(CT) Culture, Governance, and Human Environmental Interaction Lesson

Culture, Governance, and Human Environmental Interaction Lesson

Let us take a moment to look at our next three big themes: Culture, Governance, and Human Environmental Interaction. These three historical themes can be observed all around you and are part of your everyday life.

Culture is the values and beliefs shared by a population. Can you see culture in the traditions at your school, in your city, in your state, or even in your country? What are some examples you see that bind these groups together?

Governance looks different around the world. It is important to remember that as a society becomes complex and industrialized its ideas of governance change to meet the needs of a more complex society. Hammurabi’s Code was one of the first initial forms of government written down. Out of this code and similar ones, societies developed laws and consequences that suited the needs of their societies. Over time, it caused the development of increasingly complex laws and systems of governance.

Imagine the rules regarding a little league elementary baseball team being applied to a major league team like the Braves. The rules would not be sophisticated enough to help bring consistent order and play. As the number of players and coaches grows and the players’ abilities increase, the rules have to become more complex.

Finally, human-environmental interaction can be seen all around us. How does your being in a location affect the environment? When houses, shops, and roads are constructed, it changes the environment. How does Georgia influence the environment in the South? Does our use of water change the water available to other states? What impact does the United States have on the global environment? If we pollute the air, does it impact Canada or countries as far away as New Zealand? These big themes: Culture, Governance, and Human Environmental Interaction can be observed on both a small personal level and a large global one.

What is Culture?

What is Culture?
  • All the knowledge and values shared by a society.
  • The sum of attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another. Culture is transmitted, through language, material objects, ritual, institutions, and art, from one generation to the next.
  • The culture of a society is the product of the religion, beliefs, customs, traditions, and government of that society.

 

What is Governance?

What is Governance?
  • A method or system of government or management.
  • The act, process, or power of governing; government.
  • As a society increases in complexity and interacts with other societies, the complexity of the government also increases.

What is Environment?

What is Environment?
 
  • Surroundings
  • The area in which something exists or lives
  • All of the social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual or community

What is Interaction?

  • Act together or towards others or with others
  • To act, or have some effect, on each other

Place these terms together and ask, what is Human Environmental Interaction?

  • The relationship created with a place
  • The ways in which humans change and are changed by the environment of the place

Conflict and Change Challenge

Take Away

As we continue to explore the historical themes of the course, continue to try to find small examples of these themes and reflect on the ways they influence your daily life. Then, consider how these themes may also be applied to a large global scale. Governance appears every day at school with a principal and expectations or on roads with police officers and traffic laws. In addition, governance occurs globally with large established governments. Culture occurs at your school through mascots, alma maters, and pep rallies, but globally can be seen through common languages, religions, and large traditions. Human Environmental Interaction is often the topic of news. How can your small effort affect the environment on a global level? Continue to explore more small and large examples as we continue through our themes

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