Unit 3

Unit 3: Culture

Culture: Cultural Patterns and Process (13 -17% or 10 - 13 questions on the AP Exam)

Understanding the components and regional variations of cultural patterns and processes is critical to human geography. Students begin with the concepts of culture and cultural traits and learn how geographers assess the spatial and place dimensions of cultural groups as defined by language, religion, ethnicity, and gender, in the present as well as the past.

The course explores cultural interaction at various scales, along with the adaptations, changes, and conflicts that may result. The geographies of language, religion, ethnicity, and gender are studied to identify and analyze patterns and processes of cultural differences. Students learn to distinguish between languages and dialects, ethnic religions and universalizing religions, and folk and popular cultures, as well as between ethnic political movements. These distinctions help students understand the forces that affect the geographic patterns of each cultural characteristic.

Another important emphasis of the course is the way culture shapes relationships between humans and the environment. Students learn how culture is expressed in landscapes and how land use, in turn, represents cultural identity. Built environments enable the geographer to interpret cultural values, tastes, symbolism, and beliefs. For instance, when analyzing Amish communities in the Western Hemisphere, it is important to understand how their unique values and practices (e.g., lack of power lines to buildings and the use of preindustrial forms of transportation) influence the cultural landscape.

Unit 3 - Cultural Patterns and Processes ---

Topic 3.1 – Introduction to Culture

Cultural practices vary across geographical locations because of physical geography and available resources.

Define the characteristics, attitudes and traits that influence geographers when they study culture.

3.A.1 – Culture comprises the shared

· Practices transmitted by a society

· Technologies transmitted by a society

· Attitudes transmitted by a society

· Behaviors transmitted by a society

3.A.2 – Cultural traits include such things as:

· food preferences

· architecture

· land use

3.A.3 – Cultural relativism and ethnocentrism are different attitudes towards cultural difference.

Unit 3 - Cultural Patterns and Processes ---

Topic 3.2 – Cultural Landscapes

Describe the characteristics of cultural landscapes.

3.B.1 – Cultural landscapes are combinations of:

· physical features

· agricultural and industrial practices

· religious and linguistic characteristics

· evidence of sequent occupancy

and other expressions of culture including:

· traditional architecture

· post-modern architecture

· land-use patterns

Explain how landscape features and land and resource use reflect cultural beliefs and identities.

3.B.2 – Attitudes towards ethnicity and gender, including:

· the role of women in the workforce help shape the use of space in a given society.

· ethnic neighborhoods help shape the use of space in a given society.

· indigenous communities and lands help shape the use of space in a given society.

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Topic 3.3 – Cultural Patterns

Explain patterns and landscapes of language, religion, ethnicity and gender.

3.D.1 – Regional patterns of language, religion and ethnicity contribute to

· a sense of place

· enhance placemaking

· shape the global cultural landscape

3.D.2 – Language ethnicity and religion are factors in creating centripetal and centrifugal forces.

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Topic 3.4 – Types of Diffusion

The interaction of people contributes to the spread of cultural practices.

Define the types of diffusion.

3.A.1 – Relocation and expansion – including:

· contagious are types of diffusion.

· Hierarchical are types of diffusion.

· stimulus expansion are types of diffusion.

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Topic 3.5 – Historical Causes of Diffusion

Cultural ideas, practices and innovations change or disappear over time.

Explain how historical processes impact current cultural patterns.

3.A.1 – Interactions between and among cultural traits and larger global forces can lead to new forms of cultural expression; for example:

· creolization

· lingua franca

3.A.2 – Colonialism, imperialism and trade helped to shape patterns and practices of culture.

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Topic 3.6 – Contemporary Causes of Diffusion

3.A.3 – Cultural ideas and practices are socially constructed and change through both small-scale and large-scale processes such as urbanization and globalization. These processes come to bear on culture through:

· media

· technological change

· politics

· economics

· social relationships

3.A.4 – Communication technologies, such as the internet and time-space convergence are:

· reshaping and accelerating interactions among people

· changing cultural practices, as in the increasing use of English and the loss of indigenous languages

· creating cultural convergence and divergence

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Topic 3.7 – Diffusion of Religion and Language

The interaction of people contributes to the spread of cultural practices.

Explain what factors lead to the diffusion of universalizing and ethnic religions.

3.B.1 –

· language families diffuse from cultural hearths.

· Languages diffuse from cultural hearths.

· Dialects diffuse from cultural hearths.

· world religions diffuse from cultural hearths.

· ethnic cultures diffuse from cultural hearths.

· gender roles diffuse from cultural hearths.

3.B.2 – Diffusion of language families, including Indo-European and religious patterns and distributions can be visually represented:

· on maps and in other representations.

· in charts and in other representations.

· in toponyms and in other representations.

3.B.3 – Religions have distinct places of origin from which they diffused to other locations through different processes. Practices and belief systems impacted how widespread the religion diffused.

3.B.4 – Universalizing religions, including:

· Christianity are spread through expansion and relocation diffusion.

· Islam are spread through expansion and relocation diffusion.

· Buddhism are spread through expansion and relocation diffusion.

· Sikhism are spread through expansion and relocation diffusion.

3.B.5 – Ethnic religions including:

· Hinduism are generally found hear the hearth or spread through relocation diffusion.

· Judaism are generally found hear the hearth or spread through relocation diffusion.

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Topic 3.8 – Effects of Diffusion

Cultural ideas, practices and innovations change or disappear over time.

Explain how the process of diffusion results in changes to the cultural landscape.

3.B.1 –

· Acculturation are effects of the diffusion of culture.

· Assimilation are effects of the diffusion of culture.

· Syncretism are effects of the diffusion of culture.

· Multiculturalism are effects of the diffusion of culture.