Cultural Regions
When studying geography, it helps to divide the world into smaller regions. Recall that physical geography organizes the planet into climate and vegetation regions. Human geography organizes the planet into cultural regions. A cultural region does not necessarily have a definitive boundary you can mark on a map. In fact, cultural regions usually ignore political borders by spanning multiple countries. In this topic, you will explore examples of cultural regions, how they formed, and how they impact the landscape.
Essential Questions
- How do cultural characteristics like ethnicity, language, and religion unite or divide regions?
- How does a map reflect the regional perspective of a culture?
Warm-Up
Take a moment to examine the image to the right. What do you see? Jot down your description of the image.
Explanation of the Image: In your description, did you perceive a young woman looking to the back and to the left? Or an old woman looking downward? If you perceived the image as a young woman, you interpreted the thick black line as her necklace. Her jawline and a small left ear are above that. To see an old woman in this image, you would have perceived the thick black line as her lips. A chin is below, and large nose above. Are you able to see both the young and old woman? Is it easier for you to perceive one over the other?
Now, think about ways people living around the world have different perspectives. Individuals from Asia, Latin America, and the United States may see an optical illusion in the same way. However, their country of origin may impact other aspects of their lives. For example, one's physical location could effect language, religion, or ethnicity. Each of these characteristics help define an individual’s classification of the world. How do your own perspectives help you define cultural regions?