NL Studies 2205NL Studies 2205NL Studies 2205NL Studies 2205

Introduction to CultureIntroduction to Culture

Definition of Culture• Is the way of life of a group of

people, defined by– objects– way we behave– Values

• Changes over time• *Life in a Suitcase

Suitcase• Basic clothing• Survival/wet weather suit• Laptop, telephone, chargers• Beefaroni, mr noodle, purity

products, bottled moose…• Hygeine products (teen)• Quilt (nans quilt etc.)

Local Culture

• Elements of culture not widely practiced

• Particular to a local area, often inspired historical events, previous ways of living, etc.

• The row houses of St. John’s were inspired by a community recovering from a great fire.

Regional Culture• Practiced over a wider geographical area• Chopsticks are common throughout East Asia.

Tim Hortons coffee stores are common in Canada and North eastern US.

• The capelin Roll is celebrated on coastlines from Newfoundland to Quebec.

• ATVs and Skidoos are an important part of winter recreation in Northern and eastern Canada

Popular Culture• Patterns of behavior that are

widely popular and practiced around the world.

• Facebook• *cell phones, laptops, western

weddings

Cultural Complexes• Ineracting tangible and intangible

things in our lives that make up who we are. Made up of three categories of traits:– artifacts– sociofacts– mentifacts

Artifacts• Objects, material

items and technologies

• Basic necessities, recreation, entertainment

• *ipad, iphone, xbox, DC gear, nikes, trike

Sociofacts• Structures and organizations• Influence behaviour• Families, governments, sports

organizations, religious groups, etc.

Mentifacts• Shared ideas, values and beliefs• Religion, language, viewpoints,

feelings of what is right or wrong

4 Forces Shaping Culture

•Economic (pp 48-51)• Oil prices influence vehicle types and travel behavior, Interest rates/Industry Changes/Unemployment

affect our income and everything that requires spending

•Geographical (pp 52-59)– Changes in our Marine Resources/Forests/Water resources/Oil Resources etc influence our incomes,

recreation, what we eat, what we wear…

– Historical (pp 60-67)– Events in our past such as the Great Fire in St. John’s influences unique row housing designs in the downtown

area to this day. The collapse for the Fishery in the 90’s permanently affected the way we deal with our existing resources, caused people to move or switch to other industries such as agriculture or aquaculture.

– Political (68-73)• Decisions made by governments and authorities impact our lives and what we do in the future.

Examples include the closing of the fishery, the banning of three-wheeled ATVs, reorganization of healthcare, closing/opening of schools, elimination for tobacco “power walls”.

Activity• Storyboarding• Movie Project building (using

Windows Movie Maker as example)

• Construction and compilation of movie project on topic related to content in previous notes.