CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY

CULTURE: Definition & Hearth Culture: body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that together constitute the distinct tradition or lifestyle of a group of people or society. Culture originates at the “hearth” or center of innovation of a certain place.

Material vs. Non-Material Culture There are basically two types of detectable culture: material and non-material. Non-material culture: set of customary ideas, beliefs, and values of a group of people in a particular place. Especially important, cultural values derive from a group’s language, religion, and ethnicity (a set of non-material cultural traits, such as language, religion, customs). Material culture: the production of material wealth that humans need in order to survive and thrive: food, clothing, and shelter. People may possess more or less material goods depending on the part of the world they live in. Geographers usually divide the world into regions of developed countries and regions of developing countries. People in developed countries tend to possess more material goods and wealth than those in developing ones. This is due to the fact that the economies in developed countries are stronger and more stable.

Material vs. Non-Material Culture

Folk vs. Popular Culture Folk culture: practiced primarily by small, homogeneous groups living in isolated rural areas. It could be material and non-material. Anonymous hearths, anonymous sources, unknown dates. Places dominated by folk culture change relatively little over time. Popular culture: found in large, heterogeneous societies that share certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics. (Material & non-material too). Most often a product of developed countries, especially in N. America and Europe. Typically traceable to a specific person or corporation in a particular place and arises from a combination of advances in industrial technology and increased leisure time (i.e., iPods, T-shirts, music genre, pizza, etc.). Popular culture is based on rapid simultaneous global connections through communications systems, transportations networks, and other modern technology. Rapid diffusion facilitates frequent changes in popular culture. Thus, folk culture is more likely to vary from place to place at a given time, whereas popular culture is more likely to vary from time to time at a given place.

Folk vs. Popular Culture

Ethnicity vs. Race Race can be defined as the physical traits that a group of human beings have in common, such as skin, hair, and eyes color; height, facial traits, complexion, etc. Ethnicity encompasses a group’s cultural traits only. Race is not a factor that could determine ethnicity or culture, but it’s not uncommon for a group of people of the same race to share the same culture. Racism exists when certain groups of people of a common race hold the (erroneous) belief that their race is superior to others. Ethnocentrism exists when groups of people of a common culture or ethnicity hold the (erroneous) belief that their culture is superior to others.

Ethnicity vs. Race NORTH AMERICAN ETHNIC (WHITE RACE) RUSSIAN ETHNIC

Cultural Assimilation vs. Acculturation Assimilation: occurs when a person from a certain culture becomes surrounded by a different culture for quite some time and s/he decides to forget the original culture and adopt the new culture completely. In most cases these kinds of situations usually happen because the person acquiring the new culture has been forced to drop their original culture in favor of the new one—under the premises that the new culture is “better” or more “valuable” than the original one. Acculturation: occurs when people of a certain ethnic group, which has been instilled a certain original culture, begins to acquire a different culture due to relocation into a different place—typically, another country. However, they still manage to keep their original culture to some degree. In some cases people attempt to mix the two cultures forming a new and different culture altogether—or else, a sub-culture is created.

Cultural Assimilation vs. Acculturation

Cultural Diffusion Cultural diffusion occurs when a group of people that share the same culture begin to acquire a different one by being exposed to various media outlets, such as TV, movies, radio, newspapers, books, internet, twitter, etc. Compared to popular culture, folk culture is transmitted from one location to another more slowly and on a smaller scale, primarily through relocation diffusion (migration). The spread of popular culture, such as popular music, typically occurs rapidly and extensively with the help of modern communications.

Cultural Diffusion

Cultural Diffusion: Soccer

Simple vs. Complex Culture Simple Culture: occurs in places where little technological advancement is present, for example, in farming villages, fishing towns, etc. In cases where simple culture is more prevalent, a higher amount of the original folk culture can be seen—and less popular culture is present. Complex Culture: develops in more advanced countries or cities where technology usually plays a big role. In these cases, not a lot of the folk culture may remain.

Simple vs. Complex Culture

Cultural Universals Cultural universals are elements, patterns, traits, or institutions that are common to all human cultures, regardless of historical moment, geography, or cultural origin. Some of the cultural universals may include figurative speech, color terms, tabooed utterances, kin groups, gender roles, rites of passage, incest prevention or avoidance, and tool making, among others.

Cultural Relativism Cultural relativism is the view that all beliefs, customs, and ethics are relative to the individual within his own social context. In other words, “right” and “wrong” are culture-specific; what is considered moral in one society may be considered immoral in another, and, since no universal standard of morality exists, no one has the right to judge another society’s customs.

Nationalism vs. Globalization Nationalism: strong sentiments of pride and loyalty toward one’s country of origin along with its original cultural and ethnic values. Exaggerated nationalist sentiments might cause national and/or international conflicts, as it is the case with many revolts, revolutions, or even civil wars. Globalization is the phenomenon of contact and exchange among diverse cultures and ethnic groups throughout the world. It takes place in the cultural, economic, and political arenas. In some countries these days, globalization tends to replace the notion of nationalism, especially among the young.

Nationalism vs. Globalization

Family Structures A family is the most basic type of social structure within a group of organized people or society. Most societies in the world are organized into families. There are different types of families: Nuclear: a typical family where parents share the same space with their children (regardless of size). Extended: a family comprised of parents and their children but with added relatives (usually grandparents). Fragmented: a nuclear family that was broken due to the absence of one of the parents—either temporarily or permanently. Matriarchal: a family dominated by the mother or grandmother. Patriarchal: a family dominated by the father or grandfather. Egalitarian: a family where both the mother and the father rule on equal terms. Monogamy: having a single spouse (wife). Polygamy: having more than one spouse (wife).

Family Structures