lecture 5- culture

Question 1

What is culture?

Answer 1

• customary beliefs, social forms, material traits (items) of a racial, religious or social group
• values, beliefs, norms
  -not stagnant, curated over time

Question 2

Anchor-Network theory

Answer 2

Culture is about the networks of relationships we are a part of

Question 3

Cultural hearth

Answer 3

node or origin of innovation of an item/idea/practice

Question 4

Cultural artefact

Answer 4

anything made by humans which gives information about the culture of its creator and users

Question 5

Custom

Answer 5

the frequent repetition of an act, becomes characteristic of a group of people
(ex. to give a wrapped gift at Christmas)

Question 6

Terrior

Answer 6

climate, soil and terrain affect the flavor of what we eat and drink

Ex. coffee beans grown in different regions have a distinct flavour

Question 7

Diffusion of ideas

Answer 7

= how an idea migrate to different parts of the world

Question 8

Contagious diffusion

Answer 8

rapid widespread diffusion throughout a population

Question 9

Expansion diffusion

Answer 9

diffusion in multiple places in the world, can also expand from there
(ex. TV)

Question 10

Hierarchical diffusion

Answer 10

diffuses top down throughout classes
(ex. ideas passed down through generations)

Question 11

Relocation diffusion

Answer 11

spread of cultural ideas by physically bringing your culture with you and sharing it

(ex. migration, ethnic restaurants sharing their culture in different parts of the world)

Question 12

Folk culture

Answer 12

localized, practiced by a smaller group of people, more traditional, spreads slower

Question 13

Popular culture

Answer 13

has a broader geographic spread, diffuses rapidly (expansive diffusion)
- more homogenous (ex. wedding dresses)
-diffusion increases w/ technical innovations

Question 14

Folk food

Answer 14

historically localized, folk foods carry on many of these patterns, ritualized (ex. times when they eat certain foods)

Question 15

Global cereal dispersion

Answer 15

• spread of grains (maize, rice, wheat)
  Popular food:
  -linked w globalization, rise of multi-national corporations
  -reflect changing values (consistency, economics, timeliness)

Question 16

Taboos

Answer 16

restriction on behaviour imposed by religious law or social custom
Ex. not eating pork in certain cultures

Question 17

Tale of 2 pigs

Answer 17

Abrahamic religions:
Isrealites were nomadic pastoralists
- pigs are seen as dirty
- bad at thermoregulation
- competing for food with humans

The Maring People of Papua New Guinea:
- pigs are used to strengthen alliances, distribute power
- pigs were seen as a connection to their ancestors

Question 18

Maring people: Slash and burn agriculture

Answer 18

controlled fires that return nutrients, nitrogen, back into the soil

Question 19

How did the Maring people hunt/use the land?

Answer 19

-slash and burn agriculture
-minimal hunting
- women were the primary pig raisers

Question 20

How did the Maring people manage the burden (energy and time) that pigs create?

Answer 20

Pig festival (kaiko) held every 12 years. Lasted a whole year, social gatherings, renew old military alliances and make new ones (depending on how much pork you have?)
- roughly 7/8th of the pig population is eaten, traded and sacrificed (cultural)
- the festival is followed by intense conflict between clans
- conflict ended with the planting of small tree called a rumbim

–> managing how people interact with their environment

Question 21

Differences between Abrahamic religions and Maring people: pigs

Answer 21

Abrahamic religions: full taboo against raising and eating pigs
- most streams of Christianity have removed this taboo because of changing social factors and it was no longer an environmental concern

Maring people: developed a sustainable way to coexist with pigs and their environment without exceeding their available resources

Question 22

Culture: clothing

Answer 22

Linked with environment, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is primitive
(ex. first nations cultures using cedar bark in their garments)

Folk cultures continue these traditions
Folk traditions can blend with popular styles

Can also be a form of resistance; pushback to popular culture

Question 23

Globalization=

Answer 23

homogenizing of cultures through media and travel

Question 24

Diffusion and technology

Answer 24

Global cities (hotspots of diffusion) and areas of diffusion

The rate that technology is being put out and the rate that it is being adopted is exponential

Question 25

Mega events

Answer 25

-olympics…
- sharing of ideas, setting of global trends

Question 26

Subcultures

Answer 26

groups of people who share norms of behavior, values that differ to those of dominant mainstream cultures

Question 27

Superculture

Answer 27

a collection of other cultures and/or subcultures that interact w each other, collectively have a degree of unity
Ex. heavy metal