Unit 3: Culture Flashcards
Acculturation
the adoption by an ethnic group of enough of the ways of the host society to be able to function
economically and socially
Assimilation
the complete blending of an ethnic group into the host society, resulting in the loss of all distinctive ethnic traits
Cultural maladaptation
poor or inadequate adaptation that occurs when a group pursues an adaptive
strategy that, in the short run, fails to provide the necessities of life or, in the long run, destroys the environment
that nourishes it
Cultural core
the territorial nucleus from which a country grows in area and over time, often containing the
national capital and the main center of commerce, culture, and industry.
Cultural periphery
a concept based on the tendency of both formal and functional culture regions to consist of
a core or node, in which defining traits and purest or functions are headquartered, and a periphery that is
tributary and displays fewer of the defining traits.
Cultural ecology
broadly defined, the study of the relationships between the physical environment and culture;
narrowly defined, the study of culture as an adaptive system that facilitates human adaptation to nature and
environmental change
Cultural landscape
the artificial landscape; the visible human imprint on the land.
Best example is religious buildings
Culture
a total way of life held in common by a group of people, including such learned features as speech,
ideology, behavior; livelihood, technology, and government; or the local, customary way of doing things- a way
of life; an ever-changing process in which a group is actively engaged; a dynamic mix of symbols, beliefs,
speech, and practices
Adaptive strategies
the unique way in which each culture uses its particular physical environment; those
aspects of culture that serve to provide the necessities of life- food, clothing, shelter, and defense
folk architecture
architecture that comes from the collective memory of groups of traditional people. These buildings are based not on blueprints but on mental images that change little from one generation to the next
and use locally available raw materials
Folk culture
a small cohesive, stable, isolated, nearly self-sufficient group that is homogeneous in custom and
race; characterized by a strong family or clan structure, order maintained through sanctions based in the
religion or family, little division of labor other than that between the sexes, frequent and strong interpersonal
relationships, and a material culture consisting mainly of a handmade goods.
Folk
traditional, rural; the opposite of “popular”
Folklore
traditional customs, tales, sayings, dances, or art forms preserved among a people
Material culture
all physical, tangible objects made and used by members of a cultural group, such as
clothing, buildings, tools and utensils, instruments, furniture, and artwork; the visible aspect of culture.
Nonmaterial culture
the wide range of tales, songs, lore, beliefs, superstitions, and customs that passes from
generation to generation as part of an oral or written tradition
Popular culture
a dynamic culture based in large, heterogeneous societies permitting considerable
individualism, innovation, and change; having a money-based economy, division of labor into professions,
secular institutions of control, and weak interpersonal ties; producing and consuming machine-made goods
Survey pattern
a pattern of original land survey in an area
Creole
a language derived from a pidgin that has acquired a fuller vocabulary and become the native
language of its speakers
Must have native speakers and syntax to become an official language
Dialect
a distinctive local or regional variant of a language that remains mutually intelligible to speakers of
other dialects of that language; a subtype of a language
Isogloss
the border of usage of an individual word or pronunciation
Language
a mutually agreed-upon system of symbolic communication that has a spoken and usually a
written expression
Language family
a group of related languages derived from a common ancestor
Indo-European is the largest because of lingua francas
Sino-Tibetan is the largest due to native population size
Lingua franca
an existing, well-established language of communication and commerce used widely where it is
not a mother tongue
Ex. Spanish in Latin America
Can also be created, like Swahili
Linguistic refuge area
an area protected by isolation or inhospitable environmental conditions in which a
language or dialect has survived
Monolingual
speaking only one language.
Multilingual
speaking more than one language
Official language
in multilingual countries the language selected, often by the educated and politically
powerful elite, to promote internal cohesion; usually the language of the courts and government
Pidgin
a composite language consisting of a small vocabulary borrowed from the linguistic groups involved in
international commerce
Toponymy
place name.
Mutual intelligibility
the ability of two people to understand each other when speaking.
Animism
he belief that inanimate objects, such as trees, rocks, and rivers, possess souls
Ethnic religion
a religion identified with a particular ethnic or tribal group; does not seek to converts.
Shamanism
community faith in traditional societies in which people follow their shaman— a religious leader,
teacher, healer, and visionary. At times, an especially strong shaman might attract a regional following.
However, most shamans remain local figures
Secularism
the idea that ethical and moral standards should be formulated and adhered to for life on Earth,
not to accommodate the prescriptions of a deity and promises of a comfortable afterlife
Sharia law
the system of Islamic law, sometimes called Qu’ranic law, unlike most Western systems of law that
are based on legal precedence, it is based on varying degrees of interpretation of the Qu’ran
Theocracy
a state whose government is under the control of a ruler who is deemed to be divinely guided, or
of a group of religious leaders, as in post-Kohomeini Iran. It’s opposite is a secular state
Universalizing
religions that attempt to be global, to appeal to all people, wherever they may live in the world,
not just to those of one culture or location
Acculturation
the adoption by an ethnic group of enough of the ways of the host society to be able to function
economically and socially.
Adaptive strategy
the unique way in which each culture uses its particular physical environment; those
aspects of culture that serve to provide the necessities of life— food, clothing, shelter, and defense.
Assimilation
the complete blending of an ethnic group into the host society, resulting in the loss of all
distinctive ethnic traits
Chain migration
the tendency of people to migrate among channels, over a period of time, from specific
source areas to specific destinations
Cultural adaptation
the complex strategies human groups employ to live successfully as part of a natural
system
Cultural shatterbelt
a zone of great cultural complexity containing many small cultural groups.
Ethnic cleansing
process in which more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one in order
to create an ethnically homogeneous region
Enclave
a piece of territory surrounded by , but not part of a country
Ethnic enclave
a ethnic group surrounded by another ethnic group
Ethnic group
a group of people who share a common ancestry and cultural tradition, often living as a minority
in a larger society
Ethnic homeland
a sizable area inhabited by an ethnic minority that exhibits a strong sense of attachment to
the region and often exercises some measure of political and social control over it
Ethnic island
a small ethnic area in the rural countryside; sometimes called a “folk island.
”
Ethnic neighborhood
a voluntary community where people of like origin reside by choice.
Ethnicity
affiliation or identify within a group of people bound by common ancestry and culture
Ethnocentrism
the attitude that one’s own race and culture are superior to others
ie. seeing other cultures with a bias towards your own
This feeling can lead to xenophobia
Exclave
a piece of national territory separated from the main body of a country by the territory of another
country
Ghetto
traditionally, an area within a city where an ethnic group lives, either by choice or by force. T oday, in
the United States, the term typically indicated an impoverished African-American urban neighborhood
Plural society
a society combining ethnic contrasts; each group holds by its own religion, its own culture and
language, its own ideas and ways
Race
identity with a group of people descended from a common ancestor
Segregation
the spatial separation of specific population sub-groups within a wider population
Social distance
a measure of the perceived degree of social separation between individuals, ethnic groups,
neighborhoods, or other groupings; the voluntary or enforced segregation of two or more distinct social groups
for most activities.
Social distance
a measure of the perceived degree of social separation between individuals, ethnic groups,
neighborhoods, or other groupings; the voluntary or enforced segregation of two or more distinct social groups
for most activities.
Dowry death
in the context of arranged marriages in India, disputes over the price to be paid by the family o
the bride to the father of the groom have, in some extreme cases, led to the death of the bride
Enfranchisement
to admit to the privileges of a citizen and especially to the right of suffrage; to admit (a
municipality) to political privileges or rights
Gender
the social differences between men and women rather than the anatomical differences that are
related to sex.
Gender gap
the social differences between men and women rather than the anatomical differences that are
related to sex.
Infanticide
the killing of an infant
Artifact
Visible objects of a culture such as buildings or clothing
Sociofact
structures and organizations that influence social behavior, such as governments, religious organizations, or families
Mentifact
the enduring central elements of a culture that reflect its shared ideas, knowledge, and beliefs, such as religious beliefs or language
Cultural Relativism
The evaluation of a culture by its own unique standards
ie. viewing with a neutral stance
Third Place
a place separate from home or work that individuals can develop a sense of self and let their guard down
Sense of place
An individual’s perception of places based on memories and feelings
Placemaking
a community driven process where people contribute to the place they live, work, play, and learn
this creates a cultural landscape
Relocation Diffusion
the spread of culture due to the movement or relocation of people
Expansion Diffusion
An aspect of culture spreads outwards from its source
Contagious Diffusion
When a cultural trait spreads to people or places that are next to each other, like a disease spreading
Hierarchical Diffusion
spread of culture from a place/person with power and influence down
stimulus diffusion
when an element of culture or an innovation is changed to fit the local culture
ex. macdonalds changed its menu to fit India’s culture
Cultural Convergence
As cultures interact they become more similar, adopting each other’s ideas, innovations, and traits
Separations have decreased because of time-space compression due to Globalization
Cultural Divergence
Barriers and conflicting beliefs cause cultures to be less similar
On an individual level, when a person migrates and move away from their culture
Syncretism
The blending of two or more cultures to form new practices, customs, or values
Collectivist Cultures
People are expected to conform to family responsibility
Usually an element of Eastern cultures
Cultural Hearth
The place a culture originates from
Ancestral Language
The unidentifiable language a family originates from
Isolate
A language that is not part of any language family
Basque due to physical isolation
Japanese due to historical isolation and physical isolation
Language Branch
Branches share a common origin and have similarities in grammar but cannot understand each other
Language group
share a more recent origin and have overlapping vocabularies
Kurgan vs. Anatolian Hearth Theory
The theories of how the ancestor language of the Indo-European family spread
Kurgan = warrior conquest theory
Anatolian = spread of farming practices
