About this video
This short lesson defines cultural diffusion as the spread of inventions, discoveries, ideas and practices from one place or culture to another. It gives examples such as American food appearing in Asia, the growth of Spanish in the United States, and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It notes that ideas now spread faster than ever through social media and the internet.
You'll be able to
- define diffusion as it applies to culture, with examples of ideas and inventions spreading.
- identify several ways diffusion occurs, including trade, media and social networks.
- explain why modern technology speeds up the spread of ideas.
Key words
- Diffusion
- The spread of an invention, discovery, idea or practice from one place or group to another.
- Cultural diffusion
- The movement of cultural traits such as food, language, clothing or beliefs between societies.
- Mass media
- Channels such as television and radio that spread ideas and products to large audiences.
- Bilingual
- Able to speak two languages, which the video notes can be a valuable job skill.
- Social media
- Online platforms through which ideas can now spread across the world very quickly.
Transcript
- [Voiceover] Diffusion is the spread of an invention or discovery from one place to another. The spread of ideas such as capitalism, democracy and even religious beliefs has brought about changes in human relationships around the world. Also, the spread of many types of music, phone technology, and computer hardware and software have played an important role in how connected people are with others around the world.
So, diffusion often involves the expansion of ideas across the globe and it can occur many different ways. Some ways that diffusion can occur would be through exploration, military conquest, missionary work, mass media, tourism, and even through the internet. So here are a few examples that will help us better understand diffusion from one culture to another.
So food originating in America can be seen in countries around the world. For example, here is a McDonald's in Asia. Also, clothing companies like Nike located in Australia or Japan would be another example of cultural diffusion. Spanish is one of the fastest growing languages in the United States and now it has grown so much that being bilingual is a valuable asset to have when you're looking for a job and it's just a good skill to know.
So there are also many examples of diffusion, but the big take away is that ideas have spread from one culture to another throughout history. And an interesting thought is that today, ideas are able to spread quicker than ever before through social media and the internet.
Also, a most recent example that comes to mind is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and I'm sure that you can think of many other examples on your own.
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