Specialized Humanities Vocab

Question 1

Rankean Empiricism

Answer 1

A historical approach that emphasizes reliance on primary sources and knowing exactly as things had happened

Question 2

Milieu

Answer 2

Social Enviornment

Question 3

To Jettison

Answer 3

To Throw/Drop

Question 4

Annales School

Answer 4

A historiographical movement focusing on long-term historical structures over events.

Question 5

Cliometrics

Answer 5

The quantitative analysis of history using economic models.

Question 6

Teleology

Answer 6

Interpreting historical events as having a predetermined purpose.

Question 7

Subaltern Studies

Answer 7

A focus on histories of marginalized or oppressed groups.

Question 8

Epistemology

Answer 8

The study of Knowledge and its limits

Question 9

Ontology

Answer 9

The study of existance

Question 10

Phenomenology

Answer 10

A philosophical approach focusing on subjective experience.

Question 11

Utilitarianism

Answer 11

Ethical theory prioritizing the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

Question 12

Deontology

Answer 12

Ethics based on rules and duties

Question 13

Pragmatism

Answer 13

A method of assessing truth by practical consquences

Question 14

Anomie

Answer 14

A State of normlessness or societal instability

Question 15

Semiotics

Answer 15

The study of sign and symbol in communication

Question 16

Metanarrative

Answer 16

A grand overarching story that provides a framework for understanding

Question 17

Paratext

Answer 17

Material surrounding the main text

Question 18

Syncretism

Answer 18

The blending of relgiious or cultural traditions

Question 19

Hermeneutics

Answer 19

The study of interpretation

Question 20

Pantheism

Answer 20

The beleif that God is identical with the universe

Question 21

Keynesian Economics

Answer 21

Economic theory emphasizing government intervention

Question 22

Market equilibrium

Answer 22

Supply=demand

Question 23

Allegory

Answer 23

A narrative with a symbolic meaning beyond the literal.

Question 24

Anagnorisis

Answer 24

The moment in a play or story when a character makes a critical discovery.

Question 25

Bildungsroman

Answer 25

A novel focusing on psychological and moral growth

Question 26

Foil

Answer 26

A contrasting character with another to highlight qualities

Question 27

Juxtaposition

Answer 27

Placing contrasting ideas or elements side by side

Question 28

Litotes

Answer 28

An understatment often using double negatives

Question 29

Synecdoche

Answer 29

A figure of speech where a part represents the whole (e.g., “wheels” for a car).

Question 30

Vernacular

Answer 30

Everyday language

Question 31

Zeitgeist

Answer 31

The spirit or mood of a particular historical period as reflected in literature

Question 32

Aphorism

Answer 32

A concise statement expressing a general truth

Question 33

Detente

Answer 33

Easing of strained relations between nations

Question 34

Realpolitik

Answer 34

Political realism rather than idoelogical considerations

Question 35

Social Darwinism

Answer 35

The application of evolutionary theory to justify societal hierarchies.

Question 36

Absurdism

Answer 36

The beleif human existence is meaningless

Question 37

A priori

Answer 37

Knowledge not dependent on experience

Question 38

A posteriori

Answer 38

Knowledge dependent on experience

Question 39

Dualism

Answer 39

The beleif in two fundamental principles

Question 40

Empiricism

Answer 40

The theory knowledge arises from sensory experience

Question 41

Eudaimonia

Answer 41

Aristotle’s concept of human flourishing or happiness.

Question 42

Positivism

Answer 42

The beleif that knowledge is based on natural phenomena

Question 43

Solipsism

Answer 43

The belief only one’s own mind is sure to exist

Question 44

Tabula Rasa

Answer 44

The mind begins a blank slate