Culture

The Elements of Culture

1. culture – way of life (location + history)
2. culture trait – characteristics of a culture
   • Every culture has the same traits: music & dance, food, traditions, religion (beliefs), behavior, moral (the difference between right and wrong) and values (the feelings, ideas and beliefs a society considers important), clothing, language (communication), race, government, economy, architecture, education (knowledge), society, demography, arts, etc.
   • Religion and language are the pillar culture traits, they’re the hardest to change since they’re very deeply embedded in the culture, most culture traits derive from these two.
3. culture region – geographical area that shares the same culture, or have very similar ones, due to similar climate, topography and geographical location
4. culture hearth – a place where culture traits originate and spread (cultural diffusion)
   • Mesopotamia was the very first important cultural hearth.
   • Puerto Rico is the cultural hearth of reggaeton music.
5. cultural diffusion – the dynamic and necessary process of the spreading out of culture traits from a central place (cultural hearth)
   • Cultural diffusion enriches culture.
   • It can be examplified in buisnesses, people, etc.
6. ethnic group – people that are united by a similar cultural heritage
   • Ethnic groups can create conflicts because people sometimes reject them, they’re often portrayed negatively through stereotyping, discrimination and prejudice.
7. stereotyping – judging a whole race (generalization) by the negative behavior of a few, it is wrong. When you stereotype you discriminate, they go together.
8. discrimination – to reject people due to their race, culture, beliefs, social status, etc.; it’s opposing diversity.
9. prejudice – an irrational (not logical) rejection of differences
10. nation – where culture conflicts happen
11. culture conflicts – problems or differences due to ignorance caused because of religion, politics, economy (major in Puerto Rico), race and language
12. society – a group of people that conflict in a particular place
13. dialect – a version of a language
14. innovation – new way of doing something
    • The 3 major innovations in History changes life dramatically and derived a lot of other innovations, they are:
      • Introduction of Agriculture (10,000 y/ago) – Before this we were hunter-gatheres, this allowed an increase in population and settling due to more reliabe sources of food. Domestication (animal taming) began with this innovation.
      • Birth of Civilization (6,000 y/ago) – People began to organize governments and organized life. A writing system was created and it happened slowly (like all other innovations). The major civilizations are Mesopotamia (p/day Iraq, Middle East), Egypt, India and China.
      • Industrial Revolution (1800’s) – Began in Great Britain. Machines began being used to make large quantities of things, it’s the innovation that has derived the most innovations in the shortest period of time.
15. acculturation – The process by which you adopt and adapt a culture trait and make it your own.
    • Spanglish and Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico are examples of acculturation.
16. transculturation – Occurs when a culture disappears through intensive contact with another and a new one is born.
    • The taíno culture disappeared due to transculturation.
17. nationalism – Loyalty to one’s own country, feeling of pride for one’s country.
    • It is good and necessary but can be very negative in extremes as it can turn into ethnocentrism.
18. fundamentalism – Very strict and conservative religious beliefs, change is not accepted (orthodox).
19. democracy – System of government that started in Athens, Greece and was progressed by Romans in which members are elected “by the people, and for the people”, giving people rights.
20. totalitarian – A political system taken and maintained by the use of force, not giving people rights (dictatorship).
21. ethnocentrism – The belief that your race and culture is superior to others.
22. politics – organization of government
23. democratic pluralism – To have respect for other cultutes, this is knowledge and decreases levels of ignorance.

Major Religions on Earth

• Monotheistic religions only believe in one god. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic.
  1. Judaism
     • Judaism was the first religion to teach the belief in one god (monotheism), Christianity and Islam developed from Judaism.
     • Jews think that god will send a Messiah to unite them, Christians think Jesus was the Messiah.
     • Judaism is a very fundamentalist and orthodox religion.
     • Judaism teaches death is not the end.
     • The Torah consists of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (first 5 books of Old Testament), it’s the most important Jewish scripture, it contains their basic laws.
     • The Talmud is the guide to civil and religious laws of Judaism.
     • Rabbis conduct services, interpret Jewish laws and deliver sermons in synagogues.
     • The Jewish nation of Israel is where most Jews are.
     • Millions of Jews dies in the Holocaust.
     • Jews are obligated to worship.
  2. Christianity
     • Was founded by Jesus, a Jewish boy who disagreed with some Jewish principles.
     • God, the Father, entered into human history as the Son, Jesus of Nazereth, and arose as the Holy Spirit.
     • Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, resurrected from the dead, and ascended to the father.
     • Christians are promised life everlasting.
     • Jesus was the leader of Christianity and he followers his 12 disciples.
  3. Islam
     • Muslims believe the Koran are the words of Allah spoken to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel.
     • Muslims must pray 5 times in their mosques facing the holy city of Mecca and kneeling with faces to the ground.
     • Muslims are required to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life.
     • Muslims learn that life on Earth is a period of testing for the life to come, and that angels record good and bad deeds.
     • Islam has 5 basic pillars:
       • There is no god but Allah.
       • Pray 5 times facing Mecca.
       • Share with the poor.
       • Fast during Ramadan.
       • Go to Mecca at least once in life.
• Polytheistic religions believe in more than one god. 
  1. Buddhism
     • The Major Philosophy of Budhism requires:
       • Love
       • Compassion
       • Sympathetic Joy
       • Impartiality
     • Buddhism states that existence is a continuing cycle of death and rebirth called reincarnation, Hindus believe this too
     • Each person’s position in life is determined by their behavior in the previous life (karma), Hindus also believe this.
     • Buddhism is the world’s oldest universal religion and the second fastest growing religion.
  2. Hinduism
     • Hindus recognize one supreme spirit called Brahman, and thousands of more gods.
     • The goal of Hindus is to one day join with Brahman, until that union takes place believers are in continuous reincarnation (it’s how they believe the soul is purified).
     • Hindu’s deeds (karma) will determine what their next life will be like.
     • Hindus work to gain release from the “Wheel of Life” (cycle of birth, death, re-birth).
     • The Hindu’s soul merges with Brahman in a condition of spiritual perfection (moksha) when they escape the Wheel of Life.
     • Traditional Hindy society was divided into four classes (varnas), known as the caste system.
       • The caste system ranges from miserably low (untouchables) to really high, you are born and die in the same class. You can move up in your own class by marrying.
• Animism, also known as traditional beliefs, is the belief in the divine forces of nature.
  1. Shinto
     • Shinto involves the worship of kami, or nature spirits. Some kami are local to a place while others are major (Amaterasu).
     • Shinto is a part of Japanese culture and society.
     • Shinto centers around the worship of nature.
     • Living things and landscapes are considered worthy of worship for their beauty, strength or nobility.
• Philosophies are also what some people believe in, these do not believe in a specific god, they’re just a lifestyle, a way of looking and thinking about things.
  1. Confucianism
     • Confucius is the Westernized version of the name K’ung Fu-tzu.
     • Confucius was born in 551 B.C.E.
     • He quit his government job to devote his life to teaching people how to behave.
     • Confucianism teaches five basic ideas about behavior:
       • Always be considerate to others.
       • Respect your ancestors.
       • Try for harmony and balace in all things.
       • Avoid extremes in behavior and emotion.
       • If you live in peace and harmony, you’ll be in contact with nature and the spiritual forces of the universe.
     • Confucianism teaches five basic virtues:
       • kindness
       • righteousness
       • sobriety
       • wisdom
       • trustworthiness
     • Confucius taught your well-being depends directly on the well-being of others, this is called Jen, Jen stresses the importance of courtesy and loyalty to others.
     • Confucians believe family and family values are very important.
     • Confucian children are taught to be very respectful and to obey their parents.
  2. Taoism
     • Tao means the way, or the path.
     • Lao Tsu founded Taoism.
     • Taoists say if you think the right way you’ll be happier, they encourage optimism.

Population

1. demography – the study of changes in population
   • Demohraphic changes can be due to human reasons (like crime, wars, births, deaths, suicides, etc.) or due to natural reasons, which cause most deaths (like tsunamis, storms, droughts, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.)
2. birth rate – amount of people that are born per every 1,000 persons, increase in population (ratio)
   • Usually countries with higher birth rates (X = 150 : 1,000) tend to be poorer since people are less conscious when having children, on richer countries (Y = 50 : 1,000) people tend to me more educated and conscious when having children.
3. death rate (mortality rate) – amount of people that die per every 1,000 persons, decrease in population (ratio)
   • Usually countries with a higher death rate (X = 150 : 1,000) are poorer because of the lack of medical attention, richer countries (Y = 50 : 1,000) tend to have a low death rate due to advanced medicine.
4. infant mortality rate – amount of children that die before 1 year of age per every 1,000 live births
   • Countires with high infant mortality rates are usually poorer.
   • When working with life expectancy they’re passed as zero.
5. rate of natural increase – the speed at which a population grows (births – deaths = RNI)
6. life expectancy – average amount of years a person is expected to live (per country)
   • Low life expectancies indicate poor quality of life which may be due to crime, war, hunger, no medicine, etc.
   • High life expectancies indicate a better quality of life due to medical advances, etc.
   • To find life expectancy we add all the ages of death we’re given and then divide them by the amount of numbers we were given.
7. population density – the average amount of people per square mile (PD = population/area)
   • Puerto Rico’s population density is around 1,057 people per sq. mile.
8. carrying capacity – amount of people that can live in a place without affecting the environment
9. push-pull factors – factors that move population; push = leaving/moving/exiting, pull = attraction/coming/entering
10. population pyramids – diagram that shows population distribution in terms of age and gender

• The world’s population is about 7.3 billion people.
• China (1.4B) and India (1.2B) are the countries with the largest populations.
• Asia is the continent with the greatest population.
• The total population of Puerto Rico is about 3.7 million, but there are around 1.5 million Puerto Ricans outside of Puerto Rico.
• There are four stages to population growth:
  1. Stage 1: High birth rates and high death rates
     • Zero population growth because births = deaths.
     • This stage is extinct since the Introduction of Agriculture (10,000 years ago).
  2. Stage 2: High birth rates and decreasing death rates
     • Rapid population growth, the population boom refers to a dramatic increase in population growth.
     • The poor countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America are in this stage due to lack of knowledge and education of how many children you can maintain, and lack of access to protection.
     • The extended family is most found here, where the family is made up of mother, father, children (could be more than 2), and other family members (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.).
  3. Stage 3: Decreasing birth rates and low death rates
     • Slow population growth occurs in this stage.
     • Developed countries of Europe, America, and Asia are in this stage. Puerto Rico is in this stage.
     • The nuclear family is the most popular here, it’s made up of mother, father, and 2 children.
  4. Stage 4: Low birth rates and low death rates
     • Zero population growth (birth rate = death rate, no significant growth)
     • Countries in Northern Europe are often found in this stage because young people don’t want to have children.
     • It’s dangerous because the country’s future is old and productivity lowers because there are no young workers.