#AP Human Geography: Cultural Diffusion - The Night Before

Hey! Let's get you totally prepped for the AP Human Geography exam. We're going to break down cultural diffusion, connecting it to all those big ideas you've been studying. Think of this as your ultimate cheat sheet – concise, clear, and designed to make everything click. Let's do this!

#🗺️ Cultural Diffusion: How Ideas Spread

Cultural diffusion is all about how cultural traits (like languages, religions, and technologies) spread from one place to another. It's not just random; it's driven by some powerful forces. Let's dive in!

#Key Drivers of Cultural Diffusion

• Migration: People move, and their culture moves with them.
• Travel: Exposure to new places leads to the exchange of ideas.
• Colonization: Imposition of one culture on another (often forcefully).
• Communication: Interacting with different groups leads to cultural exchange.
• Interactions: Any form of contact between different cultures can lead to diffusion.

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• Lingua Francas: Simplified languages that develop for trade and communication (e.g., Swahili).
• Creolization: When different languages mix and create a new one (e.g., Haitian Creole).

#⚔️ Colonialism: A Forceful Diffusion

Image courtesy of change.org

• Definition: One country attempts to establish settlements and impose its political, economic, and cultural principles on another territory.
• Violent Diffusion: Colonialism is a forceful way that culture spreads.
• Example: Christianity
  • Originated in Israel, spread globally by the Roman Empire and missionaries.
  • Missionaries are key agents in spreading universalizing religions.
  • Forced diffusion: Often used legal coercion and violence to spread Christianity in Europe and t...