English 11 vocab

Patriarchy

Social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line.

Affidavit

A sworn statement in writing made especially under oath or on affirmation before an authorized magistrate or officer (written statement).

Deposition

A testifying especially before a court (oral statement).

Contempt of court

A legal term referring to behavior that disrespects or disobeys the court or its orders.

Spectral evidence

Testimony about visions or dreams where the accused appeared to the witness, causing them harm; evidence that cannot be seen.

Theocracy

Government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided.

Puritans

Members of a 16th and 17th century Protestant group in England and New England opposing as unscriptural the ceremonial worship and the prelacy of the Church of England.

A crucible

A place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development.

McCarthyism

A mid-20th century political attitude characterized chiefly by opposition to elements held to be subversive and by the use of tactics involving personal attacks on individuals through widely publicized, indiscriminate allegations, especially based on unsubstantiated charges.

Ipso facto

By that very fact or act.

Postmodern novel

Use of metafiction, unreliable narration, self-reflexivity, and intertextuality.

Intertextuality

When a text implicitly or explicitly refers to another text, by using distinctive, common or recognizable elements of the referenced text.

Historical fiction

A literary genre where stories are set in the past, often incorporating real historical events, figures, and settings while also including fictional characters and plots.