Geography summary Chapter 1 Cultures
1.1 Cultures around the world
What is culture?
- Culture is the collection of customs and (unwritten) social laws of a group of
people.
o It’s learned, you aren’t born with it.
- Culture is just normal for some people and it isn’t for others.
Cultural elements
- You can distinguish different cultures by comparing different cultural
elements.
o These are the important characteristics of culture, like religion,
language and also values and standards.
- Values = things we find important.
- Standards = rules of behaviour to follow to live up to these values.
o For example: in many cultures, respect for the elderly is deeply
valued. Therefore, one standard could be that it is normal to always
greet your elders, to talk formally to them and obey them - just as it is
normal to show respect to your teacher, or to offer your seat to an
older lady or gentleman in a bus or train.
- Other cultural elements are holidays and celebrations, food, eating habits,
clothing, music and dance, art and sports traditions.
Cultural regions
- Various cultures around the world are clustered in a few cultural regions.
- Cultural regions is an area which you find people with about similar cultural
elements.
Language family
- Language family is a group of related languages that have frown from the
same ancestral language.
1.2 Cultural diffusion
Cultural diffusion
- The process in which cultural elements spread to other regions and countries
is called cultural diffusion.
Cultural diffusion in the past
- From the end of the fifteenth century, some European countries started
founding colonies in other continents.
- A colony is a settlement in a foreign land.
o Colonialism led to the diffusion of religion, language and other cultural
elements.
, Like language
- In colonial times, it was European cultures that were spread in particular. This
diffusion of European cultural elements is also called Europeanisation.
Present day cultural diffusion
- Main reasons are: trade relations, migration, tourism and media like the
internet.
Cultural homogenisation
- American culture has become more and more dominant around the world.
This is called Americanisation.
- Our world is now more interconnected than ever. We call this globalisation.
- When cultures adopt more cultural elements from each other, they become
more and more similar. This process is called cultural homogenisation.
- If cultures worldwide influence each other so much, we will end up with a
global culture.
Cultural heterogenization
- When all the global cultural influences cause a revaluation of a culture.
Outside influences can make people more aware of their own culture, so they
express certain cultural elements more.
o This is called cultural heterogenization.
Glocalisation
- Glocalisation combines the world globalisation and local. It refers to
products that are distributed globally, but are adapted for local markets. So
the products will differ in which region you are.
1.3 The Islamic world
Introduction to the Islamic world
- Islamic world refers tot the Middle East and Northern Africa.
o The culture here is the Islam. The Islam is the religious faith of
Muslims.
- The Islam spread through military campaigns.
o But also via trade routes.
Elements of the Islamic religion
- A Muslim should submit to the will of Allah.
- The Qur’an is the holy book of the Muslims.
- A Muslim has five main obligations: the Five Pillars
Sunnis and Shi’as: two different Muslim groups
- Sunnis make up to the majority of the Islamic world.
- Sunnis and Shi’as share most of their religion, but they have some different
rituals, laws and form of religious organisation.
1.1 Cultures around the world
What is culture?
- Culture is the collection of customs and (unwritten) social laws of a group of
people.
o It’s learned, you aren’t born with it.
- Culture is just normal for some people and it isn’t for others.
Cultural elements
- You can distinguish different cultures by comparing different cultural
elements.
o These are the important characteristics of culture, like religion,
language and also values and standards.
- Values = things we find important.
- Standards = rules of behaviour to follow to live up to these values.
o For example: in many cultures, respect for the elderly is deeply
valued. Therefore, one standard could be that it is normal to always
greet your elders, to talk formally to them and obey them - just as it is
normal to show respect to your teacher, or to offer your seat to an
older lady or gentleman in a bus or train.
- Other cultural elements are holidays and celebrations, food, eating habits,
clothing, music and dance, art and sports traditions.
Cultural regions
- Various cultures around the world are clustered in a few cultural regions.
- Cultural regions is an area which you find people with about similar cultural
elements.
Language family
- Language family is a group of related languages that have frown from the
same ancestral language.
1.2 Cultural diffusion
Cultural diffusion
- The process in which cultural elements spread to other regions and countries
is called cultural diffusion.
Cultural diffusion in the past
- From the end of the fifteenth century, some European countries started
founding colonies in other continents.
- A colony is a settlement in a foreign land.
o Colonialism led to the diffusion of religion, language and other cultural
elements.
, Like language
- In colonial times, it was European cultures that were spread in particular. This
diffusion of European cultural elements is also called Europeanisation.
Present day cultural diffusion
- Main reasons are: trade relations, migration, tourism and media like the
internet.
Cultural homogenisation
- American culture has become more and more dominant around the world.
This is called Americanisation.
- Our world is now more interconnected than ever. We call this globalisation.
- When cultures adopt more cultural elements from each other, they become
more and more similar. This process is called cultural homogenisation.
- If cultures worldwide influence each other so much, we will end up with a
global culture.
Cultural heterogenization
- When all the global cultural influences cause a revaluation of a culture.
Outside influences can make people more aware of their own culture, so they
express certain cultural elements more.
o This is called cultural heterogenization.
Glocalisation
- Glocalisation combines the world globalisation and local. It refers to
products that are distributed globally, but are adapted for local markets. So
the products will differ in which region you are.
1.3 The Islamic world
Introduction to the Islamic world
- Islamic world refers tot the Middle East and Northern Africa.
o The culture here is the Islam. The Islam is the religious faith of
Muslims.
- The Islam spread through military campaigns.
o But also via trade routes.
Elements of the Islamic religion
- A Muslim should submit to the will of Allah.
- The Qur’an is the holy book of the Muslims.
- A Muslim has five main obligations: the Five Pillars
Sunnis and Shi’as: two different Muslim groups
- Sunnis make up to the majority of the Islamic world.
- Sunnis and Shi’as share most of their religion, but they have some different
rituals, laws and form of religious organisation.
