Our World

class summary 2-01

Earthy visions video and did the worksheet for it
Read Pg. 31-36 in book
Answer question on chapter 2 study guide
Notes:
Culture is learned, is shared behavior, and includes both abstract and material elements
When Cultures Collide
Cultural imperialism: active promotion of ones cultural system over another
Cultural nationalism: defending a cultural system gains offensive cultural expression while actively promoting local or national value
Cultural syncretism or hybridization: The blending of elements of culture to form a new culture

Language and Culture in Global Context
Language and culture are closely tied
Since language is the means for communication within a cultural group, it includes other aspects of cultural identity (politics, religion, commerce, customs, and folkway)
Dialect: Distinctive form of a language associated with a specific region
Lingua franca: a third language that is adopted by people from different cultural groups within a country who cannot speak each others language.

Geography of World Religion

Religion is another extremely important defining trait of cultural groups
Universalizing religion: attempt to appeal to all people regardless of location or culture
Ethnic religion: identified closely with a specific ethnic group, does not actively seek converts
Secularization: exist when people consider themselves to be non-religious or outright atheistic (about 1 billion)


Geopolitical Framework: Fragmentation & Unity
Geopolitics: term that describes the close link between geography & political activity.
-Focuses on the interaction between power, territory, and space at all scales
State: A political unit with territorial boundaries recognized by other countries & internally governed by an organizationally structure.
Nation: A large group of people who share many cultural elements (e.g.: language, religion, cultural identity) and view themselves as a single political community
Nation-state: a relatively homogenous cultural group with its own fully independent political territory (e.g.: Japan, France): Kurds are a nation without a state

Micro nationalism: group identity with the goal of self rule within an existing nation-state
-on the rise, and a source of geopolitical tension in the world


Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces
Centrifugal forces: cultural & political forces acting to weaken or divide an existing state
-examples: linguistic minority status, ethnic separatism, territorial autonomy, disparities in income and well-being
Centripetal forces: forces that promote political unity & reinforce the state structure
-Examples: shared sense of history, need for military security, overarching economic structure

Global Terrorism
9/11 terrorist attacks not attached to a nationalist or regional geopolitical aspiration to achieve independence or autonomy
Global terrorism is a product and an expression of globalization
A symmetrical warfare: the difference between a superpowers military technology & a strategy and the lower level technology &decentralized guerilla tactics used by allqueda and the Taliban.
Colonialism and Decolonialization
Colonialism: formal establishment of rule over a foreign population
Decolonialization: the process of a colony’s gaining (or regaining) control over its territory & establishing a separate independent government

Economic and social Development: The Geography of Wealth and Poverty
Economic development brings increased prosperity to individuals, regions, and nation-states
More and less developed countries
Core-periphery model: U.S., Canada, Europe, & Japan make up the economic core in the northern hemisphere while most areas to the south make up a less developed periphery
Indicators of Economic Development
Development: qualitative and quantitative measures indicating structural changes (getting “better”)
Growth: increase in the size of a system (getting bigger)

Measuring Economic Wealth
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): value of all final goods and services produced within a country
Gross National Product (GNP): GDP plus the net income from abroad: but omits non market economic activity (bartering, household work)
Gross national income (GNI): the value of all final goods and services produced within a country plus net income from abroad
-GNI per capita – obtained by dividing the GNI by a country’s population
Purchasing power parity (PPP): a comparable for a standard “market basket” of goods & services purchased with a local currency
Economic growth rate: annual rate of expansion for GNP (Gross National Product)

Indicators of Social Development
Life expectancy: average length of life expected at birth for a hypothetical male or female, as based on national death statistics
Mortality rate under 5 years: measure of the number of children who die per 1,000 persons
Adult illiteracy rates: percentage of a society’s male and females who cannot read
Female labor force participation: Percentage of a nations labor force that is female

posted by Anonymous @ 2/01/2006 05:28:00 PM