World Cultures Chapter 1

World cultures is the study of the connections between people and their environment Geography is the study of where people, places, and things are located and how they relate to each other

Five Themes of Geography Location Place Interaction between people and their environment Movement Region

Location – position on the Earth’s surface Relative location – describe position Absolute location – use latitude and longitude Latitude – distance north or south of the Equator Longitude – distance east or west of the Prime Meridian Prime Meridian – imaginary line that runs through Greenwich England Eastern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere

Place – physical and human characteristics Physical characteristics - landforms, climate, soil, animal life Human characteristics – peoples’ ways of life – activities, transportation, religion, language

Interaction between people and their environment people change the world around them Hidden cost pollution People must decide how to build their economies without harming the environment Adaptation People sometimes have to change due to the environment

Movement of people, goods, and ideas often occurs together Migration people moving from place to place looking for food, a better way of life, war, natural disasters, involuntarily Interdependence dependence of countries on goods, resources, and knowledge from other parts of the world

Region Unifying characteristics Physical characteristics Cultural characteristics Political characteristics Economic characteristics

Physical characteristics – landforms / climate Cultural characteristics – shared religion Political characteristics – nations Economic characteristics – developed, developing, Third World

Map projections ways of showing the curved Earth on a flat surface Interrupted projection Peters projection Robinson projectionMercator projection

Political map - show the borders that divide nations Physical map - show features - mountains lakes, rivers Natural resource map - shows the location of oil, coal, other important resources Climate map Vegetation map - show the plant life of a place or region

Elements of culture Social organization Customs and traditions Language Arts and literature Religion Forms of government Economic systems Culture all things that make up a people’s entire way of life

Social Organization Organizing members into smaller groups Family is the most important unit of social organization Person with authority varies from one culture to another Family patterns Nuclear family – typical in industrialized societies Extended family – common in many societies Social classes Ranks people in order of status Bases on factor a culture values highly In the past, a person born into a class, stayed in the class for life

Customs and Traditions Rules of behavior Minor rules of everyday behavior are enforced by social pressure Rules concerning what is right and wrong are enforced more strictly often are part of a culture’s written laws Language Cornerstone of culture All cultures have language, not all cultures have forms of writing Giving up a language can be the first step in losing a culture Arts and Literature Teaches about cultural values

Religion supports the values that the people consider important Monotheism – the worship of one god Polytheism – the worship of more than one god Major religions Hinduism Buddhism Judaism Christianity Islam

Government Provides for common needs Keeps order within society Protects the society from outside threats Types of Government Democracy – people have supreme power, the government may act on by and with consent of the people Republic – the people choose the leaders who represent them Dictatorship – the ruler or group holds power through force

Economic Systems How people use limited resources to satisfy their wants and needs. Answer 3 questions -what goods and services should we produce -how should we produce them -for whom to produce them

Traditional economy People produce more of what they need to survive Hunting and gathering, farming, herding cattle If more goods are produced, they are traded for other goods Market economy Businesses and industries produce and sell good for money People earn money by working for others or for themselves

Command economy Government controls all aspects of production People have little economic power Mixed economy Most nations Individuals and government each make some decisions Features of the market and command economy

Causes of Cultural Change Technology skills and tools people use Changing environment adapt to changes in environment New ideas alteration of actions Diffusion the movement of customs or ideas from one place to another

Tradition and Change In the past culture changed slowly New technology has rapidly increased change Contact among different cultures have increased Benefits of improved communication and transportation Medical care, increased trade Down side of new technology Rapid changes threaten the foundations of many cultures Subculture – a group of people within a society who share certain beliefs, values, and customs

Understanding Other Cultures Most people prefer their own culture Our customs feel so natural we think they are the way things should be Ethnocentrism – judge other cultures by the standards of their own culture A form of ethnocentrism is racism Racism – the belief that one racial group is naturally superior to another Racism most often results when groups of people compete for food, land, money, and social power. The group that wins the struggle uses racist ideas as an excuse for domination of another group