Cultural Anthropology, Kenneth J. Guest, Chapter 2 Vocabulary

culture

A system of knowledge, beliefs, patterns of behavior, artifacts, and institutions that are created, learned, and shared by a group of people.

enculturation

The process of learning culture.

norms

Ideas or rules about how people should behave in particular situations or toward certain other people.

values

Fundamental beliefs about what is important, true, or beautiful, and what makes a good life.

symbol

Anything that signifies something else.

mental maps of reality

Cultural classifications of what kinds of people and things exist, and the assignment of meaning to those classifications.

cultural relativism

Understanding a group's beliefs and practices within their own cultural context, without making judgments.

unilinieal cultural evolution

The theory proposed by nineteenth-century anthropologists that all cultures naturally evolve through the same sequence of stages from simple to complex.

historical particularism

The idea attributed to Franz Boas, that cultures develop in specific ways because of unique histories.

structural functionalism

A conceptual framework positing that each element of society serves a particular function to keep the entire system in equilibrium.

interpretivist approach

A conceptual framework that sees culture primarily as a symbolic system of deep meaning.

power

The ability or potential to bring about change through action or influence.

stratification

The uneven distribution of resources and privileges among participants in a group or culture.

hegemony

The ability of a dominant group to create consent and agreement within a population without the use of threat or force.

agency

The potential power of individuals and groups to contest cultural norms, values, symbols, mental maps of reality, institutions, and structures of power.

cosmopolitanism

A global outlook emerging in response to increasing globalization.