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Course: MCAT > Unit 14
Lesson 3: CultureDiffusion
Diffusion is the global spread of ideas, inventions, or discoveries. It can happen through exploration, military conquest, missionary work, mass media, tourism, and the internet. Examples include American fast food in Asia and Spanish language growth in the U.S. Today, ideas spread faster than ever, thanks to social media and the internet.
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- Could the types of diffusion (i.e. hierarchical, contagious, expansion, relocation) be discussed? And the differences between them?(16 votes)
Video 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.