Chapter 5: What Is Culture?

Atlantic Canada In
The Global Community
Unit 2: Culture
Chapter 5: What is Culture?
 What is culture, and what different
forms does it take?
 Where does our culture come from?

How is it transmitted from one person
to another, and from one generation to
the next?
Defining Culture… 1
 Culture is a
reflection of who and
what we are. It
refers to everything
connected with the
way humans live in
groups.
 Culture includes all the ways people respond

to:
 their physical environment
 their history
 their economic life
 their social life

their political life.
 Culture includes:
 arts and entertainment such as video-making,
 beliefs such as what is or is not fair.
 organizations such as city governments and
schools
 behaviours patterns like hanging out after school.
 Culture includes all products of human work

and thought:
 the clothes you wear

 the food you eat
 the places where you live and shop
 your beliefs and the things you value
 the way you spend your leisure time
 the technology you use.
 Culture is what earlier generations transmit to

later ones. However, it is separate from genetic
transmission of traits, or characteristics.
Textbook page 67
Defining Culture
History – What are the
origins of the culture and
Physical environment – How how have events brought
do people interact with their changes over time?
physical environment?
Social life – How do individuals

Culture and groups within the society
interact? What are their religious
values and traditions?
Political life – How do people in

the society organize themselves
so that they can live together in Economic life – How do people make
peace and security? a living? How do their occupations
influence their lifestyle?
Textbook page 68
A Global Perspective
 Scientists who study human cultural
characteristics are known as
anthropologists.
 Anthropologists have pointed out that
there are important differences among
cultures; in other words, there is cultural
diversity.
 They also emphasize, however, that there
is a lot of cultural similarity.
Textbook page 70
Meeting Our Needs…1

 All people, no matter what their
background, have needs:
 physical needs
 the need for food, water, clothing, shelter and safety.
 emotional needs
 the need for friendship, a sense of belonging, love,
self-esteem, knowledge, excitement, and self-
expression.
Meeting Our Needs… 2
 While all people share these needs,

their ways of meeting them vary
greatly.
 To a large extent, the culture of group
develops as people find ways to meet
their needs.
Textbook page 70
Decide which needs the people are

meeting in each case
 Every autumn the people of Twillingate, NL, hunt sea birds known
as turrs, or thick-billed murres. These meaty birds were once an
important part of the winter food supply.
 In the 1800’s, many large, stately houses were built in

Fredericton, NB. They are now regarded as some of the most
beautiful homes in North America.
Textbook page 70
 In the 1780’s, some of the Loyalist settlers in Atlantic Canada were

starving. They were saved by members of the First Nations who
brought them moose meat to eat.
 PEI has powerful winds, and researchers at the Atlantic Wind Test
Site at North Cape experiment with ways to harness this wind power
to produce electricity.
 There is a large community of Celtic background in Cape Breton, NS.

By celebrating their music, sports, and crafts, members of the
community seek to preserve their Celtic heritage.
Textbook page 71
Material and Non-material Culture

 To understand cultures better, anthropologists
examine their material and non-material aspects.
 Material culture: the physical objects produced and/or

used by the society to which you belong.
 Non-material culture: refers to the elements of culture

that are not physical. It includes spoken language,
ideas, stories, myths, legends, religious beliefs, and
ways of behaving. Among the most important aspects
of non-material culture are our values: the ideas,
beliefs and ways of behaving that are valuable or
important to people of a particular culture.
Textbook page 72
Traditional Culture, Popular Culture

and the Global Connection
 The customs, beliefs, opinions and stories passed down from one
generation to another are known as traditions. The older traditions,
the more powerful they often become.
 The traditional culture of a group is made up of practices established

over many generations.
 The world has many traditional cultures that vary from group to
group.
 There is, however, another, more widespread kind of culture,

popular culture. This is the culture shard by many groups in Western
society, both in the city and the country. It is also shared,
increasingly, all over the globe.
Examples of Popular Culture
 Examples of popular culture: popular music, television shows, brand-
name cloths, brand name foods and drinks, fast food restaurants,
celebrities and famous athletes.
 The spread of these elements of popular culture in the modern world

has much to do with technology. For example, popular culture spreads
through:
 mass media (tv, radio, cd’s, newspapers, dvd’s, books and movies).
 communication technologies (computers, faxes, telephones, cell phones,
blackberrys)
 transportation technologies (expressways, ferries, and air travel routes)
 Culture is learnt through socialization.
Agents of Socialization
 You were born with only your genetically inherited traits. In other
words, you were born without culture. Yet you know who to put on
your socks, tell time, greet your friends, read these notes, obey traffic
signals, and buy your favourite foods.
 You learned how to do all this and more through socialization: the
process of learning behaviours that is considered suitable in your
culture.
 Many agents of socialization have operated in your life. They have

included individuals, groups, institutions (organizations with social,
educational, and religious purposes).
Textbook page 74-75
Agents of Socialization
(See textbook for complete details!)
 Family
 Schools
 Peer groups
 Clubs, teams, and similar organizations
 Community
 Government
 Religious groups
 Mass media
Textbook page 78
Mainstream and Contributing

Cultures
 Can a person have more than one culture at the same
time?
 What would your various cultures be?
 How might they overlap?
 How might they conflict?
 Mainstream culture is the general culture of the majority
of people in a particular area. Flowing into mainstream
cultures are very often contributing cultures: cultures of
smaller groups of people inside the larger one.
 A mainstream culture in a local area may be a contributing
culture in a larger region.

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Atlantic Canada In

The Global Community

 Where does our culture come from?

 Culture includes all the ways people respond

 Culture includes all products of human work

 the clothes you wear

 Culture is what earlier generations transmit to

Social life – How do individuals

Political life – How do people in

Meeting Our Needs…1

 While all people share these needs,

Decide which needs the people are

 In the 1800’s, many large, stately houses were built in

 In the 1780’s, some of the Loyalist settlers in Atlantic Canada were

 There is a large community of Celtic background in Cape Breton, NS.

Material and Non-material Culture

 Material culture: the physical objects produced and/or

 Non-material culture: refers to the elements of culture

Traditional Culture, Popular Culture

 The traditional culture of a group is made up of practices established

 There is, however, another, more widespread kind of culture,

 The spread of these elements of popular culture in the modern world

 Many agents of socialization have operated in your life. They have

Mainstream and Contributing

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