Chapter 4 - culture
- Culture is a collection of learned ideas, practices, symbols, costumes, material objects
- acknowledging that culture is changing means being attuned to the ways that culture is
human-made and therefore not static
- Second, saying that culture is plural means that there is no one culture; it varies across
time and place, and in its composition
Comparing cultures
- especially customs, symbols, products, and practices—can sometimes be at odds with
components of another, co-existing culture. In this case, the dominant Canadian culture
bans weapons at schools and reinforces these rules through punishment
- Ethnocentrism is the tendency to negatively judge another culture based on the standard
of ones culture (viewing you culture as superior and other cultures as inferior)
- Cultural relativism is the practice of assessing the component of a culture in the context
of that culture itself, and not in comparison to another culture. The central premise is that
all cultures have their own norms, values, costumes, and practices
- Multiculturalism is the policy and practice of respecting and promoting cultural
diversity also known as cultural pluralism emphasizing the plurality of a cultures (ex.
Diversity of restaurants here in toronto)
- Assimilation is the process by which an individual takes on the values, norms, and
practices of the dominant culture. The term is usually used in reference to indegnous
people and immigrants
- Multiculturalism invites cross-cultural engagements while assimilation is a one way
process whereby all people who are not part of the dominant culture are meant to
assimilate accordingly (achieved in forceful ways such as residential schools)
- Colonization is the process of one nation acquiring political, economic, social, and
cultural control over another nation
- Treaties are legally-binding nation-tonation agreements that define the rights,
responsibilities and relationships between the government of canada, provincial and
territorial governments and indegnous groups (indegnous people were assigned parcels of
land)
- The canadian multiculturalism act is designed to recognize and promote full
participation of all individuals and communities in the development of canada, equal
treatment and protection under the law, equal opportunities to gain employment and the
preservation and enhancement of non-official languages
- Multiculturalism promotes the idea of different but equal
- Cultural appropriation is the act of adapting cultural elements from another culture
without understanding or acknowledgment especially by member of the dominant groups
and depends greatly on the power of the dominant culture (waist beads trend on tik
tok, is a traditional african symbol) (white belly dancers written from the eyes of a middle
eastern)
, Mass culture and high culture
- Some elements of culture are associated with money, status, and prestige while other
elements are more commonplace and lower in status
- High culture is the cultural practices and goods that are high status and associated with a
society’s elite (ballet, theater, opera, museums, classical concerts)
- Mass culture is the cultural practices and goods that are widely shared and associated
with a societies majority (sushi is a food that is loved by all called mass culture, put
caviar on top or expensive fish inside, and its high culture)
- Cultural omnivore refers to someone who values and relies on both mass culture and
high culture together
Dominant, sub and counterculture
- Dominant culture is the values, behaviours, costumes, symbols, and objects of the
majority (democracy)
- Subculture is a group with distinctive values, behaviours, symbols and material objects
that are a part from the dominant culture but not in opposition to it (little towns formed in
toronto such as little italy, greektown, chinatown)
- Counterculture is a subtype of subculture that exists in opposition to the dominant
culture (the controversy around relationships and how there are polynamus marriages and
same sex couples)
- Rites of passage is a ceremony or ritual that symbolizes a transition from one life stage
to the next
Material culture
- Material culture is the tangible objects and technologies of a culture (food, where we
live, what we wear, our phones and technology)
- Non-material culture is the intangible values, norms, and symbols of a culture
- Clothing also known as material culture fosters connections to other people with the
same cultural background and acts like a cultural bridge for new immigrants to a country
- Technology is the material goods designed for practical purposes through the application
of scientific knowledge
- Technology builds the expression of identity, ex, instagram, snapchat, we chat are all
platforms where we create different versions of ourselves
- Dating apps are also where an intersection between technology & identity.
- Consumerism is the tendency of peoples activities around the purchasing of material
goods, so basically what kind of things we buy throughout the years and what influences
our shopping sprees
- Looed at as a positive indicator in society, it people ar ina position to purchase goods, it
means they are living in good economic conditions
- Conspicuous consumption is the buying and supplying goods for the purpose fo making
statement about ones status and wealth
- Culture is a collection of learned ideas, practices, symbols, costumes, material objects
- acknowledging that culture is changing means being attuned to the ways that culture is
human-made and therefore not static
- Second, saying that culture is plural means that there is no one culture; it varies across
time and place, and in its composition
Comparing cultures
- especially customs, symbols, products, and practices—can sometimes be at odds with
components of another, co-existing culture. In this case, the dominant Canadian culture
bans weapons at schools and reinforces these rules through punishment
- Ethnocentrism is the tendency to negatively judge another culture based on the standard
of ones culture (viewing you culture as superior and other cultures as inferior)
- Cultural relativism is the practice of assessing the component of a culture in the context
of that culture itself, and not in comparison to another culture. The central premise is that
all cultures have their own norms, values, costumes, and practices
- Multiculturalism is the policy and practice of respecting and promoting cultural
diversity also known as cultural pluralism emphasizing the plurality of a cultures (ex.
Diversity of restaurants here in toronto)
- Assimilation is the process by which an individual takes on the values, norms, and
practices of the dominant culture. The term is usually used in reference to indegnous
people and immigrants
- Multiculturalism invites cross-cultural engagements while assimilation is a one way
process whereby all people who are not part of the dominant culture are meant to
assimilate accordingly (achieved in forceful ways such as residential schools)
- Colonization is the process of one nation acquiring political, economic, social, and
cultural control over another nation
- Treaties are legally-binding nation-tonation agreements that define the rights,
responsibilities and relationships between the government of canada, provincial and
territorial governments and indegnous groups (indegnous people were assigned parcels of
land)
- The canadian multiculturalism act is designed to recognize and promote full
participation of all individuals and communities in the development of canada, equal
treatment and protection under the law, equal opportunities to gain employment and the
preservation and enhancement of non-official languages
- Multiculturalism promotes the idea of different but equal
- Cultural appropriation is the act of adapting cultural elements from another culture
without understanding or acknowledgment especially by member of the dominant groups
and depends greatly on the power of the dominant culture (waist beads trend on tik
tok, is a traditional african symbol) (white belly dancers written from the eyes of a middle
eastern)
, Mass culture and high culture
- Some elements of culture are associated with money, status, and prestige while other
elements are more commonplace and lower in status
- High culture is the cultural practices and goods that are high status and associated with a
society’s elite (ballet, theater, opera, museums, classical concerts)
- Mass culture is the cultural practices and goods that are widely shared and associated
with a societies majority (sushi is a food that is loved by all called mass culture, put
caviar on top or expensive fish inside, and its high culture)
- Cultural omnivore refers to someone who values and relies on both mass culture and
high culture together
Dominant, sub and counterculture
- Dominant culture is the values, behaviours, costumes, symbols, and objects of the
majority (democracy)
- Subculture is a group with distinctive values, behaviours, symbols and material objects
that are a part from the dominant culture but not in opposition to it (little towns formed in
toronto such as little italy, greektown, chinatown)
- Counterculture is a subtype of subculture that exists in opposition to the dominant
culture (the controversy around relationships and how there are polynamus marriages and
same sex couples)
- Rites of passage is a ceremony or ritual that symbolizes a transition from one life stage
to the next
Material culture
- Material culture is the tangible objects and technologies of a culture (food, where we
live, what we wear, our phones and technology)
- Non-material culture is the intangible values, norms, and symbols of a culture
- Clothing also known as material culture fosters connections to other people with the
same cultural background and acts like a cultural bridge for new immigrants to a country
- Technology is the material goods designed for practical purposes through the application
of scientific knowledge
- Technology builds the expression of identity, ex, instagram, snapchat, we chat are all
platforms where we create different versions of ourselves
- Dating apps are also where an intersection between technology & identity.
- Consumerism is the tendency of peoples activities around the purchasing of material
goods, so basically what kind of things we buy throughout the years and what influences
our shopping sprees
- Looed at as a positive indicator in society, it people ar ina position to purchase goods, it
means they are living in good economic conditions
- Conspicuous consumption is the buying and supplying goods for the purpose fo making
statement about ones status and wealth
