#3 Culture Flashcards
Acculturation
the modification cultural patterns of one group or society by contact with those of another, but the original group retains traditions and patterns of their original culture.
Assimilation
Process by which people of one culture give up their distinct cultural traditions to become part of another culture
Artifact
Any object made by humans usually of cultural or historical importance
Cultural Landscape
the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape
Culture
the body of learned and accepted customary beliefs, social norms and material traits that constitute a group’s distinct tradition.
Culture Hearth
a center where cultures developed and from which ideas and traditions spread outward
Culture Trait
A single element of normal practice in a culture,
Such as the wearing particular article of clothing.
Culture Region
an area in which people have many shared culture traits
environmental determinism
the view that the natural environment has a controlling influence over various aspects of human life including cultural development
folk culture or traditional culture
Culture traditionally practiced by a small, homogeneous, rural group living in relative isolation from other groups.
Globalization
The trend toward increased cultural and economic connectedness between people, businesses, and organizations throughout the world.
hierarchical diffusion
The spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places
material culture
the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture. These include homes, neighborhoods, cities, schools, places of worship, offices, factories and plants, tools, clothing, transportation, etc.
nonmaterial culture
ideas, knowledge and beliefs that influence people’s behavior within a culture
Popular Culture or Global Culture
Culture found in a large, heterogeneous society that shares certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics.
possiblism
The theory that the physical may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives.
relocation diffusion
The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another.
taboo
A restriction on behavior imposed by social custom.
Placelessness
landscapes that have no special relationship to the places in which they are located—they could be anywhere. Usually associated with popular culture
Cultural syncretism
when an aspect of two or more distinct cultures blend together to create a new custom, idea, practice, or philosophy.
Contagious Diffusion
The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population through contact.
Stimulus diffusion
the adoption of the general idea of something but the specifics are changed to meet local needs
sequent occupance
the notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, each contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape
cultural relativism
not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms
Ethnocentrism
evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one’s own culture.
