Chapter 3; What is Canadian Culture

Question 1

culture

Answer 1

the sum total of the social environment in which we are raised and continue to be socialized throughout our lives; includes shared and contested ideas, custom behaviours, and practices that shape the attitudes and behaviours of members of that culture

Question 2

what are cultural universals and who conceptualized it?

Answer 2

George Murdock; common practices shared by all societies, ex. securing food, clothing, shelter, developing forms of communication/familial structures, implementing ways to use tools, coming up with means of self expression

Question 3

postmodern lens of Canadian culture

Answer 3

multiple simultaneous Canadian “cultures”

Question 4

what is social heritage and who conceptualized it?

Answer 4

William Fielding Ogburnhe the shared cultural traditions, beliefs, values, arts, and practices that are passed down through generations within a particular society

Question 5

material culture

Answer 5

tangible/physical items people have created for use in/give meaning to a given culture, ex. clothing, consumer goods, housing, schools, places of worship, transportation, tools, art

Question 6

non-material culture

Answer 6

intangibles stemming from intellectual and/or spiritual development, or the meaning people attach to artifacts, ex. language, knowledge, symbols, customs, morals, beliefs, practices

Question 7

cultural diffusion

Answer 7

spread of material and non-material culture from one social group to another through communication, trade, intermarriage, immigration, and technology

Question 8

cultural shock

Answer 8

sense of disorientation/confusion from being place in unfamiliar surroundings where things, practices, language, and rules are new or unknown

Question 9

high culture

Answer 9

activities shared by the social elite

Question 10

Pierre Bourdieu

Answer 10

cultural/educational practices lead to the social reproduction of classes

Question 11

status symbol

Answer 11

material indicators of wealth/prestige

Question 12

what is popular culture and how is it constructed?

Answer 12

well liked everyday practices and products, constructed via the media (famous people)

Question 13

critical approach on pop culture

Answer 13

views it from the perspective of ideology

Question 14

ideology

Answer 14

a set of ideas that support the needs/views of a particular group

Question 15

conflict theorists view of pop culture

Answer 15

its a means for the ruling class to control their masses

Question 16

Fiske

Answer 16

pop culture is in part negotiated by the masses

Question 17

what are cultural omnivores and who conceptualized it?

Answer 17

Richard Peterson; those of high social standing who enjoy both high and pop culture

Question 18

language

Answer 18

a shared system of communication that includes spoken, written, and signed forms of speech as well as nonverbal gestures used to convey meaning

Question 19

linguistic determinism

Answer 19

language controls how humans think and therefore shape entire cultures

Question 20

linguistic relativism

Answer 20

language has particular meaning with the given culture in which it occurs

Question 21

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Answer 21

takes the principles of linguistic determinism and relativism and asserts that language shapes reality/the language a person speaks can influence their worldview

Question 22

canadianisms

Answer 22

words and phrases uniques to Canadians, ex. tuque, washroom

Question 23

the nuances of language can be seen in what?

Answer 23

foreing marketing

Question 24

norms

Answer 24

expectations on how to think, act, and look

Question 25

what are folkways and what are they based on?

Answer 25

informal norms based on accepted traditions and centre on kindness/ politness/ demonstrates respect for the generalized other, ex. waiting in line for coffee, addressing people as their formal titles, ex. professor

Question 26

failure to comply with folkways results in what?

Answer 26

informal sanctions, ex. looks of disapproval

Question 27

what are mores and what is their purpose?

Answer 27

institutionalized norms embedded in laws (considered to embody fundamental views) used to maintain control in society, ex. formal legislation/laws

Question 28

taboos

Answer 28

mores that have such strong moral connotations they are considered wrong and of themselves, ex. cannibalism, incest, pedophilia

Question 29

failure to comply with mores and taboos results in what?

Answer 29

formal sanctions, ex.prison, fines, parole

Question 30

prescriptive norms

Answer 30

rules depicted behaviours we are expected to perform (prescribed behaviours), ex. covering a sneeze, respecting the rights of others, following appropriate authority at work/school

Question 31

proscriptive norms

Answer 31

rules outlining behaviours we are expected not to do, ex. talking with your mouth full, swearing in church, going to work high/drunk

Question 32

informal sanctions are often conveyed through what?

Answer 32

nonverbal communication, ex. dirty looks, middle finger, honking the horn. These gestures are non-universal but there are universal categories of what gestures mean(happy, angry)

Question 33

emblems

Answer 33

nonverbal gestures with direct verbal equivalents, ex. middle finger = fuck you, devil horns = rock on

Question 34

cultural values

Answer 34

collectively shared ideas about what is right and wrong

Question 35

7 common unifying Canadian values

Answer 35

1. Belief in equality and fairness in a democratic society 2. Belief in consultation and dialog; settling difference peacefully both at the individual and governmental level 3. Accommodation and tolerance; need to sustain culture while attaching to Canada's society, values, and institutions 4. Diversity; overreaching principle for the multiculturalism act 5. Compassion and generosity; supporting the collective via social service, healthcare, pensions, welcoming refugees 6. Attachment to Canada's natural beauty 7. World peace; commitment to freedom, peace, and nonviolent change every cat acts dumb cats are weird

Question 36

Multiculturalism as a value

Answer 36

assumes all groups are inherently equal within a culture

Question 37

bill 21

Answer 37

designed to uphold French secularism by ensuring religious neutrality

Question 38

Functionalist Perspective on values and norms

Answer 38

shared cultural values are the foundation of society

Question 39

what are social facts and who conceptualized it?

Answer 39

Emile Durkheim; cultural values + norms; observable social phenomenon external to individuals and excerise power over them

Question 40

collective conscience

Answer 40

recurring pattern of respecting norms/ following them because they are internalized through early socialization

Question 41

internalized norms

Answer 41

people accepting and following cultural norms subconsciously

Question 42

Talcott Parsons

Answer 42

norms and values work together at a general level in the form of social institutions

Question 43

Conflict perspective on values and norms

Answer 43

there is a lack of correspondence and contradictions between cultural values and norms. ex. equality is valued but not all groups are treated equally

Question 44

ideal culture

Answer 44

cultural values that most people identify with, ex. environmental preservation

Question 45

real culture

Answer 45

actual practices engaged in, ex. oils sands destroying the environment

Question 46

what causes discrepancies between ideal and real culture?

Answer 46

quest for control, fighting over scarce resources, and cultural variations in the exsisting beliefs/practices of particular groups, ex. regionalism of French Canadians

Question 47

cultural relativism

Answer 47

understanding another culture sympathetically enough so that it appears to be a coherent/meaningful design for living A society's customs and ideas should be described objectively and should be understood within the context of that society's problems and opportunities.

Question 48

ethnocentrism

Answer 48

tendency to believe that one's cultural beliefs/practices are superior and should be used as the standard

Question 49

subculture

Answer 49

a group that can be differentiated from mainstream culture by differing traits involving language, norms, beliefs, and values; identified by shared traits, ex. food preferences (vegan), music interest, body art, recreation (internet groups), age (boomer)

Question 50

counterculture

Answer 50

type of subculture that strongly opposes core aspects of mainstream culture, ex. Hells angels, hippies

Question 51

cultural mosaic

Answer 51

blend of diverse groups and traditions coexisting