Introduction To Human Geography: Folk/ Popular Culture & Agriculture (Coursework Sample)

FOLK/ POPULAR CULTURE AND AGRICULTURE Student’s Name Institution Folk/ Popular Culture and Agriculture Question one A habit is an act that individuals perform repetitively. For example, an individual could have an everyday routine of getting out of bed getting dressed then going to school. Custom, on the other hand, is an act that a group of people performs repetitively and in this case, a group of people is in the same routine. Question Two Folk culture could have many or even unknown origins among isolated groups of people. Its diffusion is slow and only happens through migration, and the distribution is affected by physical environment factors. An example is that the origin of soccer in folk culture is not known. Popular culture, on the other hand, has its origin traceable to a place or a person, and usually, they can be traced to countries around the world. It also diffuses very fast around the earth due to economic development. Question Three Globalization has an impact on the relationship between popular and folk culture. It has been able to transform folk culture to popular culture. It has therefore made popular culture more dominant leading to the loss of traditional values of the societies that initially used folk culture. Question Four The spread of folk culture is based on the process of relocation diffusion. Those who migrate bring with them their cultural traits. An example is an Amish culture since they are about 250, 000 in number but their culture can be seen on landscapes of approximately nineteen states. They were farmers who traveled by horse and only used hand farming tools. They also have identifiable clothing, religious and farming practices. Jakob Amman gathered followers who were later named Amish and their primary purpose for migration was religious freedom. They moved to Europe where they merged with Mennonite churches, and still, when they migrated to Northern America they maintained their cultural practices and their customs could be seen in the North Eastern part of Pennsylvania, and its diffusion continues in various parts of America. Question Five Soccer is the most known sport in the world, but its culture is not known. The first contest took place in the eleventh century in England. It happened after the invasion of the Danish and workers found and kicked a Danish soldier’s head which younger boys imitated but instead used a cow’s bladder which had been inflated. Two villages came together to contest and to win, one of them had to kick the ball up to the center of their opponent’s village. The game was later played in vacant areas which were confined, and rules were introduced. It was banned, reintroduced and then it became a folk custom among the English community. Question Six There is a strong relationship between food preferences and the environment because people rely on animals and plants for food. These foods come from the water and soil of different regions, and inhabitants have to consider environmental characteristics, climate, soil and terrain of their areas to determine food production. In Istanbul, Turkey, small gardens have been supplying fresh foods to the city for about one hundred years. It is possible to plant a variety of vegetable at different seasons of the year and choices vary depending on the weather. Rice can be only be grown in moister and milder regions of Asia while wheat can survive in colder and drier areas. In Italy, there is a vast preference for fast frying foods which came about as a result of fuel shortages. Preference for roasted and slow stewing foods in Western Europe was due to the abundant supply wood of fuel. In Asia, soybeans are widely grown, but it needs lengthy cooking because it is indigestible when raw. Asians have however turned to bean curd, bean sprouts, and soy sauce since they don’t need to be cooked intensively. Question Seven Cultural taboos are activities that are forbidden based on social customs. Sexual practices have prohibitions, but they are more pronounced in foods. The restrictions may be imposed on meals for the protection of endangered species. In some regions, only a few people are allowed to hunt while the rest take part in crop cultivation. In the Bible, the Hebrew was not allowed to eat animals that don’t chew the cud or even fish without scales. Muslims do not eat pork because pigs are not suitable for the dry land in Arabian countries. Hindus have a taboo against cow consumption because cows provide oxen. Question Eight Americans choose snacks and beverages based on local, imported or grown products. Bourbon is mostly consumed in Upper South, where it is produced. Rum is consumed in the East Coast because it is imported from the Caribbean (Rubenstein, p. 129). With regards to denominations, Mormons and Baptists consume lesser amounts of alcohol in Utah and Nevada regions. Question Nine In the 1940s, the Armed forces Radio broadcasted popular music in America. Popular culture is diffused through the television and internet which pass messages and images about sport around the world (Rubenstein, p. 132). The internet can easily be accessed by many people. Question Ten Popular culture causes the local environment to be modified, an example is the golf field which requires extensive and good quality grass. The culture also creates landscapes that are uniform since a lot of machinery and technology is involved in farming. They may also lead to depletion of natural resources which are scarce. An example is that the high demand for meat leads to a decrease in the available amount of grains. The culture also causes diffusion of landscapes that were once uniform (Rubenstein, p. 140) for example, American food chains have diffused to other areas of the world. Question Eleven Agriculture is the Art or science of growing plants and rearing animals for human needs or economic gains while crops are the products of plants that have been grown then harvested. Question Thirteen The nomadic communities accidentally dropped seeds and fruits and noticed that new plants grew from the same. They then intentionally cut plants and dropped seeds to confirm if they would grow (Rubenstein, p. 339). The next generations resorted to the introduction of manure and watering the plants. Over the years, agriculture developed as a result of an accident and an experiment. Question Fourteen Subsistence agriculture is the production of food mainly for consumption purposes by the farmers and their families, and it is common in the least Developed Countries (LDCs). Commercial agriculture on the hand is the production of food for economic purposes or sale (Rubenstein, p. 330), and it is commonly practiced in Most Developed Countries (MDCs). Question Fifteen Pastoral nomadism is agriculture that is subsistence, and it entails the herding of animals that have been domesticated. The pastoral nomads are entirely dependent on animals for skin, hair, and milk. They consume grains most of the time since their animals are rarely slaughtered. Power and prestige of pastoral nomads depend on the sizes of their herds (Rubenstein, p. 338). Bigger herds are also a form of security for the adverse climatic conditions. They also exchange their products for grains from sedentary subsistence farmers. The nomads choose the number and type of their animals based on physical characteristics and culture. Camels are the most common in the Middle East and North Africa, and sheep and goats follow them. Families need ten to twenty-five camels or twenty-five to sixty goats. The choice depends on the fact that camels can go for long without water and they can also be used to carry goods, but flies and sleeping sickness disturb them. Goats are very agile and tough and can consume a variety of vegetation. The ships move slowly, and any slight changes in climate affect them. Every group of nomads controls a territory which is based on their power and wealth. They divide themselves into smaller groups of about five to six families and move towards areas with water. Some use pasture to feed their animals while others prefer transhumance which involves the seasonal movement from mountains and lowlands in search of pasture. Experts regard it as a stage in which agriculture went through, but it is fast declining due to modern technology. The nomads were used to transport goods, but now there are transportation and communication inventions. They used to exercise power in the drylands, but governments can control them. Governments in China, Egypt, Syria and the Middle East have been ab...