unit 3 culture

The process by which a culture changes through meeting another culture and adopting some of its traits, while still retaining distinct elements of its own culture

Acculturation

When a minority culture is completely absorbed into the dominant culture, losing its original traits

Assimilation 

 A physical object made and used by humans that represents material aspects of culture (e.g., clothing, tools, buildings)

Artifact

 The tendency for cultures to become more similar as they share technology, ideas, and organizational structures through interaction and globalization

Cultural convergence

 The restriction of a culture from outside cultural influences, resulting in cultures becoming increasingly dissimilar over time

Cultural divergence

 The study of how humans adapt to and modify their environment — the relationship between a culture and its physical environment

Cultural ecology

 The visible imprint of human activity on the landscape, including buildings, roads, signs, and agriculture

Cultural landscape

 The principle that a culture should be understood based on that culture’s own values, beliefs, and practices rather than judged against the standards of another culture.

Cultural relativism

 A related set of cultural traits that define a particular aspect of a group’s behavior or activity (e.g., religious practices, sports systems)

Culture complex

 The geographic origin or “heartland” of a culture where ideas and innovations begin and spread outward

Culture hearth

 An area in which people share one or more cultural traits, such as language or religion

Culture region

 A single element or characteristic of culture, such as food preferences, architecture, or language

Culture trait

 A repetitive act of a group that becomes characteristic of that group’s culture (e.g., bowing in Japan, Thanksgiving in the U.S.)

Custom

 Culture traditionally practiced by small, homogeneous, rural groups living in relative isolation from others

Ethnic (folk) culture

 The process by which businesses, technologies, and cultural elements become interconnected and influence each other worldwide

Globalization

 The process by which global products or ideas are adapted to fit local cultures and preferences

Glocalization

 A repetitive act performed by an individual (not a group), such as wearing jeans every day

Habit

 A new idea, method, or invention that spreads within and between cultures

Innovation

 The spread of an idea or practice that is not suitable or efficient for the environment where it diffuses

Maladaptive diffusion

 The intangible or non-material parts of culture, such as beliefs, values, language, and religion

Mentifact

 The coexistence of multiple distinct cultural groups within a society, promoting diversity and mutual respect

Multiculturalism

 Culture found in large, heterogeneous societies that share certain habits despite differences in personal characteristics

Popular culture

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

Sequent occupancy

 The social structures and institutions that link individuals and groups, such as family systems, political organizations, and education

Sociofact

 A restriction on behavior imposed by social custom or religion

Taboo

 The spatial expression of a popular custom in one location being similar to another — the loss of local diversity, creating sameness

Uniform landscape