Welcome to the World of WORLD CULTURES

There are five fields of learning in social studies. We learn about the world and its people by studying: - geography- history- economics- government- culture

A Mongolian yurt, complete with a satellite television dish.

The People of the World

Getting Along with Each Other (OR NOT?)

• Knowledge of other societies is the key to understanding them

• Knowledge of other cultures increases with:- advances in communication (the Internet)- advances in transportation (high-speed aircraft)- international trade- immigration

History• History is a record of the past; the past

shapes the present

History and Geography

The Five Themes of Geography• Geography is the study of people, places, and

the environment• The study of geography focuses on five

themes:- location- region- place- movement- human-environment interaction

How Countries Govern• Every country has laws—rules that govern

behavior• Every country has ways to govern itself• Government makes and enforces laws

Government

Limited and Unlimited Governments• Limited—everyone obeys laws, including rulers

• Unlimited—rulers have absolute authority over everyone, everything

Continued . . .

Citizenship

• Citizen—a legal member of a country with rights and duties

• Two ways to achieve citizenship:- born in country - naturalization

Government continued

The Study of Resources• Economics—the study of how people manage

resources• Scarcity—conflict between unlimited desires and

limited resources

Economics

Resources• Economists identify three types of resources:

- natural: gifts of nature- human: production skills- capital: goods and services produced

Command and Market Economies• Command—government decides prices and

what and how much to produce • Market—companies use consumers to

determine prices and production

Kinds of Economies

Levels of Development• Countries with high levels of economic

development have:- education, health, employment, services, technology

• Countries with low levels of economic development have:- poor services, low employment, low literacy, low life expectancy

Ways of Living

• Culture—shared beliefs, customs, laws, art, ways of living

• Culture traits—those specific things people share

Culture

Many Regions, Many Cultures

The world can be divided into regions according to culture.

Different Places, Different CulturesRegions of Culture

• Culture region—geographic area in which people share common:- beliefs- history- language- religion- technology- work- food- clothing- shelter

Many Regions, Many Cultures

Continued . . .

The World’s Culture Regions

• The world has seven culture regions:

- U.S. and Canada- Latin America- Europe and former U.S.S.R- North Africa and Southwest Asia- Africa south of the Sahara- South Asia- East Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands

Different Places, Different Cultures

Continued . . .

Culture Regions Change

• Culture regions change as they borrow traits from one another

• Interdependence—culture regions depend on one another economically

• Events in one culture region affect other culture regions

• Advances in technology, communication have increased interdependence

Different Places, Different Cultures