Concept Words Flashcards
Primary Source
Immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it.
Secondary Source
One step removed from primary sources, though they often quote or otherwise use primary sources. They can cover the same topic, but add a layer of interpretation and analysis.
Context
The circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.
Historical Circumstance
The particular details, conditions, events, or facts that existed or happened during a specific period in history.
Point of View (of a document)
A way of looking at or thinking about something: a standpoint.
Purpose (of a document)
The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
Compare and Contrast
Comparing is showing the similarities, and contrasting is showing differences between two things that are related in some way.
Egalitarian
Of, advocating, or characterized by the belief that all people should have equal political, social, and economic rights.
Surplus
an amount of something left over when requirements have been met; an excess of production or supply over demand.
more than what is needed or used; excess.
Monarchy
A system of government in which one person reigns, usually a king or queen.
Aristocracy
The highest class in certain societies, especially those holding hereditary titles or offices.
A form of government in which power is held by the nobility.
Aristocrat
Member of the aristocracy.
Noble
Belonging to a hereditary class with high social or political status; aristocratic.
Dynasty
A line of hereditary rulers of a country.
A succession of people from the same family who play a prominent role in business, politics, or another field.
Bureaucracy
A system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.
Decentralized Government
The process of shifting control from one main group to several smaller ones. The decentralization of government, for example, gives more power to the individual states, rather than concentrating it at the federal level.
Centralized Government
A United Government, one in which both executive and legislative power is concentrated centrally at the higher level
Theocracy
A government by divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided.
City-State
A city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state.
Interdependence
The state of being dependent upon one another
Social Hierarchy
The stratified ranking of group members along a valued dimension, with some members being superior or subordinate to others, and fewer members occupying the highest positions
Social Mobility
The movement of a person from one social status to another.
Golden Age
Peak of a dynasty/civilization.
Cultural Diffusion
The spread of cultural trends across locations.