Weeks 7-12 Quiz 6 - Cultural Studies PDF

**What is the primary theme of the \"Raven and Seal\" myth from the Nuxalk people of Bella Coola?**\ a) The morality of warfare\ b) The power of divine intervention\ c) The consequences of deceit and trickery\ d) The importance of agricultural rituals\ e) The origin of celestial bodies\ **Correct An...

**What is the primary theme of the \"Raven and Seal\" myth from the Nuxalk people of Bella Coola?**\ a) The morality of warfare\ b) The power of divine intervention\ c) The consequences of deceit and trickery\ d) The importance of agricultural rituals\ e) The origin of celestial bodies\ **Correct Answer:** c) The consequences of deceit and trickery\ **Explanation:** In the \"Raven and Seal\" myth, Raven tricks Yearling Seal into providing grease but fails when trying to replicate the process, highlighting themes of reciprocity and the dangers of deceit. 2. **Which of the following is an example of a legend recorded by the Lake Waswanipi Cree?**\ a) The dreamtime stories of ancestors\ b) Origins of the potlatch system\ c) Story of the Windigo\ d) Creation of the world by a trickster deity\ e) The rise of the first chief\ **Correct Answer:** c) Story of the Windigo\ **Explanation:** The Windigo legend tells of a gaunt, skeletal cannibal spirit, symbolizing themes of greed, starvation, and community protection. 3. **In the Raven myth, why does Raven burn his hands?**\ a) He tries to steal fire from the gods.\ b) He intervenes in a human dispute.\ c) He challenges a trickster spirit to a duel.\ d) He attempts to replicate the process of extracting grease from Seal.\ e) He tries to cook food for the first time.\ **Correct Answer:** d) He attempts to replicate the process of extracting grease from Seal.\ **Explanation:** Raven burns his hands while trying to copy Seal\'s method of extracting grease, symbolizing the consequences of overreaching or dishonesty. 4. **Which of the following best describes the Windigo in Cree legend?**\ a) A wise ancestral spirit who protects the forest\ b) A shapeshifting animal that teaches life lessons\ c) A cannibalistic spirit associated with greed and destruction\ d) A deity who rewards acts of generosity\ e) A benevolent trickster figure who creates the seasons\ **Correct Answer:** c) A cannibalistic spirit associated with greed and destruction\ **Explanation:** The Windigo legend portrays it as a terrifying figure, embodying the dangers of selfishness and moral decay. 5. **Myths differ from legends in which way?**\ a) Myths are secular stories, while legends are sacred.\ b) Myths are tied to specific cultural rituals, while legends are not.\ c) Myths always focus on moral lessons, while legends focus on entertainment.\ d) Myths are sacred stories about non-human characters, while legends are about human characters and events.\ e) Myths are set in the present, while legends are set in the distant past.\ **Correct Answer:** d) Myths are sacred stories about non-human characters, while legends are about human characters and events.\ **Explanation:** Myths often involve gods, spirits, or supernatural beings in sacred contexts, while legends are semi-historical stories with human protagonists. 6. **What role do myths and legends serve in many societies?**\ a) They primarily entertain children and have little cultural significance.\ b) They replace the need for written language in all societies.\ c) They function as tools for economic redistribution.\ d) They are exclusively used in religious ceremonies.\ e) They encode moral lessons, historical events, and cultural values.\ **Correct Answer:** e) They encode moral lessons, historical events, and cultural values.\ **Explanation:** Myths and legends transmit cultural knowledge, reinforce moral lessons, and preserve historical and spiritual narratives. 7. **The Maisin concept of the \"reciprocity reflex\" highlights which of the following?**\ a) The importance of mutual obligations in social behavior\ b) The economic impact of tapa cloth production\ c) The need for religious rituals to enforce morality\ d) The hierarchical structure of leadership\ e) The consequences of breaking taboos\ **Correct Answer:** a) The importance of mutual obligations in social behavior\ **Explanation:** The \"reciprocity reflex\" refers to the Maisin's deeply ingrained cultural practice of performing socially correct actions without question to maintain harmony. 8. **What role do oracles play in Azande political systems?**\ a) They enforce hierarchical authority through taxation.\ b) They determine leadership roles within clans.\ c) They resolve disputes and maintain social order.\ d) They redistribute wealth through ceremonial exchanges.\ e) They play no significant role in political life.\ **Correct Answer:** c) They resolve disputes and maintain social order.\ **Explanation:** Oracles help the Azande address accusations of witchcraft, resolve conflicts, and uphold community norms. 9. **What is one significant cultural impact of losing an endangered language?**\ a) Increased reliance on oral traditions.\ b) Loss of ecological and spiritual knowledge encoded in the language.\ c) Creation of new languages through cultural blending.\ d) Reduction in global population size.\ e) Enhanced linguistic uniformity across societies.\ **Correct Answer:** b) Loss of ecological and spiritual knowledge encoded in the language.\ **Explanation:** Endangered languages often carry unique knowledge about ecosystems, traditions, and worldviews, which are lost when the language disappears. - **True/False Question:** \"Ethnography is the qualitative method of studying cultures through immersive fieldwork.\"\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Ethnography involves living among a community, observing their daily lives, and participating in cultural practices to gain a deep understanding of their society. - **True/False Question:** \"An etic perspective focuses on the insider\'s view of cultural practices, while an emic perspective provides an outsider\'s analysis.\"\ **Correct Answer:** False\ **Explanation:** The **etic perspective** is the outsider\'s analysis, and the **emic perspective** focuses on the insider\'s view of cultural practices. - **True/False Question:** \"Structural functionalism argues that all cultural practices serve to maintain societal equilibrium.\"\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Structural functionalism examines how societal institutions contribute to the stability and functioning of a society. - **True/False Question:** \"Exogamy promotes genetic diversity and fosters alliances between groups.\"\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Exogamy prevents inbreeding and strengthens social ties through marriages outside the immediate kin group. - **True/False Question:** \"Fraternal polyandry is commonly practiced to preserve family land and prevent resource fragmentation.\"\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** In societies like rural Tibet, fraternal polyandry ensures that land remains undivided and maximizes resource use. - **True/False Question:** \"Big man leadership in tribes is based on heredity and coercive power.\"\ **Correct Answer:** False\ **Explanation:** Big men gain influence through charisma, persuasion, and generosity, not heredity or force. - **True/False Question:** \"Bands resolve disputes through formal legal systems and centralized authority.\"\ **Correct Answer:** False\ **Explanation:** Bands rely on informal methods like consensus and non-coercive leadership to maintain social harmony. - **True/False Question:** \"Displacement allows humans to communicate about things that are not present in time or space.\"\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Displacement is a key feature of human language that enables abstract thought and storytelling. - **True/False Question:** \"Revitalization efforts for endangered languages can help preserve ecological and cultural knowledge.\"\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Efforts like language nests and educational programs help communities retain traditional knowledge encoded in their languages. - **True/False Question:** \"Generalized reciprocity refers to an immediate exchange of goods or services with a clear expectation of return.\"\ **Correct Answer:** False\ **Explanation:** Generalized reciprocity involves giving without expecting an immediate or specific return, often seen in close relationships. - **True/False Question:** \"Liminality is the phase during a rite of passage when participants transition between social roles.\"\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Liminality, introduced by Victor Turner, represents the \"in-between\" state during rites of passage. - **True/False Question:** \"Among the Azande, witchcraft accusations often serve to explain misfortune and maintain social cohesion.\"\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Evans-Pritchard found that witchcraft provided the Azande with explanations for misfortune and mechanisms for resolving disputes. - **True/False Question:** \"Maisin tapa cloth production incorporates both traditional spiritual practices and resistance to globalization.\"\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Tapa-making reflects the Maisin's cultural identity and their efforts to resist deforestation and other global pressures. - **True/False Question:** \"Animism is the belief that spirits inhabit natural objects or phenomena.\"\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Tylor described animism as the earliest form of religion, in which spiritual beings were believed to animate the natural world. - **True/False Question:** \"Class systems allow for social mobility, while caste systems are rigid and hereditary.\"\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** In class systems, individuals can change status through achievements, unlike caste systems, which restrict mobility. 1. **The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis suggests that language determines thought, making certain ideas impossible for speakers of some languages.**\ **Correct Answer:** False\ **Explanation:** The strong version of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (linguistic determinism) suggests this, but the weaker version (linguistic relativity) states that language influences thought but does not limit it. 2. **Charles Hockett identified productivity as a key feature of human language, allowing infinite novel sentences to be created.**\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Productivity enables the creation of entirely new and understandable sentences, showcasing the creativity of human language. 3. **Animal call systems, like vervet monkey alarms, lack the displacement and productivity found in human language.**\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** While animal calls can communicate specific information, they are limited to immediate contexts and cannot discuss abstract or hypothetical scenarios. 4. **Ralph Linton distinguished between cultural diffusion, where traits spread between societies, and invention, where new traits emerge within a society.**\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Linton emphasized how cultural traits are either borrowed from others or created to meet specific needs. 5. **Acculturation allows minority groups to fully retain their original cultural practices without influence from dominant cultures.**\ **Correct Answer:** False\ **Explanation:** Acculturation involves cultural exchange and adaptation, often resulting in the partial loss of original practices. 6. **In Inuit societies, song duels are used as a non-violent method of resolving disputes and maintaining social harmony.**\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Inuit song duels allow individuals to settle disputes through public performances judged by the community. 7. **Maisin leadership, referred to as \"tamati bejji,\" is hierarchical and inherited through patrilineal descent.**\ **Correct Answer:** False\ **Explanation:** Maisin leadership is egalitarian and situational, emerging based on community needs rather than hereditary roles. 8. **The Tahltan language encodes detailed ecological knowledge about animal behavior, which risks being lost with language extinction.**\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** Indigenous languages like Tahltan carry critical ecological knowledge that cannot be fully translated into dominant languages. 9. **The Maisin use TEK to sustainably manage forests while resisting deforestation by multinational logging companies.**\ **Correct Answer:** True\ **Explanation:** TEK informs Maisin environmental activism, blending traditional practices with global conservation efforts. **What distinguishes a creole language from a pidgin language?**\ a) A creole is a simplified trade language, while a pidgin has native speakers.\ b) A creole develops into a pidgin over time.\ c) A creole evolves from a pidgin into a fully developed language with native speakers.\ d) A creole is used exclusively in written communication, while a pidgin is spoken.\ e) A creole lacks the grammatical complexity of a pidgin.\ **Correct Answer:** c) A creole evolves from a pidgin into a fully developed language with native speakers.\ **Explanation:** A creole language forms when a pidgin becomes a primary language for a community and develops a complete grammar and vocabulary. 3. **Which of the following is an example of a creole language?**\ a) Tok Pisin\ b) English\ c) Latin\ d) Esperanto\ e) Sanskrit\ **Correct Answer:** a) Tok Pisin\ **Explanation:** Tok Pisin, originally a pidgin language in Papua New Guinea, evolved into a creole spoken as a first language by many communities. 4. **Which of the following best describes the origins of pidgin languages?**\ a) They arise from prolonged isolation of a community.\ b) They develop during interactions between groups with no shared language, often in trade or colonial contexts.\ c) They are ancient languages preserved by small communities.\ d) They are constructed languages like Esperanto.\ e) They are ceremonial languages used in sacred rituals.\ **Correct Answer:** b) They develop during interactions between groups with no shared language, often in trade or colonial contexts.\ **Explanation:** Pidgin languages arise from the need for communication between groups, especially during trade, colonization, or migration.