Unit 3 Vocabulary

popular culture

The widespread behaviors, beliefs, and practices of ordinary people in society at a given point in time.

cultural norms

A shared standard or pattern that guides the behavior of a group of people.

culture trait

A shared object or cultural practice.

cultural relativism

The evaluation of a culture by its own standards.

ethnocentrism

The tendency of ethnic groups to evaluate other groups according to preconceived ideas originating from their own culture.

culture

The beliefs, values, practices, behaviors, and technologies shared by a society and passed down from generation to generation.

traditional culture

The long-established behaviors, beliefs, and practices passed down from generation to generation.

ethnicity

The state of belonging to a group of people who share common cultural characteristics.

Identity

How humans make sense of themselves and how they wish to be reviewed by others.

ethnic neighborhoods

A cultural landscape within a community of people outside their area of origin.

postmodern architecture

A building style that emerged as a reaction to “modern” designs, and values diversity in design.

traditional architecture

An established building style of different cultures, religions, and places.

toponyms

A place name.

cultural landscape

A natural landscape that has been modified by human, reflecting their cultural beliefs and values.

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.

language

A distinct system of communication that is the carrier of human though and cultural identities.

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.

gendered spaces

A space designed and deliberately incorporated into the landscape to accommodate gender roles.

safe spaces

A space of acceptance for people who are sometimes marginalized by society.

gender identity

An individual’s innermost concept of self as a male, female, a blend of both, or neither.

gentrification

The renovations and improvements conform to middle-class preferences.

dialect

A variation of a standard language specific to a general language, with differences in pronunciation, degree of rapidity in speech, word choice, and spelling.

denominations

A separate church organization that unites several local congregations.

centripetal force

A force that unites a group of people.

placemaking

A community-driven process in which people collaborate to create a place where they can live, work, play, and learn.

sect

A relatively small group that has separated form an established religious denomination.

centrifugal force

A force that divides a group of people.

sense of place

The subjective feelings and memories people associate with a geographic location.

adherents

A person who is loyal to a belief, religion, or organization.

contagious diffusion

The process by which an idea or cultural trait spreads rapidly among people of all social classes and levels of power.

cultural health

An area where cultural traits develop and form which cultural traits diffuse.

expansion diffusion

The spread of a cultural trait outward from where it originated

hierarchical diffusion

The spread of an idea or trait from a person or place of power or authority to other people or places.

diffusion

The process by which a cultural trait spreads from one place to another over time.

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.

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.

creolization

The blending of two or more languages that may not include the features of either original language.

cultural appropriation

The act of adopting elements of another culture.

collectivist cultures

A culture in which people are expected to conform to collective responsibility within the family and to be obedient to and respectful to elderly family members.

acculturation

The process by which people within one culture adopt some of the traits of another while still retaining their own distinct culture.

syncretism

Process of innovation coming from different cultural features into something new.

multiculturalism

A situation in which different cultures live together without assimilating.

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.