CULTURAL DIFFUSION

DEFINITION

• The spread of cultural beliefs and social activities from one group to another. The mixing of world cultures through different ethnicities and nationalities has increased with advanced communication, transportation and technology.

TECHNOLOGY

• Cultural diffusion through technology can be defined by one religions pledge to another the use of technology

EXAMPLES OF TECHNOLOGY

• Paper was first made in China and soon spread to Europe and the Middle East.
• Kygryz herders in Afghanistan are isolated from the rest of the world and they have cell phones for playing music and taking pictures, even though there is no cellular service.
• The fax machine was developed in Germany and was then made into a worldwide product by the Japanese.
• China invented the first mechanical clock and soon that technology spread throughout other cultures.

RELIGION

• Cultural diffusion through religion is when one religions values and beliefs is made known to other countries

RELIGIOUS EXAMPLES

• An example of forced diffusion is the Afghans forcing the Nuristanis to convert to Islam. India is home to many religions: Buddhists, Christians, Muslims and Hindi.
• Islam has spread recently to the whole world. In China, during the Han Dynasty, Buddhism spread from India to China.
• An example of forced diffusion is the Spanish, French, English and Portuguese forcing the native population of the Americas to become Christian.

ECONOMIC

• Economic cultural diffusion can be defined as how companies spread their ideals and values to countries all across the world.

EXAMPLES OF ECONOMIC DIFFUSION

• Coca-Cola products are found all over the world.
• McDonald’s restaurants have sprung up virtually everywhere
• In Himalayan villages, you can find people wearing blue jeans.