APHUG UNIT 3

Material Culture

The physical objects a group creates (houses, food, tools). Tangible (you can touch it).

Immaterial Culture

The ideas, beliefs, and values of a group (language, religion, rules). Intangible (cannot be touched).

Folk Culture

Culture of a small, isolated group; changes slowly. Traditional, local, rural.

Popular Culture

Culture of a large, diverse group; changes quickly. Global, commercial, urban.

Cultural Relativism

Judging a culture by its own standards, not your own. Promotes tolerance.

Ethnocentrism

Judging a culture based on the belief that your own culture is superior. Leads to misunderstanding/conflict.

Multiculturalism

Different cultures coexist equally; a "salad bowl" model. Diversity is positive.

Assimilation

Minority group gives up its culture to adopt the majority's; a "melting pot" model. Complete merging.

Acculturation

The process of cultural adaptation when two groups meet. Leads to integration or assimilation.

Syncretism

The blending of two cultures or religions to form a completely new system. Voodoo (blends African and Catholic beliefs).

Race

Categories based on physical appearance; a social construct, not biological fact. Used for social stratification.

Ethnicity

Identity based on shared culture (heritage, language, history). Cultural bond.

Nationality

A person's legal affiliation/citizenship to a state. Passport and legal rights.

Relocation Diffusion

A trait spreads when people move and carry it with them. Migration (e.g., immigrants bringing food traditions).

Expansion Diffusion

A trait spreads outward from the hearth while remaining strong there. Includes Contagious, Hierarchical, and Stimulus.

Contagious Diffusion

Spreads rapidly and widely from person-to-person (like a wave). Viral videos or memes.

Hierarchical Diffusion

Spreads from large, powerful centers down to smaller places. Fashion trends from global cities.

Stimulus Diffusion

The underlying idea spreads, but the receiving group modifies the trait. The idea of fast food adapted to local diets.

Creolization

A process where languages/cultures mix deeply to form a new hybrid. Creates Creole languages (e.g., Haitian Creole).

Lingua Franca

A common language used for communication between speakers of different native languages. English (for global commerce).

Protolanguage

The unspoken, reconstructed ancestor of a language family. Proto-Indo-European (PIE).

Language Isolate

A language with no known relationship to any other language family. Basque (found in the Pyrenees).

Endangered Language

A language at risk of falling out of use as its speakers die out. Loss of a language is loss of immaterial culture.

Sense of Place

The emotional meaning and attachment people have to a location. Transforms a space into a place.

Placemaking

Community-based process to design or manage a public space to give it meaning. Turning a park into a vibrant gathering spot.

Sequent Occupancy

The idea that successive societies leave their cultural imprint, creating layers in the landscape. The history visible in the architecture of Rome.

Time-Space Compression

Technology makes the world feel smaller by reducing the time/cost of travel and communication. Internet and jet travel.

Centripetal Forces

Factors that unify and bind a state together (center-seeking). National anthem, shared religion.

Centrifugal Forces

Factors that divide and destabilize a state (center-fleeing). Ethnic conflict, regional economic inequality.

Cultural Convergence

Distinct cultures becoming more similar to each other. Globalization (e.g., adopting the same clothing styles).

Cultural Divergence

A culture maintaining its uniqueness or splitting into separate parts. Isolation or nationalism.

Universalizing Religion

Actively seeks to convert all people regardless of location or ethnicity. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism.

Ethnic Religion

Appeals primarily to one ethnic group in one specific place; generally does not seek converts. Hinduism, Judaism, Shintoism.

Indo-European Family

Largest language family; spread by Kurgan warriors (Steppe) or Anatolian farmers (Turkey). Includes English, Spanish, Hindi, Russian.

Sino-Tibetan Family

Second largest family; includes the different Chinese languages. Mandarin, Cantonese, Burmese.

Austronesian Family

VAST family spread through maritime migration from Taiwan across the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Indonesian, Tagalog, Malagasy.