Culture

Question 1

What is culture?

Answer 1

Encompasses ideas, values, norms, ideologies, beliefs, languages, practices, and material objects that peopl create, connects people in a society

Question 2

Give an example for the two types of changes to culture.

Answer 2

Internal changes: e.g. average age of group
External changes: e.g. technological changes

Question 3

What are 5 elements of culture?

Answer 3

Values, norms, beliefs, symbols, rituals

Question 4

Define values

Answer 4

Moral beliefs of what group/society considers good or important, expresses ideals, guides behaviours

Question 5

Define symbols and rituals

Answer 5

Symbols: material or non-material objects to which cultures assign meaning
Rituals: important, routinized group activities

Question 6

A) Define beliefs
B) Define ideology

Answer 6

A) conventions people believe to be true, aligns with norms and values
B) Set of shared beliefs that explain social world and guide behaviour

Question 7

Define norms

Answer 7

Rules and expectations, based on values, that guid behaviour (often informal)

Question 8

Define material culture

Answer 8

Encompasses all physical goods or artefacts that manifest/reflect culture

Question 9

Define symbolic culture

Answer 9

Encompasses nonmaterial aspects of culture, aspect that influence beliefs, values, norms, language

Question 10

Define culture wars

Answer 10

Friction between cultures, can be conflict with subculture/counterculture against dominant culture

Question 11

Define ideal and real culture

Answer 11

Ideal culture: how we think people should behave and think
Real culture: how people actually behave and think
Example: Canadians value democracy but very few vote

Question 12

Define high and low culture

Answer 12

High culture: tends to be associated with societal elites, aesthetically rich
Low culture: associated with masses, product of massive corporations (e.g. One Direction)

Question 13

Define subcultures

Answer 13

Groups that accept much of dominant culture, but are set apart by one or more significant values of characteristics

Question 14

Define countercultures

Answer 14

Norms and values oppose/incompatible with most of dominant culture, reject mainstream norms

Question 15

Define multiculturalism

Answer 15

Environment where cultural differences are accepted and appreciated

Question 16

Define assimilation

Answer 16

Integrating minority group into the mainstream (e.g. early Europe immigrants now reg Canadians)

Question 17

Define identity politics

Answer 17

Groups assert their right to retain their distinctive culture and not assimilate, use their power to strengthen the position of the cultural group they identify with

Question 18

Define cultural relativism

Answer 18

Aspects of culture (norms/values) need to be understood within context of one’s own culture, there are no cultural universals, no one culture’s values are better than the other (e.g. Islam head scarves and US crop tops)

Question 19

Define ethnocentrism

Answer 19

Belief that norms, values, traditions, of one’s culture are better than those of other cultures

Question 20

Define globalization

Answer 20

Exchanges of cultural ideas and values between cultures around the world

Question 21

Most supported argument of existence of global values?

Answer 21

Global values is traceable to process of globalization. Global flow of products and people produce similar realities across the world, so it seems likely that what people value would become similar.

Question 22

Define cultural imperialism

Answer 22

Imposition of one’s dominant culture on other cultures, tends to destroy local cultures, can be intentional or unintentional

Question 23

Define americanisation

Answer 23

Exports of many cultural elements closely associated with United States

Question 24

Define anti-americanism and cultural hybrids

Answer 24

Anti-Americanism: aversion to America and influence of its culture
Cultural hybrids: local cultures modify inputs and impositions from other cultures to create cultural hybrids that combine elements of both.

Question 25

Define consumer culture

Answer 25

Consumption tied to identity and imbued with meaning; meaning found in foods/services you buy, process of buying them, social aspects of consumption, and settings consumption takes place

Question 26

What are two types of consumption?

Answer 26

Conspicuous consumption: gain prestige by flaunting consumption of expensive items/services
Inconspicuous consumption: not conspicuous, e.g. rich professor in baggy jeans

Question 27

Define postconsumer culture and culture jamming.

Answer 27

Postconsumer culture: lost ability or desire to consume (socially conscious, unemployed/poor, etc.)
Culture jamming: radically transforming intended message in popular culture to show hidden, harmful realities of corporations and consumer culture

Question 28

Define culture industry

Answer 28

Industries that produce products of mass culture

Question 29

Define pseudo individuality

Answer 29

Belief that we are making choices about our consumption that reflect our personality, when they are pre-fabricated by culture industry

Question 30

Define corporate consolidation

Answer 30

acquisition of smaller corporations by larger ones, meaning handful of large companies control majority of culture industry

Question 31

Define cultural capital

Answer 31

Non-economic resources such as particular types of skills, mannerisms, tastes, hobbies, behaviours, often informal (e.g. personal taste). Formal would be educational degrees.