Module 4: Culture Flashcards
Two important things to remember when studying culture are that
- culture is changing so we need to be aware to the ways that culture is human-made and therefore not static.
- there is no one culture; it varies across time and place, and in its composition. A single culture may be contained within a single nation, but often it crosses boundaries, right down to a plurality of cultures in a country, a city, a neighbourhood, or even a household.
Ethnocentrism
refers to the tendency to negatively judge other cultures based on the standards of your own culture.
cultural relativism
The practice of assessing the components of a culture in the context of that culture itself, and not compared to another culture
multiculturalism
assimilation
the process by which an individual takes on the values, norms, and practices of the dominant culture
colonization
The Canadian Multiculturalism Act is designed to recognize and promote: (4)
- the full participation of all individuals and communities in the development of Canada
- equal treatment and protection under the law
- equal opportunities to gain employment
- the preservation and enhancement of non-official languages, while strengthening the official languages (English and French)
cultural appropriation
High culture+ex (2)
Refers to elements of a culture that are high status and are therefore associated with a society’s elite. Not just anyone can afford a $5,000 (USD) hamburger.
Mass culture
Refers to the cultural practices and goods associated with the majority. Mass culture is more pervasive, commonly shared, and not associated with high status.
Dominant culture+ex (2)
refers to the values, behaviours, customs, symbols, and objects of the majority; in Canada, think democracy, hockey, or the English language.
A subculture
Counterculture+ ex (2)
- a type of subculture that is in opposition to dominant culture.
- Examples of a counterculture centred on social norms are those engaged in non-monogamous long-term romantic relationships, who are counter to mainstream values of monogamy in such long-term partnerships. (This topic is something you’ll read about in Chapter 11—Relationships and Families.)
rites of passage
Material culture+ ex (2)
- the tangible objects and technologies of a culture
- this includes such things as the foods we consume, the kind of housing common to where we live, and the museums we visit
Non-material culture (2)
- the intangible values, norms, and symbols of a culture
- Examples of non-material culture are ceremonies, language, and our expectations for all types of behaviour, from how to enter and exit public transit through to our laws.
Social-media technology—an example of
material culture
Technology
Technology is material goods that are designed for the practical purposes of humans through the application of scientific knowledge.
Consumerism
the tendency for people’s activities and identities to revolve around the purchasing of material goods
conspicuous consumption
Values
are generally accepted ideas about what is good, right, important, and desirable
Norms
are generally accepted standards for behaviour.
symbols
are objects and gestures that carry meaning to those within a shared culture.
deviance+ex
behaviour that violates cultural expectations or standards of behaviour
- ex not voting
Attitudinal deviance
focuses on a different belief system or set of attitudes, such as people who believe the earth is flat
Conditional deviance + ex
examines how certain conditions, such as having a physical disability, render people deviant in the eyes of others. Statistically small populations, such as people born with red hair, those who are very tall or very short, or same-sex attraction, are often seen as deviant simply because these traits are not the same as most people.
behavioural deviance
when people behave in a way that violates cultural standards of behaviour
Like many norms, deviance is —–; it is the product of a particular place, time, and culture. This means that it is not universal, but instead, it is ——.
- constructed
- subject to change over time and place
Folkways + Ex (2)
- relate to the commonly-accepted way of doing things in a particular culture
- Ex: For example, if you invite yourself over to someone’s house, you’ve likely violated a cultural norm about waiting for an invitation
more (3)
What it is+reaction+ ex
- When a guideline for behaviour involves some sense of morality, of what is right and wrong, it is a more.
- Because the behaviour is seen as crucial to the decency of a culture, a violation of that norm will elicit a stronger, more negative reaction than the violation of a folkway.
- For example, cheating on a test will elicit a strong condemnation of your behaviour and an immediate punishment because of how blatantly cheating on a test goes against the underlying values of honesty, fairness, and merit.
Laws (3)
What it is+ legislated makes law…+concious
- norms that regulate our behaviour through a system of rules enforced by state and social institutions.
- Laws are mores that have been legislated into various codes and statutes, like the Criminal Code of Canada; this makes laws a kind of subcategory of mores, and you should think of laws in the same way as mores in terms of the underlying moral principle.
- But where folkways and mores produce unconscious behaviours, Sumner (1906) argued that laws create conscious, voluntary behaviours, as people generally wish to avoid behaving in a way that will result in state punishment.
taboo +ex (2)
- Taboos are behaviours that are so strongly prohibited for social or sacred cultural reasons that any violation of a taboo is met with the strongest condemnation and punishment.
- Common examples of taboo include incest, cannibalism, and bestiality.
And what you’ve probably come to realize is that there is some overlap between laws and taboos. That is,
most taboos are subject to the law.
Indigenous Languages Act
The Act is built around the preservation, protection, and revitalization of Indigenous languages across Canada.
repatriation
decolonization
Comprehensive land-claims agreements, beginning in 1975, are
negotiations between the Canadian federal government, the relevant provincial or territorial government, and Indigenous groups that centre primarily on land and development and management of the land, and may also include self-government.
