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cultural anthropology 3
ch 12-16
67
Anthropology
Undergraduate 1
12/07/2007

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Term
power
Definition
the ability of individuals or groups to impose their will upon others and make them do things even against their own wants or wishes
Term
political organization
Definition
the way power is distributed and embedded in society; the means through which a society creates and maintains social order and reduces social disorder
Term
band
Definition
a relatively small and loosely organized kin-ordered group that inhabits a specific territory and that may split periodically into smaller extended family groups that are politically independent
Term
tribe
Definition
refers to a range of kin ordered groups that are politically integrated by some unifying factor and whose members share a common ancestry, identity, culture, language, and territory
Term
segmentary lineage system
Definition
a rare form of kin ordered organization in which a tribal group is split into several branches made up of clans or major lineages, each of which is further divided into minor lineages and minimal lineages
Term
chiefdom
Definition
a regional polity in which two or more local groups are organized under a single chief, who is at the head of a ranked hierarchy of people
Term
state
Definition
a centralized political system that has the capacity and authority to make laws, and use force to maintain social order
Term
nation
Definition
a people who share a collective identity based on a common culture, language, territorial base, and history
Term
cultural control
Definition
control through beliefs and values deeply internalized in the minds of individuals
Term
social control
Definition
external control through open coercion
Term
sanctions
Definition
externalized social controls designed to encourage conformity to social norms
Term
law
Definition
formal negative sanctions
Term
negotiation
Definition
the use of direct argument and compromise by the parties to a dispute to arrive voluntarily at a mutually satisfactory agreement
Term
mediation
Definition
settlement of a dispute through negotiation assisted by an unbiased third party
Term
adjudication
Definition
mediation with an unbiased third party making the ultimate decision
Term
legitimacy
Definition
the right of political leaders to govern-to hold, use, and allocate power-based on the values a particular society
Term
worldview
Definition
the collective body of ideas that members of a culture generally share concerning the ultimate shape and substance of their reality
Term
religion
Definition
an organized system of ideas about spiritual reality, or the supernatural, along with associated beliefs and ceremonial practices by which people try to interpret and control aspects of the universe otherwise beyond their control
Term
spirituality
Definition
concern with the sacred, as distinguished from material matters. In contrast to religion, is often individual rather than collective and does not require a distinctive format or traditional organization
Term
polytheism
Definition
belief in several gods and/or goddesses (as contrasted with monotheism-belief in one god or goddesses)
Term
pantheon
Definition
the several gods and goddesses of a people
Term
animism
Definition
a belief that nature is enlivened or energized by distinct personalized spirit beings separable from bodies
Term
animatism
Definition
a belief that nature is enlivened or energized by an impersonal spiritual power or supernatural potency
Term
priest or priestess
Definition
a full time religious specialist formally recognized for his or her role in guiding the religious practices of others and for contacting and influencing supernatural powers
Term
shaman
Definition
a person who enters an altered state of consciousness-at will-to contact and utilize an ordinarily hidden reality in order to acquire knowledge, power, and to help others
Term
rites of passage
Definition
rituals that mark important in an individual's life cycle, such as birth, marriage, and death.
Term
separatism
Definition
in rites of passage, the ritual removal of the individual from society
Term
transition
Definition
in rites of passage, isolation of the individual following separation and prior to incorporation into society
Term
incorporation
Definition
in rites of passage, reincorporation of the individual into society in his or her new status
Term
rites of intensification
Definition
rituals that take place during a crisis in the life of the group and serve to bind individuals together
Term
imitative magic
Definition
magic based on the principle that like produces like; sometimes called sympathetic magic
Term
contagious magic
Definition
magic based on the principle that things once in contact can influence each other after the contact is broken
Term
witchcraft
Definition
an explanation of events based on the belief that certain individuals possess an innate psychic power capable of causing harm, including sickness and death
Term
divination
Definition
a magical procedure or spiritual ritual designed to find out about what it not knowledge by ordinary means, such as foretelling the future by interpreting omens
Term
revitalization movements
Definition
movements for radical cultural reform in response to widespread social disruption and collective feelings of anxiety and despair
Term
cargo cults
Definition
spiritual movements in Melanesia in reaction to disruptive contact with Western capitalism promising resurrection of deceased relatives, destruction or enslavement of white foreigners, and the magical arrival of utopian riches
Term
art
Definition
the creative use of the human imagination to interpret, express, and enjoy life
Term
entoptic phenomena
Definition
bright, pulsating geometric forms that are generated by the central nervous system and "seen" in states of trance
Term
iconic images
Definition
visions of people, animals, and monsters seen in the deepest stage of trance
Term
folklore
Definition
a 19th century term first used to denote the unwritten stories, sayings, beliefs, and customs of the European peasants (as opposed to the traditions of the literate elite) and later extended to those traditions preserved orally in all societies
Term
folklorlistics
Definition
the study of folklore (as linguistics is the study of language)
Term
myth
Definition
a sacred narrative that explains the fundamentals of human existence (where we and everything in our world came from, why we are here, and where we are going)
Term
legend
Definition
a story about a memorable event or figure handed down by tradition and told as true but without historical evidence
Term
epic
Definition
a long oral narrative, sometimes in poetry or rhythmic prose, recounting the glorious events in the life of a real or legendary person
Term
tale
Definition
a creative narrative recognized as fiction for entertainment
Term
motif
Definition
a story situation in a folktale
Term
ethnomusicology
Definition
the study of a society's music in terms of its cultural setting
Term
tonality
Definition
in music, scale systems and their modifications
Term
primary innovation
Definition
the creation, invention, or chance discovery of a completely new idea, method, or device
Term
secondary innovation
Definition
a new and deliberate application or modification of an existing idea, method, or device
Term
diffusion
Definition
the spread of certain ideas, customs, or practices from one culture to another
Term
cultural laws
Definition
the abandonment of an existing practice or trait
Term
acculturation
Definition
massive cultural changes that people are forced to make as a consequence of intensive firsthand contact between their own group and another, often more powerful, society
Term
genocide
Definition
the extermination of one people by another, often in the name of progress, either as a deliberate act or as the accidental outcome of activities carried out by one people with little regard for their impact on others
Term
syncretism
Definition
in acculturation, the blending of indigenous and foreign traits to form a new system
Term
rebellion
Definition
organized armed resistance to an established government or authority in power
Term
revolution
Definition
radical change in a society or culture. in the political arena, it refers to the forced overthrow of an old government and establishment of a completely new one
Term
modernization
Definition
the process of political and socioeconomic change, whereby developing societies acquire some of the cultural characteristics of Western industrialized societies
Term
structural differentiation
Definition
the division of single traditional roles that embrace two or more functions (for example, political, economic, and religious) into two or more roles, each with a single specialized function
Term
integrative mechanisms
Definition
cultural mechanisms that oppose forces for differentiation in a society; in modernizing societies, they include formal governmental structures, official state ideologies, political parties, legal codes, labor and trade unions, and other common-interest associations
Term
tradition
Definition
customary ideas and practices passed on from generation to generation, which in a modernizing society may form an obstacle to new ways of doing things
Term
multiculturalism
Definition
public policy for managing cultural diversity in a multi-ethnic society, officially stressing mutual respect and tolerance for cultural differences within a country's borders
Term
structural power
Definition
power that organizes and orchestrates the systemic interaction within and among societies, directing economic and political forces on the one hand and ideological forces that shape public ideas, values, and beliefs on the other
Term
hard power
Definition
coercive power that is backed up by economic and military force
Term
soft power
Definition
pressing others through attraction and persuasion to change their ideas, beliefs, values, and behaviors
Term
structural violence
Definition
physical and/or psychological harm (including repression, environmental destruction, poverty, hunger, illness, and premature death) caused by exploitative and unjust social, political, and economic systems
Term
replacement reproduction
Definition
when birthrates and death rates are in equilibrium; people produce only enough offspring to replace themselves when they die
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