Glossary


 * Absolutism || Monarchical power that is unrestrained and unlimited. Absolutism is usually associated with European monarchs that ruled from the 17th-19th century. The Age of Absolutism is characterized by the end of feudalism and local autonomy and the rise of centralized power, national legislation, and a decline in the power of the nobility. [Rolly Kar] ||
 * Affluence || An abundant flow or supply, usually money or wealth. An affluent society suggests that the society is not only well governed but that there is a steady or increasing production and intake of goods and that there's more or less a division of labor that brings a variety of commodities to the market, hence maintaining the economy. [Alex Bolinsky] ||
 * Agrarian || A society or system which relies on a rural lifestyle based on agriculture such as farming. [Kitty Cheung] ||
 * Agricultural Revolution || The agricultural revolution was the transition between hunter-gatherer societies to societies that cultivated crops and domesticated animals, allowing them to lead sedentary lifestyles. The revolution began in the Fertile Crescent about 10 kya, and transformed man's economy at that time. [Annie Wang] ||
 * Agriculture || The science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock, and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products. The history of agriculture is a central element of human history, as agricultural progress has been a crucial factor in worldwide socio-economic change. Wealth-building and militaristic specializations rarely seen in hunter-gatherer cultures are commonplace in agricultural and agro-industrial societies—when farmers became capable of producing food beyond the needs of their own families, others in the tribe/village/City-state/nation/empire were freed to devote themselves to projects other than food acquisition. Jared Diamond, among others, has argued that the development of civilization required agriculture. ||
 * Alchemy || A medieval chemical philosophy and speculative science whose aim was to turn metal into gold, discovering a universal cure for diseases and discovering a way to be immortal. [Emmalaine Leibman] ||
 * Apartheid || A strict policy of racial segregation among non-whites, most specifically used to refer to the period of segregation in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Though discrimination had been present in South Africa for a long time, the apartheid was officially introduced following the election of 1948. The law removed citizenship from blacks and mandated that residential areas be organized according to the government’s definition of race. The apartheid was in place until the democratic elections of 1994, in which the African National Congress emerged victorious under the leadership of Nelson Mandela. [Hannah Chappell] ||
 * Asymmetric || Lack of proportion, not symmetrical. Unbalanced between two interests. ||
 * Asymmetric || Lack of proportion, not symmetrical. Unbalanced between two interests. ||