Unit 3: Culture

habits

repeated behaviors individually

customs

repeated behaviors in a group

culture

customs, arts, etc., of a nation, people, or group

material culture

physical objects produced by a culture

non-material culture

non-physical things produced by a culture

hearth

place where something begins

pop culture

global culture that spreads widely

often made for profit

hearth in more developed country

creator is well-known and tied to it

folk culture

local culture that isn’t widely spread

often made to tell stories, ideas, etc.

multiple isolated hearths

unknown/multiple authors

folk cultural diffusion

contagious or relocation, slow and local

pop cultural diffusion

hierarchal, rapid and global

today cultural diffusion

fast, universal with internet, movies, phones, and social media

past cultural diffusion

slow, local with word of mouth, radio, and newspapers

indo-european language

half the world’s population speaks it

latin was spoke by people in roman empire and diffused

romance languages led to spanish, portuguese, french, italian, and romanian

what kind of language is english

germanic

accent

how words are pronounced in a language between people

isogloss

differences in pronunciation and/or word language

dialect

variations in accent, grammar, usage, and/or spelling within a language

why is english the most widely diffused language

british empire and pop culture

historic causes of language diffusion

colonialism, military conquest, trade, and migration

kurgan warrior theory

indo-european diffused from a hearth in russia/ukraine where kurgans conquered europe and south asia and spread language

anatolian farmer theory

small group successfully farmed in anatolia and then carrying capacity was reached, so people migrated through europe and asia and spread language

lingua franca

common language used by people who don’t use the same native language

pidgin

simplified mixture of 2+ languages with fewer grammar and vocab

creole

2+ languages mix and develop a new language

universalizing religions

actively seeks to convert people to religion through hierarchal or contagious diffusion

ethnic religions

emphasizing strong cultural or regional ties among followers and don’t make an effort to spread

relocation diffusion

animistic

physical world has a spirit

shamanistic

person, the shaman, is a conduit to spiritual world

fundamentalist

more traditional interpretation of belief, practice, etc.

theocratic

government is ran by religious leaders with laws inspired by religion

christianity

most widespread (33% of world)

hearth in israel

roman catholic

central and south america, us cities, and western europe

centered in vatican city and led by pope

hierarchical

protestant

broke away from catholic church with no central leadership

baptists (south), methodist, lutherans (midwest), and mormons (utah)

contagious

eastern orthodox

eastern europe and russia

islam

24% of population

hearth in saudi arabia

universalizing

have to take hajj

middle east and northern africa

hajj

pilgrimage to mecca, the birthplace of muslim faith

judaism

first monotheistic religion

hearth in jerusalem/israel

83% of population in us and israel

ethnic religion; don’t try to spread it

hinduism

india

4,000 years old

ethnic religion

caste system with ties to hindu belief (karma, reincarnation)

polytheistic, but some say monotheistic

buddhism

southeast asia

hearth in india (nepal)

not ethnic nor universalizing due to little requirements to join

shinto

hearth in japan

animistic and shamanistic folk beliefs with practices from buddhism, taoism, or confucianism

sikhism

“new” monotheistic religion

hearth in punjab region in north india

sikh means seeker or learner

ethnicity

group of people with a common identity

race

socially constructed group based on physical characteristics

polyglot society

many languages are spoken and many cultures are present

ethnic islands

dispersed areas of ethnic groups in the countryside

multiculturalism

belief that minority groups should have their differences celebrated

ethnocentrism

belief that other cultures should be judged based on cultural standards

acculturation

minority culture adapts to majority culture while maintaining some cultural traits

assimilation

ethnic group is completely absorbed into majority culture

syncretism

blending or mixing cultures

cultural divergence

cultures stay separated purposefully

cultural convergence

cultures mix and make new culture

cultural relativism

all cultures are different, so no one should judge them

pluralism

all people should maintain their cultural traditions