UNIT THREE Vocab Flashcards
Acculturation: the process in which a less dominant culture adopts some of the traits of a more influential one, immigrants usually take on the values, attitudes, customs and language of their new country
My definition: less dominant culture adopts some traits of more influential culture, usually immigrants adopting traits of their new country
My Example: Cars are much more of a necessity in the USA than the Netherlands. Recently arrived Dutch emigrants should plan to buy a car or two.
Assimilation: the dominate culture completely absorbs the less dominant culture
**My definition: **Acculturation is the lesser culture adopts some values of larger culture. Assimilation is dominant culture absorbs lesser culture.
My example: Native American culture is now completely absorbed, regularly ignored, and almost forgotten in the pool of American culture.
Culture: The body of customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits that together constitute a group of people’s distinct tradition.
1) Non-material culture: abstract concepts of culture such as beliefs, values, behaviors, norms
2) Material culture: concrete human creations, artifacts which reflect values, beliefs and behaviors
My definition: Body of beliefs, values, behaviors, and human creations that reflect those societal traits
My example: American pride, war mongering, big and strong, melting pot. Hot dogs, USMC motif, and Bill of Rights reflect those beliefs.
Cultural region: an area that is marked by culture that distinguishes from other regions
Culture complex: combining culture traits in distinct ways - common values, beliefs, behaviors, artifacts that make a group distant from others
Culture system: in interconnected system of culture complexes where the people have strong cultural ties
Cultural hearth: areas where civilizations began (can change over time – the Industrial Revolution is now a cultural hearth for Europe and North America)
My definition:
Cultural region: culture that distinguishes from other regions. For example the South is much different from the West because of higher population densities, South American influence, multi-million entertainment services, etc
Culture complex: common values, beliefs, behaviors, artifacts that make a group distant from others. For example Central Florida has less Spanish speaking people than South Florida.
Culture system: System of culture complexes where people have strong cultural ties.
Cultural hearth: areas where civilizations began. For example Reformation is a cultural hearth in North and South Europe.
**Cultural diffusion: **the spreading of culture traits, ideas to most parts of the globe
Cultural Identity: Ones belief in belonging to a group or certain cultural aspect. You can “identify with” a group or “identify against” a group (what you are, or what you are not).
Culture trait: a single attribute of a culture
Cultural linkage: migrants who have moved away but renew or maintain their connections with their homeland (facilitated by modern technology – newspapers, newsletters, blogs…).
**My definition: **
**Cultural diffusion: **spreading of culture traits. For example Dutch influence can be found in the West Indies, Alberta, and Suriname
Cultural identity: belonging to a group or certain cultural aspect. For example I like Dutch food, bicycle paths, Canadian wilderness, and American ingenuity
Culture trait: single attribute of a culture. For example hot dogs is an attribute of American food
Cultural linkage: migrants who renew/maintain their connections with their homeland. I always root for my hometown hockey team, and I always wear my Dutch Marines cap
Cultural revival: process that works against globalization, revitalizing cultural ties and promoting distinction.
**Cultural Landscape (built environment): ** The visible imprint of human activity on the landscape; the “man-made” part of the environment – the study of this is cultural ecology
My definitions:
Cultural revival: works against globalization, promoting distinction. For example, Native Americans try to pass on age old customs to newer generations
Cultural landscape: man-made part of the environment. For example the Netherlands has a lot of polders, dams, and wind mills/turbines.
transculturation: a two way flow of culture that reflects a more equal exchange of cultural traits
ethnocentrism: the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture
**My definition: **
transculturation: a two way flow of culture.
ethnocentrism: judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture. Makes senes because a person judges on what the person knows. Lots of bias and sometimes prejudice
cultural relativism: the practicing of evaluating a culture by its own standards
syncretism: the process of the fusion of old and new cultural traits, new groups interpreting
My definition:
cultural relativism: evaluating a culture by its own standards.
syncretism: fusion of old and new cultural traits. For example America the melting pot.
