Cultural Geo

Culture is a particular way of life, such as a set of skilled activities, values, and meaning surrounding a particular type of economic practice. Culture is a set of classical standards and aesthetic excellence. The term culture describes the range of activities that characterize a particular group. Culture is a shared set of meanings that is lived through the material and symbolic practices of everyday life. Culture is a dynamic concept that revolves around and intersects with complex social, political, economic, and even historical factors .

the study of the way in which space, place, and landscape shape culture at the same time that culture shapes space, place and landscape

the traditional practices of small groups, esp rural people with a simple lifestyle, who are seen as homogeneous in their belief systems and practices.

practices and meaning systems produced by large groups of people whose norms and tastes are often heterogeneous and change frequently, often in response to commercial products

Material expressions of culture manifest themselves in the landscape.

is a characteristic and tangible outcome of the complex interactions between a human group and its natural environment.

a single aspect of the complex of routine practices that constitute a particular cultural group

the combination of trait characteristics of a particular group

an area where certain cultural practices, beliefs, or values are more or less practiced by the majority of the inhabitants

a collection of interacting components that, taken together, shape a group's collective identity, including traits, territorial affiliation, and shared history, as well other, more complex elements internal variation and broader similarities that lend coherence Two key components of a cultural system: religion and language

the spatial dispersion of a previously homogeneous group

oldest religion, emerged 4000 yrs ago Codified in the Veda and the Upanishads, its sacred scriptures Practice of yoga, adherence to Vedic scriptures, and devotion to a personal guru, for release from repeated reincarnation Most central deities are the divine trinity: Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer (cyclical nature of the universe)

a reform religion of Hinduism, founded by Gautama, the Buddha (Enlightened One) in southern Nepal Central tenets Mediation and the practice of good religious and moral behavior can lead to nirvana, the state of enlightenment Before reaching nirvana, one must experience repeated lifetimes that are good or bad depending on one

a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth (as written in the New Testament of the Holy Bible); developed about 2000 yrs ago in Jerusalem among the disciples of Jesus The world's larges religion - 1-2 billion adherents Jesus is the son of God and the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament Jesus revered as a teacher, and model of a pious life, and manifestation of God, and the most importantly the savior of humanity who suffered, died, and was resurrected in order to bring about salvation from sin. Upon his death, Jesus ascended into heaven and he will return to judge the living and the dead and grant life everlasting to those who have followed his teachings

an Arabic term that means "submission," specifically submission to God's will Islam recognizes the prophets of the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible, but Muhammad is considered the last prophet and God's messenger on Earth. Two fundamental sources of Islamic doctrine and practice: Qur'an and the Sunna Qur'an is the principal holy book, directly spoken by God to Muhammad. Sunna is not a written document, but a set of practical guidelines to behavior Five primary obligations a Muslim must fulfill ("five pillars of Islam") Repeating the profession of the faith "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the messenger of God") Praying five times a day facing Mecca Giving alms or charitable donations Fasting from sunup until sundown during the holy month of Ramadan Making at least one pilgrimage, or hajj, to Mecca if financially and physically able Emergence and spread of Islam: originated in Mecca where Muhammad was born in A.D. 570; Medina also became an important sacred cityAfter Muhammad died in 632, disagreement over the line of succession resulted into the split of Islam into two mains sects Sunni faction - argued that the clergy should success Muhammad Shi'i faction - argued that Muhammad's son Ali should succeed his father Ali was killed; the Sunnis became and dominant and remain the mainstream branch of Islam (but in Iran and Iraq, the majority of pop. follows Shi'i)

a member of the community of believers whose duty is obedience and submission of the will of God.

oldest among the three (about 4,000 yrs ago) but least widespread Developed out of the cultures and beliefs of Bronze Age people First monotheistic religion Spread widely and rapidly but numerically small - does not seek converts The holy scripture the Old Testament also significant to Judaism Also based on the teachings of the prophets Isaac and Jacob

Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, and Jansenism

a way of communicating ideas or feelings by means of a conventionalized systems of signs, gestures, marks, or articulate vocal sounds (i.e., communication is symbolic) It is estimated that about 4,200 to 5,600 languages are currently being spoken worldwide

a collection of individual languages believed to be related in their prehistorical origin.

a collection of several individual languages that possesses a definite common origin but have split into individual languages

a collection of individual languages that is a part of a language branch, shares a common origin in the recent past, and has relatively similar grammar and vocabulary

is a set of practices and identities that a given culture considers related to each other and to those things it considers sexual acts and desires

is a socially created system of rules about who belong to a particular group based upon actual or perceived commonalities, such as language and religion, customs, traditions

is a problematic classification of human being based on skin color and other physical characteristics

is the practice of creating unequal castes where whiteness is considered the norm

an effort to protect regional and national cultures from the homogenizing impact of globalization, especially from the penetrating influence of U.S. culture.

an anticolonial, anti-imperial, and general anticore political movement Islamists resist Western forces of globalization (modernization and secularization) Islamism is the most militant movement within Islam today, but not all Muslims are islamists To create a model of society that protects the purity and centrality of Islamic precepts through the return of a universal Islamic state - a state that would be religiously and politically unified are not using or responding in uniform ways - resistance occurs More popularly but incorrectly known as Islamic fundamentalism

a scared struggle Understood to be a holy war when the struggle is violently directed against the enemies of Islam Could be peaceful struggle to establish Islam as a universal religion through the conversion of nonbelievers