Cultural Convergence Quiz

Cultural Convergence

• Cultural convergence occurs when multiple cultures closely share traits, leading to similarities in various aspects.
• Key factors of cultural convergence include external and internal influences.

Internal Cultural Convergence

• Types include innovation and assimilation.
• Innovation involves the introduction of new cultural traits, though not everyone participates in this process.
• Assimilation refers to minority populations losing their unique cultural traits and merging into a larger host culture, which can be voluntary or forced.

External Cultural Convergence

• Comprises acculturation and cultural diffusion.
• Acculturation occurs when a minority group adopts dominant cultural traits, exemplified by the adoption of jeans post-Soviet Union collapse.
• Cultural diffusion is the spread of cultural phenomena through time and space.

Types of Cultural Diffusion

• Relocation diffusion arises from the migration of people, such as the spread of English due to British colonialism.
• Contagious diffusion spreads cultural phenomena to nearby areas based on popularity, illustrated by Walmart's expansion.
• Hierarchical diffusion occurs when cultural traits spread through related places, like jazz music originating in New Orleans.
• Stimulus diffusion involves the spread of an underlying idea without the exact characteristic moving, such as smartphone cameras becoming standard due to competition.

Barriers and Promoters of Cultural Diffusion

• Cultural barriers, such as food taboos, can block the exchange of cultural traits.
• Time-distance decay describes the reduction in cultural interaction intensity as distance from the origin increases.
• Promoting factors include imperialism, colonialism, and globalization.
• Imperialism extends a country's influence through military or diplomatic means.
• Colonialism involves controlling a territory and its resources by settling and exploiting it.
• Globalization signifies the global expansion of economic, political, and cultural processes.

Cultural Divergence

• Cultural divergence happens when societies separate in beliefs, values, and customs, often influenced by different political systems.
• Causes include the tension between traditionalism and modernism.
• Traditionalism emphasizes maintaining old values and resisting change, as seen in Afghanistan.
• Modernism embraces cultural evolution, represented by societal norms in the United States.

Fundamentalism

• Involves strict adherence to cultural teachings, exemplified by groups like the Taliban.
• It carries a negative connotation because it can restrict freedom of thought and has been linked to radical ideas.