Cultural Relativism and Multiculturalism Quiz

Cultural Relativism and Multiculturalism

• Cultural relativism assesses cultures based on their own values, promoting understanding but raising concerns when conflicting with universal human rights (e.g., child marriage).
• Multiculturalism balances ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, advocating for diverse cultures' coexistence with equal value. Examples include diverse cuisine and cultural expressions.
• The debate over seal meat in restaurants highlights the tension between Indigenous practices and broader societal views on animal rights.

Multiculturalism vs. Assimilation

• Multiculturalism fosters cultural diversity and engagement, allowing cultures to coexist equally.
• Assimilation is a one-way process where individuals adopt the dominant culture, potentially eroding original identities (e.g., immigrant home ownership aligning with broader population trends in Canada).
• Historical assimilation, often enforced through ethnocentrism, has led to cultural genocide (e.g., Canadian residential schools and bans on Indigenous ceremonies).
• The Canadian Multiculturalism Act (1970s) supports cultural participation and rights, aiming to prevent cultural dominance.

Cultural Appropriation and High vs. Mass Culture

• Cultural appropriation involves adopting elements of one culture by another, often without understanding or respect, raising issues of power imbalance.
• High culture refers to elite practices associated with status (e.g., classical music), while mass culture encompasses widely shared practices (e.g., popular music). The distinction is blurring with cross-influences (e.g., gourmet hamburgers).
• Dominant culture represents the majority's norms (e.g., Canadian democracy), subcultures maintain distinct values within the dominant culture (e.g., ethnic neighborhoods), and countercultures actively oppose dominant norms (e.g., 1960s hippies).

Tattoos and Cultural Context

• Tattoos' cultural classification varies: dominant culture (historically associated with deviance), subculture (integral to groups like punks), and counterculture (representing opposition to mainstream norms).
• Historical stigma existed (e.g., tattoos as punishment in 17th-century Japan), while some cultures celebrate them (e.g., Pacific Islander rites of passage).
• Current trends show growing acceptance, although some employers retain negative views; attitudes are shifting, with some brands embracing tattoos.

Material and Non-Material Culture

• Material culture includes tangible objects and technologies (e.g., clothing, food, technology).
• Non-material culture encompasses intangible values, norms, and symbols (e.g., language, ceremonies).
• Clothing reflects cultural identity, climate, and social roles; it can signify status and express political or cultural identities, potentially serving as resistance against dominant culture.
• Technology enables identity expression through social media and influences cultural expression and accessibility (e.g., sharing and commercialization of art and music).
• Consumerism, while indicating economic development, raises concerns about social inequality and environmental sustainability (e.g., conspicuous consumption and fast fashion).

Consumerism in Health and Fitness

• The rise of consumerism in health and fitness is exemplified by products like the Apple Watch, promoting an active lifestyle and luxury smartwatches.
• This trend reflects broader health-consciousness, seen in the growth of health clubs, personal trainers, and brands like Lululemon.
• Sociologist Jennifer Maguire's research notes the emergence of fitness culture throughout time (commercial health clubs in the 1970s, personal trainers in the 1990s, smartwatches recently), although wearable devices alone don't necessarily increase physical activity or weight loss.
• Fitness products often signal status and social connection (e.g., running shoes, juices, water bottles).

Agents of Socialization

• Socialization is the process of learning cultural norms and behaviors, occurring in stages (primary within families, secondary through peers, schools, and media).
• Families transmit societal values, beliefs, and identities, both positive (cooperation) and negative (prejudice); Indigenous childrearing highlights diverse cultural values.
• Schools shape behaviors and expectations beyond academics, influencing students' self-esteem and aspirations.
• Peer groups significantly impact behaviors and beliefs during late childhood and adolescence, both positively (altruism) and negatively (risky behaviors).
• Media is a powerful agent, especially for youth, providing information and norms but also potentially contributing to negative body image and aggression (though long-term impact on violence is debated, with personal traits potentially being a greater factor).

Socialization Throughout Life & Normalization of Deviance

• Socialization is traditionally seen as "top-down," but individuals engage in self-socialization.
• Diane Vaughan's "Normalization of Deviance" explains decision-making failures (e.g., Challenger and Columbia disasters) through preoccupation with costs and efficiency, organizational secrecy, and repeated successful operations leading to acceptance of risky behaviors.

Groups, Organizations, and Atrocity: Banality of Evil

• The "banality of evil" concept explains how mass murder can result from group processes and organizational systems, where evil is "terrifyingly normal."
• The Nazi regime's mass killings (approximately 11 million deaths) involved ordinary Germans.
• Key explanations include collective behavior (conformity to group norms and obedience to authority), unit cohesion (strong bonds reinforcing commitment), and rationalization and organization (bureaucratic systems facilitating killings).
• Anti-Semitic propaganda provided an ideological foundation.

Networks and Group Categories

• Networks consist of nodes, links, and ties; shaping social interactions and behaviors.
• Group categories include social aggregates, social categories, and social groups (primary and secondary).