Understanding the components and regional variations of cultural patterns and processes is critical to human geography . In this section of the course, students begin with the concepts of culture and culture traits . They learn how geographers assess the spatial and place dimensions of cultural groups as defined by language, religion, ethnicity, and gender, in the present as well as the past . A central concern is to comprehend how cultural patterns are represented at a variety of geographic scales from local to global . Diffusion is a key concept in understanding how culture traits (e .g ., agricultural practices, language, technology) move through time and space to new locations, where interactions between global and local forces result in new forms of cultural expression . Students learn that the concept of region is central to understanding the spatial distribution of cultural attributes . The course explores cultural interaction at various scales, along with the conflicts that may result . The eographies of language, religion, ethnicity, and gender are studied to illustrate patterns and processes of cultural differences . Students learn to distinguish between languages and dialects, ethnic and universalizing religions, ethnic political movements, and popular and folk cultures, and to understand why each has a different geographic pattern . Another important emphasis of the course is the way 

culture shapes relationships between humans and the environment . Students learn how culture is expressed in landscapes, and how land use in turn represents cultural identity . Built environments enable the geographer to interpret cultural values, tastes, symbolism, and sets of beliefs . For example, both folk and contemporary architecture are rich and readily available means of comprehending the cultural landscape and how different cultures view it in separate ways