Chapter 4 Study Guide on “Folk and Popular Culture”
Folk and Popular Culture
1. What are material artifacts?
2. What are the differences among habit, custom, and culture?
3. What is the difference between folk and popular culture? Give an example of each.
Section 1: Where Do Folk and Popular Cultures Originate and Diffuse?
1. Identify the origins (hearths/nodes) of folk and popular cultures. Give an example of each.
2. Identify and describe the type of diffusion associated with folk culture. Give an example.
3. Identify and describe the type of diffusion associated with popular culture. Give an example.
Section 2: Why Is Folk Culture Clustered?
1. What are the two reasons for folk culture being clustered?
2. Explain the relationship between folk culture and the physical environment and provide examples.
3. Define the term taboo and explain the reasons for it. Give an example.
4. Define the term terroir and give an example.
5. Compare and contrast folk housing styles with popular housing styles in the United States.
6. Explain why isolation promotes cultural diversity. Give an example.
Section 3: Why Is Popular Culture Widely Distributed?
1. What are the two main reasons why popular culture is more widely distributed than folk culture?
2. What factors contribute to the regional variations in food customs? Give examples.
3. What is the determining factor of what beverages or snacks Americans consume?
4. Explain the reason behind the rapid diffusion of popular clothing styles. Give an example.
5. Describe the type and pattern of the electronic diffusion of popular culture (TV, Internet).
6. What is the difference between TV and the Internet in terms of diffusion?
Section 4: Why Does Globalization of Popular Culture Cause Problems?
1. What are the two main problems associated with the diffusion of popular culture?
2. In what two ways does globalization threaten folk culture? Give an example.
3. What is the negative impact of globalization on the status of women in society? Give an example.
4. What role do Western media play in the globalization of popular culture?
5. What affect do Western media have on folk culture/traditional societies?
6. What are the ways in which popular culture can have an adverse affect on the environment. Give examples.