unit 3

Question 1

culture beliefs, customs, art and traditions that make up the way of life by a specific group of people
cultural trait a tradition practice that members of a particular society follow routinely and is widely-accepted
cultural landscape the human imprint on the physical environment
material culture what we see: the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture
nonmaterial culture what we feel: the ideas, beliefs and values that define a group of people, or a culture
cultural complex a combination of different traits that define a particular group of people or culture
folk culture traditionally practiced by a small, homogeneous, rural group living in relative isolation from other groups
local culture a group of homogeneous people in a particular place who see themselves as a community, with a shared cultural complex
popular culture a widespread spread of culture or a cultural trait incorporating a large, heterogeneous population
globalization the spread of popular culture through a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations
placelessness the loss of uniqueness of place, due to globalization in the cultural landscape so that all places look the same
commodification the marketing of culture or cultural traits by selling products from a local culture to the world
authenticity the idea that a group of people claim to be “the real deal” in terms of a cultural trait or traits in order to market a place as a real local culture
folk-housing regions a region in which a specific unique type of housing develops usually using local materials and built to deal with specific local environments
gendered places that are designed for men only or women only
sexism attitudes or behavior which limit women’s opportunities and are based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles
glass ceiling a metaphor alluding to the invisible barriers that prevent minorities and women from being promoted to top corporate positions
informal labor labor that is not officially recognized and receives no salary, ex. work around the house; non-recognition of these jobs often make women look less valuable
dowry deaths cases when the bride is brutally beat or killed for her father’s failure to fulfill the marriage agreement or payment–commonly associated with India
sex trafficking the trade in humans, mostly young women, for the purposed of sexual slavery, forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation
gender inequality index a measure created by the UN that looks at gender disparities in education, health, government positions, etc.
gender detection tests tests used to determine the sex of a fetus–used to abort girl fetuses in countries with a male preference
sexuality and space where people with a shared sexual identity cluster and how they create a space for themselves
heteronormative cultural belief which assumes that heterosexuality is the norm and normal
queer theory a body of research findings that challenge the heterosexual bias in society
identity how people see themselves in various arenas and scales
race a socially constructed identity that separates people based on skin color or other physical attributes
ethnicity a social division based on national origin, religion, language, or other cultural traits
racism the concept of superiority attached to race
social Darwinism the theory from the 1870s that claimed certain races were more evolved, thus justifying the racial superiority ideas and imperialist policies
residential segregation the degree to which two or more groups live separately from one another, in different parts of the urban environment
invasion and succession process by which new immigrants move to a new city and dominate or take over areas or neighborhoods occupied by older immigrant groups
sequent occupance the idea that each culture or successive societies in an area leave their material culture on a place, each contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape
model minority a subordinate group whose members supposedly have succeeded economically, socially, and educationally despite past prejudice and discrimmination
Apartied political system of strict segregation by race previously in effect in South Africa
Jim Crow law designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites
De Jure segregation racial segregation that occurs because of laws or administrative decisions by public agencies
De Facto segregation racial segregation that occurs in areas, not as a result of law, but as a result of patterns of residential settlement
white flight working and middle-class white people move away from racial-minority suburbs or inner-city neighborhoods to suburbs
acculturation the modification of social patterns, traits, or structures of one group of society by contact with those of another, but original group keeps some characteristics
assimilation a policy in which a nation forces or encourages a subject people to adopt its institutions and customs completely
cultural appropriation the process by which other cultures adopt customs and knowledge and use them for their own benefit often commodifying certain traits
cultural hearth a center where culture developed and from which ideas and traditions spread outward
neolocalism creating a local culture or restoring a local culture in response to the uncertainty of the modern world
ethnic enclaves areas or neighborhoods within cities that are homogeneous in their ethnic makeup, and are usually surrounded by different ethnic groups
monotheistic religion a belief in one god or supreme being: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
polytheistic religion belief system with multiple gods or supreme beings: Ancient Greeks and Romans
universalizing religion a religion that attempts to appeal to all people, not just those living in a particular location; seeks new converts
ethnic religion religion that is identified with a particular ethnic or cultural group in a concentrated geographic area and that does not seek new converts
animistic religion the belief that souls or spirits exist no only in humans but also in all other animals, plants, rocks, geographic features, etc.
secularism indifference to or rejection of religion and religious considerations
sacred sites place with extremely deep religious meaning; often something divine or otherworldly happened there
pilgrimage a voyage to a place considered sacred for religious purposes; Muslims often make pilgrimages to Mecca
religious fundamentalism religious movement which seeks a return to the basic foundations and guiding principles of the religion
religious extremism violent religious movement by some strict fundamentalists who seek to restore principles by any means necessary
interfaith boundaries boundaries between different religions; often are fault lines where conflict between two religions could occur
intrafaith boundaries boundaries within a religion (ex. Catholic and Protestant); these boundaries can be marred with conflict
genocide deliberate attempt to destroy a racial or cultural group through mass killing
religious branches a division of a major religion
religious denominations a subcategory of religions within a branch
language the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way
language divergence occurs when a lack of spatial interaction among speakers of language breaks the language into dialects and then eventually new languages
language convergence the blending of two languages into one resulting from the consistent spatial interaction of people with different languages
Lingua Franca a common agreed language of business in an area where people speak different languages; ex. English
pidgin language a basic trade language that adopts a simplified grammar and limited vocabulary of several languages of different people in order to trade
creole language a pidgin language that has developed a more complex structure and vocabulary base and becomes the native language of a group of people
backward reconstruction a technique used to track sound shifts back toward an original language
deep reconstruction technique using the vocabulary of an extinct language to recreate the language that proceeded the extinct language
extinct language a dead language that was once used but has no native speakers who use it daily as a first language
isolated language a language that can’t be traced back to other languages and language families through backwards reconstruction–often found in remote places in the world
Proto-Indo-European language the idea of the existence of an ancestral language that connects Latin, Greek and Sanskrit together
Nostratic the idea of the existence of an ancestral language that connects Indo-European languages to other language families
conquest theory the belief that from a Kurgan hearth, early Proto-Indo-European speakers diffused outward on horseback to Europe and to India, overpowering the original inhabitants
agricultural theory farming people of Anatolia moved slowly westward and north into Europe spreading the Proto-Indo-European language
standard language the “form” of a language with specific grammar rules and word choice that is used for official stuff–“textbook” English, French, etc.
official language the actual language(s) adopted for use by the government for the conduct of business and publication of documents
mutual intelligibility the ability of two people to understand each other when speaking
dialects local or regional characteristics of a language with pronunciation differences and a distinctive grammar and vocabulary
isogloss a line on a dialect map marking the boundary between different accents, word choices, or other linguistic features
language superfamily the concept that language families have a common root in the very distant past–debated by linguists
language families groups of languages with a shared origin but fairly distant origin–agreed upon by linguists
language branch a collection of languages related through a common ancestor that existed several thousand years ago, aka language subfamily
language group a collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past
toponym the name given to a portion of Earth’s surface
monolingual state countries in which only one language is spoken
language conflict usually occurs when two languages compete for status in a reigon; in Canada, English and French
multilingual states countries in which more than one language is in use