Intro to Culture & Cultural Diffusion - Global Studies
Transcript of Intro to Culture & Cultural Diffusion - Global Studies
Global Studies 9 - Damon - 2014
Intro to Culture and Cultural Diffusion
Cultural LandscapesThe Human Imprint on the Earth’s Surface
Types and Elements of Culture• Local culture: group of people, small,
non-diverse, often rural
• Popular culture: NOT A GROUP OF PEOPLE, BUT A PHENOMENON, widespread, changes quickly
• Material culture: tangible cultural traits - art, housing, clothing, sports, dance, food, etc.)
• Nonmaterial culture: intangible cultural traits - beliefs, practices, values, etc.)
Material Culture
Non-material culture
Local Cultures
U.S. Rural Local Culture Example The Amish
U.S. Urban Local Culture Example: Ethnic Neighborhood
There are 3 Chinatowns in New York CIty. This one is in Manhattan.
Popular Culture
Culture RegionsAreas with common cultural traits
Example: Religion Regions
Culture RegionsExample: Language Regions
Culture Regions
Diffusion Isn’t Random: Starts With a Cultural Hearth
• Cultural hearth: geographic SOURCE of innovation or idea
• Example: Hearth of rock and roll = Memphis, Tennessee
Cultural DiffusionThe spread of ideas, innovations, etc.
from one person or group to another
• Distance decay: the farther from the hearth, the less likely an idea is to be adopted
• Time-space compression: ideas diffuse more quickly to places that are highly connected via transportation and communication networks
Diffusion of Innovation Model
Example: Diffusion of Smartphone
Relocation DiffusionIdeas spread by the movement of people from one
location to another
Example: Languages
Expansion Diffusion
• Ideas spread without the physical relocation of people– Contagious– Hierarchical
Expansion Diffusion Type 1
Contagious DiffusionIdeas spread by person to person contact,
media
Expansion Diffusion Type 2
Hierarchical DiffusionIdeas spread through a hierarchy
From big cities to small places
From “trendsetters” to “the average Joe”
Barriers to Diffusion
• Physical barriers– Oceans, mountain ranges, walls, etc.
• Cultural barriers– Language, religion, government, income level,
education level, technology access, etc.