Regions: Areas of unique characteristics contd. Spatial Association – phenomena is analyzed at various scales to determine whether there are or (e.g. rates of cancer in US) Regional integration of culture » Culture includes beliefs, material traits, and social forms that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people » Geographers study why the customary ideas, beliefs, and values of a people produce a distinctive culture in a particular place » Geographers are also interested in the production and distribution of material wealth – food, clothing, shelter » Geographers divide world regions into MDCs (more developed countries) and LDCs (less developed countries)
COMPONENTS OF GLOBALIZATION Global Consumer Culture May erode local diversity Causes an increasing gap in economic conditions between regions in the core and periphery Can cause social tensions between traditional cultures Examples: clothing, food, movies Global goods and services more familiar in North America as many originated there : occurs when forms of American pop culture spread abroad & are melded with local cultural traditions Hybridites include world beat music, Asian food, Japanese comic books - found worldwide
Diffusion of folk and pop cultures contd. Sports: culture diffusion of popular » Epitomized by soccer or “football” » Origins thought to be British in early 9th C. » Transformation from English folk custom to pop culture began in 1800s from England to continental Europe, Russia, US and Latin America » US first “football” game at Princeton in 1869 was soccer » Rugby rules were adopted in lieu of “football” or soccer » American football emerged as heavily modified rugby
Religion vs. social change Many religious adherents in Lesser Developed Countries view economic development as with religious values Taliban in Afghanistan imposes strict laws inspired by Islamic values (e.g. men beaten for shaving head; adulterers stoned; homosexuals buried alive; thieves hands cut off; nail polished fingers cut off, etc.) Caste system originated in 1500 BC in India and hindered social equality British administrators and Christian missionaries pointed out the shortcomings of the caste system; it has been
State support for terrorism Iraq US attacked Iraq in 2003 and removed Hussein Inspectors found nuclear and biological weapons programs in ’98 and suspected in ’03 Confrontation w/Iraq stems from Gulf War in ’91 to drive Iraq out of Kuwait US assertions that Hussein had close ties to al-Qaeda has been challenged since Ba’ath party espoused different principles than al-Qaeda terrorists Iran, Yemen, , , and North Korea all considered by US to be state-sponsors of terrorism
Services in rural settlements Dispersed rural settlements have become more common in the past 200 years, especially in Anglo-America and UK as they are considered more efficient than clustered settlements. (DSR) in the US originated in the Middle Atlantic colonies which were settled by a heterogeneous group from many European countries. DSR dominated the American Midwest as early settlers came from the Middle Atlantic colonies. Enclosure Movement happened in Britain between 1750-1850. In an effort to improve agricultural production a number of European countries converted their rural landscapes from clustered settlements to dispersed patterns. British govt transformed rural landscape by consolidating individually owned strips of land surrounding a village into a single large farm, owned by an individual. Enclosure brought grater agricultural efficiency, but destroyed the self-contained world of village life.