Culture & Our World

1. Culture & Our World Essential Question #1: What role does culture play in human geography? Essential Question #2: What is culture?

2. What is CULTURE? • Definition: The customary ways in which people live • Examples: diet, family forms/patterns, religious beliefs… • Can CULTURE include things like: • The way we dress? • The way we write? • The way we talk? • The way we learn? • The way we socialize? • The answer is YES… it can! Here’s how…

3. Culture… • The integrated pattern of human behavior which includes thoughts, speech, and actions. • Is our AMERICAN CULTURE defined by our language? • What else can we define our AMERICAN culture by?

4. “Appreciation of our differences starts with our acknowledgement of our similarities” - Peter Reese

5. 12 Aspects of Culture • History-time period and conditions under which a group migrated or immigrated. • Social Status Factors – education, occupation, income • Social Group Interaction Patterns: Intra-group (within group relations) and Inter-group (between-group relations) • Value Orientation – standards by which members of a culture judge their personal actions and those of others. • Language and Communication: Verbal and Nonverbal • Family Life Processes – gender roles, family dynamics • Healing Beliefs and Practices – attitudes and beliefs about health. • Religion – spiritual beliefs and practices • Art and Expressive Forms – art, music, stories, dance, etc. • Diet/Foods – preferred food eaten by groups. • Recreation – activities, sports for leisure, etc. • Clothing – types, styles, and extent of body coverings.

6. P E R S I A Culture Study • Persia is an acronym that stands for: • Political • Economic • Religious • Social • Intellectual • Area-Geographic • These are considered a shorter, more easier list of terms that define culture. Before we do our culture study, I’m going to give you some aspects of each of those terms to help you better understand how THEY work in defining culture!

7. P is for Political • When we are discussing the political influences on culture, we are talking about: • Structure (do they have a monarchy, dictatorship, democracy?) • War (are they feuding with another country or do they have positive relations?) • Treaties • Courts/Laws (how do they decide what is RIGHT and WRONG in their region) • Leaders • Popular participation • Loyalty to leader

8. E is for Economic • Economic influences are defined by: • State control of trade/industry • Agriculture/Industry importance • Labor Systems • Levels of Technology • Levels of International Trade • Gender & Slaves • Money System

9. R is for Religious • Religious influences on culture include: • Importance on societal interaction • Holy books • Beliefs/Teachings • Conversion – role of missionaries • Sin/Salvation (what is their viewpoint) • Deities (who do they worship?)

10. S is for Social • Social Influences on culture include: • Family order- patriarchal or matriarchal • Gender relations – role of women & children • Social classes – slavery • Entertainment • Lifestyles

11. I is for Intellectual • Intellectual influences include: • Art & Music • Writing & Literature • Philosophy • Math/Science • Education • Inventions

12. A stands for Area-Geographic • Area-Geographic influences on culture include: • Location • Physical • Movement

13. PERSIA Activity • Each of you will be given a “window” graphic organizer • In each panel of the window are our 6 elements of “PERSIA” • On the following slides will simply be 12 pictures – you need to look at the picture and decide with your group, which PERSIA category does that fit into? • **DO NOT STRESS IF YOU CAN’T FIGURE ONE OUT- before the end of class we will discuss TOGETHER.

27. PERSIA Activity Wrap Up Each group has been given a “Relay Response” sheet on a colored piece of paper. Each member of the group must answer the question in one box. Before your RELAY RESPONSE is turned in, all group members must answer the question in their OWN box!! QUESTION: HOW DID THIS ACTIVITY BETTER EXPLAIN CULTURE? DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU BETTER UNDERSTAND OR ARE YOU STILL A LITTLE CONFUSED? WHY? PLEASE EXPLAIN!