1. Where are Folk & Popular Activities Distributed?
CHAPTER 4 KEY ISSUE 1
Where are Folk & Popular Activities Distributed?

2. Important division-
MATERIAL CULTURE - the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture
NONMATERIAL CULTURE - the nonphysical ideas that people have, including beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, language, and institutions

3. CULTURE is made up of the CUSTOMS of its people.
A Habit is a repetitive act performed by an individual.

4. A Custom is a repetitive and defining act performed by a group.

5. Customs Include:
Behavior
Clothing
Music
Food
Sports
Attitudes

6. DAILY NECESSITIES
MISWAK
(rural Arab world)

7. DAILY NECESSITIES
SALWAR KAMEEZ
(Pakistan)

8. LEISURE ACTIVITIES

9. FOLK culture is STATIC and is practiced in more isolated places and by relatively homogenous groups

10. POPULAR culture is DYNAMIC and is found in larger, more connected, and more heterogeneous places

11. ORIGINS of FOLK CULTURE
-Anonymous/unrecorded hearths
-Multiple hearths, separated by isolation
-Unrecorded dates (timeless)
-Unidentified/unrecorded originators
-Unofficial transmission- Oral stories/skills, often unwritten

12. TATREEZ (Palestinian folk clothing)

14. ORIGINS of POPULAR CULTURE
-Product of developed countries
-Typically North American or European (exceptions)
-Origin usually traceable to specific party in a particular place and time
-Time-sensitive (reflects current paradigm)

15. DIFFUSION of FOLK CULTURE
Small scale and slow transmission from one location to another, primarily through relocation diffusion (migration)

17. DIFFUSION of POPULAR CULTURE
Often transmitted by way of hierarchical diffusion
Diffuses rapidly and extensively from specialized nodes of innovation (hearths) with help of modern communications

19. HEARTHS of Popular Culture
TECHNOLOGY
‘Silicon Valley’; Japan, S. Korea…
MUSIC
Motown (soul), Nashville (country), urban centers (hip hop)…
MOVIES
Hollywood, Bollywood, Egypt…
FASHION
NYC, Paris, London, LA…

20. HOLLYWOOD/BOLLYWOOD STARS

21. DISTRIBUTION of FOLK CULTURE
Combination of local physical and cultural factors influence distinctive distributions.
Isolation from other cultures/groups because of physical barriers —e.g., long distances and mountain ranges
Religion has heavy influence

22. Art from several cultural groups in proximity to each other – different due to varying environmental/religious experiences

24. DISTRIBUTION of POPULAR CULTURE
Widely distributed across many countries with little/no regard for physical factors
Stimulus diffusion
Principal obstacle to access is lack of income to purchase the material (technology, fashion, etc..)

26. FOLK and POPULAR MUSIC

27. FOLK MUSIC Originates anonymously
Transmitted orally (often unrecorded)
Content centers on events in daily life that are familiar to most people, like-
Daily Life events
E.g., birth, death, marriage, love, loss
Environmental features
E.g., agriculture or climate
Religion

28. Women in Kalahari desert region dancing/singing upon first rains of season

29. Like other folk artifacts, folk music is STATIC, relatively unchanging over time.

30. POPULAR MUSIC
Music written by specific individuals with the intent of being-
Sold as a recording
Performed in front of a paying audience
Often displays a high degree of technical skill or refinement
Transmitted/diffused through technology
Strong connections with other similar (but possibly disparate) musicians

31. LANDSCAPE OF MUSIC PROJECT

32. Popular music is highly DYNAMIC, changing and shifting rapidly along with cultural preferences.

33. Folk and Popular SPORTS

34. Sports originated as isolated folk customs and diffused like other folk culture via relocation diffusion.

35. Once a sport becomes focused on profitable consumption by a MARKET (teams, leagues) and its rules become STANDARDIZED, it has become POPULAR.

36. …But none has diffused as widely as SOCCER, the world’s most popular sport

37. FOLK ORIGINS of SOCCER
SOCCER was invented in the 11th century in ENGLAND.
Different versions of the game were played in different towns/cities
Over time, the game became more standardized and popular in England

38. POPULAR ORIGINS of SOCCER
During the Industrial Rev’n, factories would form teams to play other factories
In 1863, the first LEAGUE is formed, and the rules were fully standardized for the first time.
People begin to PAY to watch games- and athletes get PAID (spectator sport)

40. SPREAD of SOCCER
Travelers to England, and those in contact with English travelers, hear about or play the sport. Dutch students bring it to Continental Europe in the 1870s; Spanish miners start playing in the 1880s.
Soccer is spread worldwide by empires, especially the BRITISH EMPIRE.

41. Today, soccer is by far the most widely dispersed sport in the world
Today, soccer is by far the most widely dispersed sport in the world. Because it is so simple, it is often called the ‘poor mans sport.’
FIGURE 4-12 GLOBAL SPORTS: WORLD CUP Most countries in Europe and Latin America have qualified for the World Cup finals. As soccer diffuses worldwide, qualification has increased in other regions.

42. REGIONALLY POPULAR SPORTS
CRICKET is played in many former British colonies, including countries in the Caribbean, India, and Australia.

43. FIGURE 4-14 CRICKET Boys play cricket in Katni, India.

44. REGIONALLY POPULAR SPORTS
RUGBY was adapted from SOCCER in 1823 when a player in RUGBY, ENGLAND picked up the ball and ran; the crowd loved it.
Today, Rugby is widely played in former British colonies, like Cricket.
The sport is most popular in AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND, and became an OLY MPIC EVENT in 2016.