AP Human Geography - Unit 3 (Culture)

Culture Overview

• Culture encompasses knowledge, attitudes, and habitual behaviors shared by a society.
• Folk culture represents traditional customs and practices of small, often rural communities.
• Popular culture is characterized by modern, urban lifestyles influenced heavily by media and trends.
• Local culture refers to groups that see themselves as a community preserving unique customs and experiences.

Types of Culture

• Material culture includes tangible items like art, clothing, and housing.
• Nonmaterial culture involves intangible aspects such as beliefs, values, and practices.
• Cultural appropriation occurs when one culture adopts elements of another for its gain or benefit.
• Neolocalism is a response to modernity, emphasizing the revival of regional cultures.

Cultural Diffusion

• Hierarchical diffusion spreads innovations through connected places or individuals.
• A hearth is the origin point for cultural traits and innovations.
• Distance decay describes the diminishing interaction and influence as distance increases.
• Time-space compression reflects the changes in social and psychological relationships due to increased connectivity.

Cultural Landscapes and Identity

• Cultural landscapes are the visual representations of human activity and culture.
• Placelessness indicates a loss of distinctiveness in places, resulting in sameness across locations.
• Ethnic neighborhoods allow local cultures to practice their customs within larger urban areas.

Social Constructs and Segregation

• Residential segregation illustrates the separation of different groups within urban environments.
• Gender roles explore social differences between men and women, affecting identity and space.
• Sense of place connects emotions and meanings derived from significant events in geographical locations.

Language and Communication

• Language serves as a critical communication tool, including dialects and standard variations.
• Mutual intelligibility allows speakers of different languages or dialects to understand each other.
• Language divergence leads to new languages formed through isolation and lack of interaction.

Linguistic Theories

• The Renfrew hypothesis links language families to agricultural hearths, notably the Fertile Crescent.
• Conquest theory proposes that early Indo-European speakers spread by overpowering other populations.
• Dispersal hypothesis suggests movement of languages from the original hearth to spread further away.

Religions and Beliefs

• Religion organizes life around culturally perceived ultimate priorities through systems of beliefs and practices.
• Secularism advocates for ethical standards based on earthly considerations rather than religious influences.
• Major faiths include Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant branches of Christianity, as well as Sunni and Shiite Islam.

Sacred Spaces and Practices

• Sacred sites are imbued with religious meaning, while minarets serve as calls to prayer in Islamic architecture.
• The Hajj pilgrimage is a key Islamic practice, symbolizing devotion to faith.
• Interfaith and intrafaith boundaries define separations between and within major religions.

Religious Extremism and Laws

• Religious extremism can lead to violence driven by fundamentalist beliefs.
• Shari'a law is interpretative Islamic law guiding social and moral conduct.
• Jihad is understood as a personal or communal struggle for adherence to Islamic principles.