AP Human - Unit 3 Vocab: Cultural Patterns and Processes

Culture

All of the groups learned behaviors, actions, beliefs, and objects. It is an invisible force guiding people through shared belief systems, customs, and traditions.

Cultural Traits

Types of elements, visible or invisible

Taboos

behaviors heavily discouraged by a culture

Traditional Culture

is used to encompass all three cultural designations. All three share the function of passing down long-held-beliefs, values, and practices and are generally resistant to rapid changes in their culture

Folk Culture

The beliefs and practices of small, homogeneous groups of people, often living in rural areas that are relatively isolated and slow to change

Global / Popular Culture

Cultural traits - such as clothing, music, movies, and types of businesses — spreading quickly over a large area and are adopted by various groups

Cultural Landscape

also known as the built environment, is the modification of the environment by a group and is a visible reflection of that group's cultural beliefs and values

Material Culture

consists of tangible things, or those that can be experienced by the senses

Artifacts

consists of tangible things, or those that can be experienced by the sense, also important to understand how artifacts are made

Mentifacts

a group's nonmaterial culture and consist of intangible concepts, or those not having a physical presence

Nonmaterial Culture

intangible concepts, or those not having a physical presence

Sociofacts

the ways people organize their society and relate to one another (Ex. families, governments, sports teams, religious organizations, education systems, and other social constructs

Traditional Architecture

style reflects a local culture's history, beliefs, values, and community adaptations to the environment, and typically utilizes locally available materials.

Post Modern Architecture

developed after the 1960s, it is a movement away from boxy, mostly concrete or brick structured toward high rise structures made from large amounts of steel and glass siding.

Cultural Realms

Cultures within a cultural realm have a few traits that they all share, such as language families, religious traditions, food preferences, architecture, or a shared history

Sequent Occupancy

Ethnic groups moving in and out of neighborhoods and create new cultural imprints on the landscape in the process

Culture Hearth

where a religion or ethnicity began

Ethnicity

membership in a group of people who share characteristics such as ancestry, language, customs, interests, and background

Centripetal Forces

those that unify a group of people or a region

Centrifugal Forces

those that divide a group of people or a region

Ethnocentrism

people who believe their own cultural group is more important and superior to other cultures

Diffusion

spread of information, ideas, behaviors, and other aspects of culture from their heaths to wider areas

Relocation Diffusion

the spread of culture and/or cultural traits by people who migrate and carry their cultural traits with them

Expansion Diffusion

The spread of cultural traits outward through exchange without migration, requires different people to adopt a trait

Contagious Diffusion

occurs when a cultural trait spreads continuously outward from its hearth through contact among people.

Hierarchal Diffusion

the spread of culture outward from the most interconnected places or from centers of wealth and influence. Cultural traits include a powerful person, city, or social class and are shared with other people, smaller cities, different social classes, or less-developed countries.

Stimulus Diffusion

when an underlying idea from a culture hearth is adopted by another culture but the adopting group modifies or rejects one trait

Lingua Franca

A common language used by people who do not share the same native language. For example English is the worlds' lingua franca.

Pidgin Language

A simplified mixture of two languages. Created when speakers of two different languages have extensive contact with one another, often due to trade.

Creole Language

Created when two or more separate languages mix and develop a more formal structure and vocabulary so that they are no longer a pidgin. This creates a new combined language.

Social Constructs

Ideas, concepts or perceptions that have been created and accepted by people in a society or social group and are not created by nature. These processes influence culture through media, technological change, politics, economics, and social relationships.

Time-Space Converegnce

the greater interconnection between places that results from improvements in transportation. This often makes places less culturally distinct.

Cultural Convergence

Cultures are becoming more similar to each other and start to share more cultural traits, ideas and beliefs.

Cultural Diveregence

The idea that a culture may change over time as the elements of distance, time, physical separation, and modern technology create division and changes.

Indo-European Language Family

a large group of languages that might have descended from a language spoken around 6,000 years ago. Nearly half of the world's population speaks one of the languages of the Indo-European language family. Includes 2.8 billion native speakers of between 400 and 500 languages

Romance Language

The unifying language of Latin diverged into dozens of distinct regional languages, known as Romance languages.

Isoglosses

The boundaries between variations in pronunciation for work usage

Dialects

Variations in accent, grammar usage, and spelling or regional variations of a language.

Official Language

one designated by law to be the language of government, some countries do. Does not mean the most spoken language in a country.

Ethnic Religions

are belief traditions that emphasize strong cultural characteristics among their followers.

Universalizing Religions

in contrast to ethnic religions, actively seeks converts to its faith regardless of their ethnic backgrounds.

Polythestic

having many gods

Monotheistic

having one god

Hindusim

Classified as an ethnic religion. Worship of many deities but all deities are manifestations of one god so it's both Monotheistic and Polytheistic. They believe in karma - the idea that behaviors have consequences in the present or future life, and in dharma - which means the righteous path. They had the caste system, a rigid class structure, shaped Indian society. The concept of reincarnation and rebirth along with soul and spirituality is essential. Rivers are symbolic of life and purification of sin.

Buddhism

Grew out of the teachings of Prince Sidhartha in 1600 BCE. Accepting beliefs of Hinduism minus the caste system, Sidharta is known as Buddha (enlightened one). He was meditating for days when he found out the cause of suffering and how to end it. The Four Noble Truths are sought to eliminate desi and suffering by following the Eightfold Path. This path requires an individual to meditate, reflect, and refrain from excessive earthly pleasures. Nirvana is to be reached, and end reincarnation.

Sikhism

A new universalizing monotheistic faith, founded by Guru Nanak in Punjab Region. Stresses serving others, honesty, hard work, and generosity rather than rituals. All men who are baptized add the name Singh while women add Kaur. Broke down the caste system to have a more equal society. Place of worship is GURUDWARA and followers usually attend service once a week.

Judaism

Among the first monotheistic religions, and have writing called Torah (expresses divine well). For the past 2,000 years, Jews have lived in Europe and North Africa. In the 1800s, established homeland in the Middle East and migrated to the United States. Always have suffered persecution as a small minority. They had Holocaust (if you forgot, view the book page 178). After that they tried to create a only Jew state.

Christianity

Began when followers of Jewish teacher, Jesus, evolved into their own religion based on the belief that Jesus is son of God and savior of humans. Emphasized the importance of faith, love, and peace. It spread outward from the Middle East to become the dominant religion in Europe, and then to America

and other parts of the world.

Islam

Religion followed by Muslims, believe that Allah (god) revealed his teachings to humans through a series of prophets. Muhammed was the last prophet who Allah communicated his teachings to. The Holy book is the Quran which has core beliefs such as belief in one god (Allah), ritual prayer, almsgiving (giving of wealth or volunteering), fasting, pilgrimage to Mecca. Sharia is a law code, to regulate religious and civic behavior. Sunni and Shia are two subdivisions of Muslims.

Acculturation

an ethnic or immigrant group moving to a new area adopts the values and practices of the larger group that has received them, while still maintaining valuable elements of their own culture.

Assimilation

when an ethnic group can no longer be distinguished from the receiving group.

Syncretism

The fusion or blending of two distinctive cultural traits into a unique new hybrid trait

Multicultralism

the coexistence of several cultures in one society with the ideal of all cultures being valued and worthy of study.