Unit 3 - Culture

AP HUG

acculturation

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

assimilation

A category of acculturaltion in which the interaction of two cultures results in one culture adopting almost all of the customs, traditions, language, and other cultural traits of the other.

Buddhism

Universalizing religion clustered in East Asia and Southeast Asia; split into branches; founder was Siddhartha Gautama; foundation based on the Four Noble Truths; hearth in South Asia

Christianity

A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior. Predominant religion of North and South America, Europe, and Australia; hearth in Southwest Asia

Contagious diffusion

When an idea or cultural trait spreads adjacently, or to people or places that are next to or adjoining one another. Occurs among people of all social classes and levels of power.

creole language

A language that results from the mixing of a colonizer's language with the indigenous language of the people being dominated.

cultural convergence

The tendency for cultures to become more alike as they increasingly share technology and organizational structures in a modern world united by improved transportation and communication.

cultural divergence

The likelihood or tendency for cultures to become increasingly dissimilar with the passage of time.

cultural hearth

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

cultural landscape

the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape

cultural relativism

The practice of judging a culture by its own standards

culture

Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.

culture trait

A single element of normal practice in a culture, such as the wearing of a turban.

ethnic neighborhoods

In cities, areas that have concentrated populations of a particular ethnic group, such as Chinatown

ethnic religion

A religion with a relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose principles are likely to be based on the physical characteristics of the particular location in which its adherents are concentrated.

ethnocentrism

Evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture.

Expansion diffusion

When an aspect of culture spreads outward from where it originated. As it spreads, the trait also remains in its place of origin. The cultural trait moves, even though the people do not. 3 types include contagious, hierarchical, stimulus

globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope.

Hierarchical Diffusion

the spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places

Hinduism

World's 3rd largest religion developed in ancient India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being who takes many forms; concentrated in South Asia; ethnic religion

imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

Islam

A religion based on the teachings of the prophet Mohammed which stresses belief in one god (Allah), and a body of law written in the Quran. Predominant religion in the Middle East and North Africa; Half of the world's Muslims live outside the Middle East in Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. Hearth in Southwest Asia; Mecca and Medina important cities

Judaism

First recorded monotheistic religion; spiritual and ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Torah and in the Talmud; spatial distribution is different than other ethnic religions because it is practiced in many countries with concentrations in the Israel and the United States

lingua franca

A language mutually understood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages

missionary

an individual who helps to diffuse a universalizing religion

mosque

Islamic house of worship; one distinctive feature is a minaret (tower who the call to prayer is given)

multiculturalism

A situation in which different cultures live together without assimilating.

muslim

a follower of the religion of Islam

pagoda

multistoried Buddhist temple with eaves that curve up at the corners; contain relics associated with Buddha

pidgin language

A form of speech that adopts a simplified grammar and limited vocabulary of a lingua franca, used for communications among speakers of two different languages.

pilgrimage

a journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes

Relocation diffusion

the spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another

sense of place

Feelings evoked by people as a result of certain experiences and memories associated with a particular place.

sequent occupance

the notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, each contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape

Stimulus Diffusion

a form of diffusion in which a cultural adaptation is created as a result of the introduction of a cultural trait from another place

Syncretism

a blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into one faith

syncretism

The process of innovation combining different cultural features into something new.

time-space convergence

The idea that distance between some places is actually shrinking as technology enables more rapid communication and increased interaction among those places

toponym

place name

universalizing religion

A religion that attempts to appeal to all people, not just those living in a particular location (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism)