unit 3 vocabulary Flashcards
Culture
the shared beliefs, values, practices, behaviors, and technologies of a society; (in)visible attributes that combine to make up a culture.
Artifacts
Visible, physical objects created by a culture. (ex. houses, clothing, toys, tools, furniture, architecture)
Sociofacts
The ways in which a society behaves and organizes institutions. (family, education, government, religion, land use, gender roles)
Mentifacts
the ideas, beliefs, values and knowledge of a culture. (ex. religious beliefs, language, taboos, food preference)
Local/Traditional Culture
small homogeneous groups of people, often living in rurual areas that are isolated and unlikely to change
arc: materials from the local physical environment
agr: sense of place, unique attribute of a specific location
Global/Popular Culture
large heterogeneous groups of people, often living in urban areas that are interconnected through globalization and the internet/social media, quick to change
arc: materials from factories and manufactured
agr: loss of uniqueness, does not inspire emotional/cultural ties
Cultural norms
agreed upon cultural practices or standards that guide the behavior of a culture
Cultural taboos
behaviors heavily discouraged by a culture
ethnocentrism
judging other cultures in terms of one’s own standards and often includes the belief that one’s own culture/ethnicity group is better than others
cultural relativism
a less biased way of viewing another culture, the goal of this is to promote understanding of cultural practices that are not typically part of one’s own culture. leades to the views that no one’s culture is superior to another culture when compared.
cultural landscape
a natural landscape that has been modified by humans, reflecting their cultural beliefs and values
traditional architecture
influenced by the environment & built with available local materials, reflective of history, culture and climate
(ex. Nepal’s stone/clay house, huts and cabin)
postmodern architecture
diverse designs, representative of popular culture, business and economic success (ex. skyscrapers)
ethnic enclave
people of the same ethnicity that cluster together in a specific location, typically within a major city (Little Italy, Chinatown)
gendered space
places in the cultural landscape utilized to reinforce or accommodate gender roles for men or women (busses for women in Mexico, hair salon/barber shop)
religion, sacred places
physical sites where deities dwell (cemeteries, religious approved food restaurants, signs written in languages)
sequent occupancy
the idea that societies or cultural groups leave their cultural imprints when they live in a place, contributing to the overall cultural landscape over time (ex. The Great Pyramids)
steeple
a church tower and spire.
stupa
a dome-shaped structure; a Buddhist shrine.
pagoda
a tower in eastern Asia usually with roofs curving upward at the division of each of several stories and erected as a temple or memorial.
synagogue
the building where a Jewish assembly or congregation meets for religious worship and instruction.
mosque
a Muslim place of worship.
minaret
a tall slender tower, typically part of a mosque, with a balcony from which a muezzin calls Muslims to prayer.
diaspora
when people are scattered from their motherland, separated
cultural hearth
where a religion or ethnicity began
centripetal force
that thar unify a group/religion. people tend to gravitate toward others who have shared beliefs, customs, interests, background (common language/religion, heritage & history, legal system)
centrifugal force
aspects that divide people & states (centripetal in reserve (different language/religion, ethnic conflict, racism, dictatorial leadership)
sharia
legal framework of a country derived from Islamic edicts taken from the Quran
fundamentalism
an attempt to follow a literal interpretation of a religious faith
theocracy
countries whose governments are by religious leaders through the use of religious laws
diffusion by relocation
the spread of a cultural trait through the migration of people, as people migrate, they take their cultural traits with them
contagious diffusion
a cultural trait spread rapidly, widely, and continuously from its hearth through close contact between people
hierarchical diffusion
the spread of cultural traits from the least interconnected wealthy or powerful people/organizations outwards
reverse hierarchical diffusion
the spread of cultural traits from poor or powerless people outwards
stimulus diffusion
as cultural traits spread they are altered/modified due to a cultural barrier, taboo, or difference
barriers to diffusion
time-space decay
imperialism
a broader concept that includes a variety of ways of influencing another country by control and domiance
colonialism
a type of imperialism in which people move into and settle on the land of another country
lingua franca
a common language used by people who don’t share the same native language (ex. english)
linguist; linguistic
scientists who study languages
indo-european languages
a large group of languages that might have descended from a language spoken ≈6000 years ago
dialects
regions variations of a language, small enough not to interfere with communication, but noticeable
toponym
the names of places; can usually provide insight into physical geography, history or culture
homogeneous
the same
ethnic religions
traditions that emphasize stong cultural characteristics, adherents to an ethnic religion are born/adopted into it
universal religions
actively seeks converts regardless of ethnic backgrounds, language, social status, and nationality
hinduism
religion of india, krishna (avatar of vishnu) took god’s form through reincarnation, one god but many gods
polytheistic
a religion worshipping/having many gods
monotheistic
a religion worshipping/having one god
buddhism
siddhartha, the son of a king saw an old person, a sick person, a monk and the dead and tried asceticism before reaching enlightenment at the middle way
judaism
god cares, acts, and is just, therefore they always survive. everyone is made in god’s image, equality, meaning, worhty
christianity
based on Judaism, Jesus was also a Jew would taught the idea of non-violence and loving your enemy
islam
muhammah being enlightened by the angel gabriel and becoming a religious leader in mecca and medina
pilgrimage
a religious journey taken by a person to a sacred place of their religion
social constructs
ideas, concepts, perceptions created and accepted by people that were not created by nature
time-space convergence
the greater interconnection between places that results from improvements in transportation
cultural convergence
cultures becoming similar through sharing more cultural traits, ideas and beliefs, caused by globalization
cultural divergence
an idea that cultures will change over time from divisions created by modern technology, distance, physical separation and time
acculturation
an immigration group that moves to a new area and adopts the values from their new area while maintaining valuable elements from their old culture
assimilation
an ethnic group that can’t be distinguished from receiving group because they were more affluent and leave their ethnic group
syncretism
the fusion or blending of two distinctive cultural traits into a unique new hybrid trait
multiculturalism
coexistence of several cultures in one society with the ideals of all cultures being values and worthy of study
nativism
anti-immigrants who sometimes bring violence and government actions against the immigrant or minority group
