Unit 3: Culture Flashcards
culture
the beliefs, values, practices, behaviors, and technologies shared by a society and passed down from generation to generation
cultural trait
a shared object or cultural practice
artifacts
a visible object or technology that a culture creates
sociofacts
a structure or organization of a culture that influences social behavior
mentifacts
a central, enduring element of a culture that reflects its shared ideas, values, knowledge, and beliefs
socially constructed
created jointly by people rather than an individual
popular culture
the widespread behaviors, beliefs, and practices of ordinary people in society at a given point in time
traditional culture
the long-established behaviors, beliefs, and practices passed down from generation to generation
cultural norms
a shared standard or pattern that guides the behavior of a group of people
ethnocentrism
the tendency of ethnic groups to evaluate other groups according to preconceived ideas originating from their own culture
cultural relativism
the evaluation of a culture by its own standards
cultural landscape
a natural landscape that has been modified by humans, reflecting their cultural beliefs and values
identity
the ways in which humans make sense of themselves and how they wish to be viewed by others
sequent occupancy
the notion that successive societies leave behind their cultural imprint, a collection of evidence about human character and experiences within a geographic region, which shapes the cultural landscape
ethnicity
the state belonging to a group of people who share common cultural characteristics
ethnic neighborhoods
a cultural landscape within a community of people outside of their area of origin
traditional architecture
an established building style of different cultures, religions, and places
postmodern architecture
a building style that emerged as a reaction to “modern” designs, and values diversity in design
religion
a system of spiritual beliefs that helps form cultural perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and values
pilgrimage
a journey to a holy place for spiritual reasons
language
a distinct system of communication that is the carrier of human thoughts and cultural identities
toponyms
a place name
gendered spaces
a space designed and deliberately incorporated into the landscape to accommodate gender roles
third place
a communal space that is separate from home (first place) or work (second place)
sense of place
the subjective feelings and memories people associate with a geographic location
placemaking
a community-driven process in which people collaborate to create a place where they can live, work, play, and learn
relocation diffussion
the spread of ideas and cultural traits through migration
dialects
a variation of a standard language specific to a general area, with differences in pronunciation, degree of rapidity in speech, word choice, and spelling
adherents
a person who is loyal to a belief, religion, or organization
denominations
a separate church organization that unites a number of local congregations
sect
a relatively small group that has separated from an established denomination
centripetal force
a force that unites a group of peopl
centrifugal force
a force that divides a group of people
gentrification
the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in
cultural hearth
an area where cultural traits develop and from which cultural traits diffuse
diffusion
the process by which a cultural trait spreads from one place to another over time
expansion diffusion
the spread of a cultural trait outward from where it originated
contagious diffusion
the process by which an idea or cultural trait spreads rapidly among people of all social classes and levels of power
hierarchical diffusion
the spread of an idea or trait from a person or place of power or authority to other people or places
stimulus diffusion
the process by which a cultural trait or idea spreads to another culture or region but is modified to adapt to the new culture
lingua franca
common language used among speakers of different languages
creolization
the blending of two or more languages that may not include the features of either original language
cultural convergence
the process by which cultures become more similar through interaction
cultural divergence
the process by which cultures become less similar due to conflicting beliefs or other barriers
acculturation
the process by which people within one culture adopt some of the traits of another while still retaining their own distinct culture
assimilation
a category of acculturation in which the interaction of two cultures results in one culture adopting almost all of the customs, traditions, language, and other cultural traits of the other
syncretism
process of innovation combining different cultural features into something new
multiculturalism
a situation in which different cultures live together without assimilating
collectivist cultures
a culture in which people are expected to conform to collective responsibility within the family and to be obedient to and respectful of elder family members
cultural appropriation
the act of adopting elements of another culture
language family
a group of languages that share a common ancestral language from a particular hearth, or region of origin
isolate
a language that is unrelated to any other known language
language branch
a collection of languages within a language family that share a common origin and separated from other branches in the same family several thousand years ago
universalizing religions
a religion that tries to appeal to all humans and is open to membership by everyone (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism)
Christianity
based on the teachings of Jesus Christ that began in what is now the West Bank and Israel around the beginning of the common era and has spread to all continents
Islam
based on the teachings of Muhammad that originated in the hearth of Mecca on the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century
Buddhism
(oldest u.r.) arose from a hearth in northeastern India some time between the mid-sixth and mid-fourth centuries B.C.E. and is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha
Sikhism
(newest u.r.) founded by Guru Nanak, who lived from 1469 to 1539, in the Punjab region of northwestern India
Ethnic Religions
a religion that is closely tied with a particular ethnic group living in a particular place ( Hinduism, Judaism, Shintoism)
Hinduism
arose a few thousand years ago in South Asia and is closely tied to India
Judaism
world’s first monotheistic religion, which developed among the Hebrew people of Southwest Asia about 4,000 years ago
secularized
focused on worldly rather than spiritual concerns (Jews that identify through ethnicity/ culture, not the religion)
