World Cultures

Chapter 1

World cultures is the study of the connections between people and their

environment

Geography is the study of where people, places, and things are located and how they

relate to each other

Five Themes of Geography

Location

Place

Interaction between people and their environment

Movement

Region

Location – position on the Earth’s surfaceRelative location – describe position

Absolute location – use latitude and longitude Latitude – distance north or south of the Equator

Longitude – distance east or west of the Prime MeridianPrime Meridian – imaginary line that runs through Greenwich

England Eastern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere

Place – physical and human characteristics

Physical characteristics - landforms, climate, soil, animal

lifeHuman characteristics – peoples’ ways of life –

activities, transportation, religion,language

Interaction between people and their environment

people change the world around them

Hidden cost pollution

People must decide how to build their economies without harming

the environment

AdaptationPeople sometimes have to

change due to the environment

Movementof people, goods, and ideas

often occurs together

Migration people moving from place to

place looking for food, a better way of life, war, natural disasters, involuntarily

Interdependence

dependence of countries on goods, resources, and

knowledge from other parts of the world

Region

Unifying characteristics

Physical characteristicsCultural characteristicsPolitical characteristics

Economic characteristics

• Physical characteristics – landforms / climate

• Cultural characteristics – shared religion

• Political characteristics – nations

• Economic characteristics – developed, developing, Third World

Map projections

ways of showing the curved Earth on a flat

surface

Interrupted projection Peters projection

Robinson projection Mercator projection

Political map - show the borders that divide nations

Physical map - show features - mountains lakes, rivers

Natural resource map - shows the location of oil, coal, other important resources

Climate map

Vegetation map - show the plant life of a place or region

Elements of culture

Social organizationCustoms and traditions

LanguageArts and literature

ReligionForms of government

Economic systems

Culture

all things that make up a people’s entire way of life

Social Organization

Organizing members into smaller groupsFamily is the most important unit of social organizationPerson with authority varies from one culture to another

Family patternsNuclear family – typical in industrialized societies

Extended family – common in many societies

Social classesRanks people in order of status

Bases on factor a culture values highlyIn the past, a person born into a class, stayed in the class for life

Customs and Traditions

Rules of behaviorMinor rules of everyday behavior are enforced by social pressure

Rules concerning what is right and wrong are enforced more strictly often are part of a culture’s written laws

LanguageCornerstone of culture

Arts and LiteratureTeaches about cultural values

Religion

supports the values that the people consider important

Monotheism – the worship of one godPolytheism – the worship of more than one god

Major religions

HinduismBuddhismJudaism

ChristianityIslam

Government

Provides for common needsKeeps order within society

Protects the society from outside threats

Types of Government

Democracy – people have supreme power, the government may act on by and with consent of the people

Republic – the people choose the leaders who represent themDictatorship – the ruler or group holds power through force

Causes of Cultural Change

Technologyskills and tools people use

Changing environmentadapt to changes in environment

New ideasalteration of actions

Diffusion

the movement of customs or ideas from one place to another

Chapter 1 – Section Quizes

• Geography• Interdependence

• Latitude• Longitude• Location

• Plateau

• Climate

• Mountain

• Topography

• Vegetation

• Polytheism

• Republic

• Dictatorship

• Nuclear Family

• Culture

• Diffusion

• Ethnocentrism

• Racism

• Subculture

• Technology

• How do geographers describe a place?

• Examples of how humans interact with their environment.

• Why do countries trade?

• Why did early people migrate?

• Examples of physical regions.

• Advantages of globes versus flat maps.

• Advantages of flat maps over globes.

• Know the major land forms.

• Why do regions around the Equator have warm climates?

• Most important unit of social organization.

• People wo speak the same language typically share ---.

• Important elements of culture.

• Purpose of government.

• What are the three basic economic questions nations must ask?

• How did new technology (tools made with stone and bone) change peoples lives?

• Rock-and-Roll came from what cultural region?

• How has recent technology quickened the pace of change?

• How has technology changed the Traveling People way of life?

• How can cultural diffusion combat racism?