Culture Notes

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Culture Notes
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• I. What is Culture - all the features of a
  peoples way of life.
• 1. Culture Trait- activities and behaviors used
  by people.
• 2. Culture Region- an area where people have
  similar traits.
• 3. Ethnic Group- human population which shares
  ancestry and culture traits.

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A. What causes changes in populations?
Migration, war, trade
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Acculturation

• individual or group adopts some traits to that is
  from another culture.

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Innovation

• new ideas a cultures accepts. (tattoos, boys
  with earrings, baggy clothes, showing mid-drifts)

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Diffusion

• ideas or innovations spread from one person to
  another and are adopted.

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Globalization

• the process in which connections around the world
  increase and cultures merge. (internet)

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Traditionalism

• Cultures which follow longtime historical
  practices or ways of life and who sometimes
  oppose many modern innovations.

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II. World Language and World Religion

• A. Language
• 1. Dialect- regional variety of language. Ex)
  Texas- yall vs. New York-Yous Guys

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• 2. Major vs. Minor- almost every country in the
  world has a major language and many minor
  languages due to migration and globalization.

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B. Religion

• 1. Ethnic Religion- focuses on one ethnic
  group and generally spreads into culture, Ex)
  Judiasm, Islam

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Animist Religion

• people who believe in the presence of the spirits
  and the forces of nature. Ex Voodoo

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Polytheism

• belief in many gods

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Monotheism

• belief in one god

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III. Government

• Autocracy gov.t run by a single person who
  has unlimited powers
• EX Totalitarianism - Absolute Power

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• Absolute Monarchy- King or Queen with absolute
  power

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• Constitutional Monarchy- King or Queen who rules
  absolutely but must abide to a constitution.

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• Oligarchy- Government run by a few powerful people

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• Democracy- Government run by the people, either
  directly or through elected officials or
  representatives.

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• Direct Democracy- citizens participated directly
  in the decision making process.
• Representative Democracy- voters elect officials
  to make decisions in their interests.
• Republic- political order in which the power lies
  with the citizens who vote representatives to be
  responsible for some of the decision making
  process. Ex United States

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• Communism- economic and political system in which
  the government controls and owns all the means of
  production.
• Ex) North Korea

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• Socialism- free enterprise system of economy in
  which the government owns and controls some means
  of production.
• Ex) Canada

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IV. Types of Economies

• A. Market Economy- economy which the people
  freely choose what to buy and sell.
• Free Enterprise - system which lets competition
  among businesses determine the price of the
  product.
• Capitalism- business, industry, and resources
  are privately owned.

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• B. Command Economy- the government decided what
  to produce, where to make it, and what price to
  charge.
• C. Traditional or Subsistence Economy- people
  who make goods

for themselves and sell whatever they have left
over
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• D. Four Types of Economic Activities
• 1. Primary Activity-economic activities that
  use natural resources directly.
• Ex farming, fishing, forestry, herding, mining

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• 2. Secondary Activity- use of raw materials to
  produce or manufacture something new.
• Ex) steel making, wheat into flour, lumber into
  plywood

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• 3. Tertiary Activity- provides a service to
  people or businesses.
• Ex) teacher, dry cleaners, grocers

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• 4. Quaternary Activity- requires workers to have
  a specialized skill or training,
• Ex) doctor, scientist, engineer

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V. Measures of a Developed Country

• A. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)- total value of
  goods and services which were created or built
  within a country in one year.
• B. Gross National Product (GNP)- the total
  value of goods and services which a country
  produces each year.
• C. Industrialization- process by which
  manufacturing based on machine power becomes
  widespread in an area.

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• D. Literacy Rates- the percentage of people who
  can read and write in a country,
• E. Standards of Living- per capita, education
  levels, food consumption vs. food production,
  population, and population predictions.

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VI. Developed Vs. Developing Countries
(formerly called 3rd World Country)

• A. Developed Country- richest countries in the
  world, which have high levels of
  industrialization, standard of livings, GDP, and
  GNP. Less than 25 of the worlds populations
  live in these countries. They have a lot of
  infrastructure- all systems of transportation
  including, roads, ports, highways,
• EX USA, countries of Western Europe, Canada,
  Japan, Australia

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• B. Developing Country- worlds poorest countries.
  Usually are less productive and have low
  standards of living, literacy rates, GDP, and
  GNP. Most of the worlds populations live in
  these countries. These countries usually
  experience government corruption, high birth
  rates, high infant mortality rates, high death
  rates.
• Ex Countries of Africa, Asia, Central and South
  America,the Pacific Islands

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• C. Mid Income Country- Countries who have
  features of both developed and developing
  countries. Usually have modern urban areas but
  poor rural areas,
• Ex) Mexico, Thailand, Brazil, Malaysia

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VII. Urban vs. Rural

• A. Historically
• 1. Hunter-Gatherers-nomadic people who hunted
  animals and gathered berries in order to survive.

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• 2. Domestication- the process in which people
  tame animals

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• 3. Urbanization- the growth of people moving
  from rural areas to live in urban areas.

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• B. Shifting Cultivation- farmers clear trees or
  brush for planting fields which are farmed for a
  few years, until the soil is depleted of its
  nutrients, and then abandoned.

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• C. Subsistence Agriculture- farmers grow only
  enough for their own needs.

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• D. World Cities- most important centers of
  economic power and wealth. Ex) NYC, Tokyo, London

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VIII. Political Geography

• A. Three Types of Political Boundaries 1.
  Natural Boundary-boundaries that follow a feature
  of the landscape. (mountains, rivers, deserts)

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• 2. Cultural Boundary- borders that are based on
  cultural traits. Ex) religion or tribal borders

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• 3. Geometric Boundary- borders that are usually
  follow a straight line without regard to the
  environment. Ex) US and Canadian border which
  lies on the 49th parallel and splits rivers,
  lakes, and mountains.

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• B. Political Conflicts
• 1. Nationalism- feelings of pride and loyalty
  for ones own country

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• 2. Terrorism- the use of fear and violence as a
  political force.

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• C. Political Cooperation
• 1. United Nations- representatives from almost
  every county in the world discuss international
  issues and voice concerns. goal- prevent war

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• 2. World Trade Organization- works to make
  trade between countries fair and organized.