Culture Terminology

Culture Terms Culture – Everything connected with the way humans live in groups (history, politics, environment, etc.) (history, politics, environment, etc.) Anthropologist – a social scientist who studies human cultural characteristics. *Cultural diversity – variety and difference among cultures (art, cooking, language, etc.)

Physical needs – What a human needs to live. (food, water, shelter, etc) Emotional needs – Conditions needed for self. (Friendship, love, sense of belonging, etc) *Material culture – The physical objects produced or used by a society (money, clothing..)

Non-material culture – Elements of a culture that are not physical (language, religions, ways of behaving, etc.) *Values - Ideas, beliefs, and ways of behaving that are valued and important to people of a particular culture. (Respect for elders, promptness, manners, etc.) Tradition - Customs, beliefs, opinions and stories passes from generation to generation

Traditional culture – practices established over many generation and passed on. *Popular culture - Pop culture is that which in vogue through the western world and increasingly around the world. Mass media is largely responsible in promoting pop music, tv shows, brands, food. Rites – ceremonies or customs of a family, religion, or cultural practice (ex. Confirmation)

*Socialization – Process of learned behaviour that is considered suitable in your culture (manners, space, socially acceptable practices..) *Institutions - Organizations with social, educational and religious purposes (school, teams, religion, etc) Mainstream culture – The general culture of the majority of people. Contributing culture – Cultures of groups within a society that are distinct from the mainstream but contribute to mainstream (enrich it)

Cultural relativism - the belief that it is important to respect the diversity of other cultures behaviours and customs of any culture must be viewed and analyzed by the culture’s own standards. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s culture is standard and thus, superior to others.

Subcultures are a group of people that share certain values and beliefs with the larger culture, but have characteristics that members share only with each other. oFirst Nations oFishing Communities oMilitary oTeenagers

Acculturation is the process by which members of subordinate racial and ethnic groups become absorbed into the dominant culture (Also known as cultural assimilation). The members of an ethnic group adopt the dominant group traits, such as language, dress, values, religion and food preferences.

Multiculturalism is the practice of maintaining the unique characteristics of each cultural group in a society that includes one or more different cultures. New ideas and art forms are among the benefits of a multicultural society. Being exposed to different cultures can enrich the lives of Individuals and benefit society as a whole.