Humanities Basic Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards defined based on core terms introduced in humanities lectures.

Humanities

Fields of knowledge concerned with human thought, experience, and creativity, engaging in the interdisciplinary study of human culture, society, and ethical systems.

Culture

Socially learned and developed attitudes, beliefs, institutions, and values of a human population at a certain time.

Identity

An individual's sense of self.

Art

Expression of human creative skill and imagination.

Cultural centrism

The belief that a certain culture's standards should be used to judge other cultures.

Cultural relativism

The belief that individuals and groups should only be judged by their own standards.

Belief

An acceptance that something is true or exists.

Norms

Standards or patterns of behavior expected by members of a group, reflecting a group's ideas about what is normal.

Values

One's judgment of what is important in life.

Morality

Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong, good and evil.

Nationality

A person's country of origin.

Citizenship

A legal status of a person within a certain country, that confers certain rights and duties.

Ethnicity

A population group with a shared cultural background or descent.

Race

The categorization of human beings according to heritable characteristics.

Religion

A cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with faith in a deliberately organized system.

Critical thinking

A method of active learning that involves asking questions and seeking to improve upon established concepts.

Latino/a

A person of Latin American origin or descent.

Hispanic

A person with ethnic origins in a Spanish-speaking country, now living in the US.

Latin American

A person living in a Latin American country.

Latinx

A recently created gender-neutral ethnic identity referring to people of Latin American descent, now living in the United States.