Worldview Vocabulary

Question 1

Worldview

Answer 1

A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group; the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.

Question 2

Time

Answer 2

In what terms is time viewed by a society,

Examples

• Clocks
• Seasons
• Work hours
• Life and Death

Question 3

Economy

Answer 3

• Who controls the resources?
• What is to be produced?
  How will it be produced? For whom?
• How is property distributed?
• Protected?

Question 4

Society

Answer 4

a group of people linked by common activities or interests and sharing a location; a group of humans defined by mutual interests, shared institutions, and a common culture.

• What roles are available to individuals in society?
• Who holds power and how is power maintained? Who has status and how do they get it?
• Are certain benefits available to some and not to others?

Question 5

Politics

Answer 5

the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power.

Question 6

Values

Answer 6

a moral standard or principle of behaviour of a person or group; a personal or group judgment as to what is important or valuable in life

• How do people in a society act toward each other?
• How do people in a society act toward people in other societies/groups?

Question 7

Beliefs

Answer 7

something accepted as true

• What beliefs do people hold about life and death?
• About their environment?

Question 8

Geography

Answer 8

• What role do geographical factors such as climate and location play in how people look at the world and behave in it?

Question 9

Knowledge

Answer 9

• How do people develop knowledge?
• What ways of knowing are accepted?
• Who has access to knowledge?
• How is it valued?
• Where or in whom does the knowledge reside?

Question 10

Identity

Answer 10

an individual’s perception of who he or she is; a sense of self. A person may have many identities, depending on the groups to which he or she belongs.

Question 11

Western World

Answer 11

societies that are based on the worldview that developed in Western Europe.

Question 12

Perspective (worldviews)

Answer 12

a way of looking at the world; an interpretation of a particular event (often applied to a group’s interpretation)

Question 13

Multicultural

Answer 13

many cultures

Question 14

System

Answer 14

a set of connected procedures, rules, or structures for dealing with some aspect of society; for example, a school system, a transportation system, a medical system

Question 15

Resources

Answer 15

the means available to a society to achieve a goal; for example, money, productive land, educated citizens

Question 16

pervasive

Answer 16

pervasive—that is, it’s everywhere—in the way we think about, and act in, the world.

Question 17

point of view

Answer 17

opinions and preferences held and expressed by an individual

Question 18

Isolation

Answer 18

Relating to isolationism: foreign policy whereby a nation resists participating in the affairs of the international community by abstaining from any international, political or economic relationship.

Question 19

Contact

Answer 19

the communication that occurs between people of different national cultures.

Question 20

Change

Answer 20

the process in which a soceity slowly adapts to adopt behaviors and believes that are from other socetiets that they have been in contact with.

Question 21

Perspective

Answer 21

the collective point of view of a specific group. A perspective can be expressed by a member of the group who has the authority to speak for others.

Question 22

history

Answer 22

the total accumulation of the experiences of a people; a continuous chronological record of events; the study of past events

Question 23

adaptation

Answer 23

Changing attitudes and behaviours to suit a new situation

Question 24

intercultural

Answer 24

Of, relating to, involving or representing different cultures

Question 25

social structures

Answer 25

Organization models within a society that reflect the values and interests of that society’s members.