Download Do Now

Do Now
What elements of American
culture unite us as a nation?
Write this in paragraph form
and justify your answer
Cultural
Geography
• To understand human
geography, culture is a key to
that understanding
• Culture includes all the features
of a people’s way of life
• It can be learned or passed
down through generations
• Important parts of culture
include: language, religion,
architecture, clothing,
economics, family life, food,
and government
Culture Traits
• Activities and behaviors
• Learning to read and do math are common
around the world
• Vary from place to place
What are Culture Traits??
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Food and shelter
Religion
Relationships to family and others
Language
Education
Security/protection
Political and social organization
Creative Expression through arts, clothing, etc..
Architecture
How to Eat?!??!
• Americans- use fork, spoon, knife
• Chinese-use chopsticks
• Ethiopians- Use their fingers
• All correct according to location!!!
• Culture traits can be linked
• USA and Canada- the Amish lead a simple life
away from a modern society
– Do not use cars, electricity, and telephones
– Do not use modern farm technology like tractors
Culture Regions
• Many different regions in the world and have
their own way of life
• Includes the way they use their land,
resources they depend on, religions they
practice, settlement patterns, role of women,
and government
• Area with shared culture traits is
called a culture region
– This can be an individual country where
there is one dominant culture like Japan
– Countries can include multiple culture
regions like Africa where there are many
ethnic groups
• Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa
• Country borders can divide culture
regions and separate members of one
ethnic group
– Kurds are one ethnic group but the
borders of Turkey, Iran, and Iraq divide
them
• Culture regions can also be made up
of several countries
– Australia and New Zealand
Culture Change
• Traits change through time… Example:
clothing
• Can be more complex than clothing though
– Shopping in U.S. in cities
1900s
2000s
1800s
• Migration, war, and trade have
caused culture to change- new
ways of life
– Example: Spain colonized the
Americas, brought over horses,
Indians then acquired them
• When an individual or group
adopts some of the traits of
another culture it is called
acculturation
– Immigrants to the United States
– Learn new language and adopt a
new way of life
• Assimilation- adopts culture
completely
Innovation and Diffusion
• Two concepts to understand how culture changes
• Innovation- new ideas that a culture accepts
– Some ideas last longer than others…. Baseball
• Diffusion- Idea or innovation spreads from one
person to another…. Jazz
• 3 Types of Diffusion
– Expansion-spreads throughout a society
– Relocation-When people move to new places
– Hierarchical- From places of greater size to smaller size
Globalization
• Communications networks deliver information
constantly around the world
• Helps to spread culture traits quickly
• Globalization- connections around the world
increase and cultures become more alike
• Cultural convergence- different cultures blending
– Name brand soft drinks or fast food- Coke &
McDonalds
– Mexican food in the United States
Traditionalism
• Following long time practices and opposing
many modern technologies and ideas
• Fundamentalism- movement in which people
believe in strictly following certain established
principles
• Contributes to cultural divergence- cultures
becoming separate
Culture Trait Comparison
• Create a chart to show
the similarities and/or
differences of the two
countries
– You will be assigned the
countries
• Include the website you
retrieve your
information from in
each box. Be sure to
write in your own
words
Country 1
Language
Religion
Political and
Social
Organization
Food and Shelter
Creative
Expression
Architecture
Education
Relationships to
family and others
Country
2