- definitions of culture and how these have changed over time:
Sample topics:
- terminology such as “civilized” and “uncivilized”
- different perspectives when defining culture
- elements of culture and cultural expressions:
Sample topics:
- language
- key forms of artistic expression
- use of symbols and imagery
- cultural archetypes
- materials and techniques used by different cultures
- conflict and conflict resolution within and between cultures:
Sample topics:
- conquest of territory and the treatment of conquered people
- martial alliances and diplomacy
- conflicts over values or ideas
- conflicts over resources and wealth
- systems of power, authority, and governance:
Sample topics:
- leadership roles within cultures
- informal and formal leadership
- institutions of authority
- process for making and enforcing laws
- role of value systems and belief systems in the development of cultures:
Sample topics:
- religious doctrines
- values and morals
- philosophical beliefs
- myths, legends, and heroes
- interactions and exchanges between cultures:
Sample topics:
- exchanges of ideas and cultural transmission
- spread of technologies
- spread of religion and philosophy
- land-based and sea-based trade between cultures
- interactions between cultures and the natural environment:
Sample topics:
- climate and native plants and animals
- natural resources and economic development
- human adaptation to the physical environment:
- Polynesian wayfinders’ use of ocean currents
- Cree seasonal hunting practices
- fish farming in B.C.
- transportation issues in local urban development
- degrees of separation between the physical environment and cultural world:
- San people’s relationship to water
- Canadian First Peoples community water supplies
- protection of waterways in central/northern B.C.
- local urban life and bottled water usage
- interdependence of cultural identity and the physical environment:
- Yanomamo group identity and hunting practices in the Amazon
- Newfoundlanders, fishing, and identity