lanka
e.g. Christians and Muslims in Sudan

intrafaith boundaries: conflict within a single major faith, such as the different denominations of Christianity or the two
branches of Islam
e.g. Catholics/Protestants in Northern Ireland
e.g. Sunni/Shia in Iraq

sacred sites (spaces): areas/places of religious/spiritual significance, including cathedrals, mosques, temples, and cemeteries
e.g. Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem
e.g. Western Wall in Jerusalem