Exam Prep Haslam Culture And Development Ch.25

CHAPTER 25

Culture and Development

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Modernization theories were based on which belief?
   1. That reason is a foreign concept to most people in the developing world
   2. That reason is insufficient for guiding human development
   3. That reason drives economic progress
   4. That reason is a universal human trait
   5. That reason is not as important as equality
2. According to Thompson, which of the following is true about culture?
   1. It is materially rather than symbolically based.
   2. It is the pattern of meanings embodied in symbolic forms.
   3. It is inextricably linked to economics.
   4. It is what makes human societies different and distinct from one another.
   5. It is manifested in the clothing, food, and music of a given social group.
3. How did the definition of culture change from the sixteenth century onward?
   1. It was extended to the cultivation of the mind.
   2. It dealt with the high arts of music, poetry, and theatre.
   3. It equated refinement as juxtaposed to barbarism.
   4. It took its meaning from the golden age of the Roman Empire.
   5. It was rooted in the idea of cultivation of animals or crops.
4. Which of the following is a distinctive feature of human beings?
   1. An innate sense of spatial differentiation
   2. The urge to live in groups larger than the family unit
   3. An appreciation for artistic works
   4. The ability to us tools to make work easier
   5. The possession of fully developed language skills
5. Where do many misunderstandings about culture stem from?
   1. It being analyzed materially, rather than on a purely symbolic level
   2. Dramatic political and religious differences
   3. The assumption that it is driven by economics
   4. Presumptions of “universality”
   5. The belief that culture can be analyzed in the absence of economic considerations
6. What is demonstrated by the shaping of culture through modern means of communication and commodification?
   1. The insubstantial role of ideas in shaping culture
   2. The mixed motivations of human behaviour
   3. The influence of material forces
   4. The problem of determining causal relationships
   5. The dominant role of economics in culture studies
7. One of the most important debates within social science has been between which two ideologies?
   1. Communism and capitalism
   2. Materialism and idealism
   3. Materialism and symbolism
   4. Conservatism and liberalism
   5. Realism and idealism
8. Who introduced the theory of the “Protestant ethic”?
   1. Max Weber
   2. Michel Foucault
   3. Clifford Geertz
   4. Émile Durkheim
   5. Karl Marx
9. What is claimed to be a cultural impediment to economic growth in transitional and developing countries?
   1. Lack of modernization
   2. Overemphasis on group values
   3. Traditional values
   4. Corruption
   5. Democracy
10. What provides the cultural underpinnings of a dominant mode of development?
    1. Cultural elites
    2. Symbolic objects
    3. Traditions
    4. Homogeneity
    5. Socio-economics
11. The recent effort by Hindu fundamentalists to define Indian nationalism as Hindu is an illustration of which of the following?
    1. Cultural divisiveness
    2. Cultural relativism
    3. Culturally-based power dynamics
    4. The myth of nationalism
    5. The strength of nationalism
12. In the 1970s, which of the following problems was it hypothesized satellite TV would solve?
    1. Education
    2. Public health
    3. Nutrition
    4. Illiteracy
    5. All of the above
13. What concept is embodied by Apple’s release of a new product every few months?
    1. Predatory corporatism
    2. Planned obsolescence
    3. Poor planning cycles
    4. Green technology
    5. Postmodern sensibilities
14. James Scott researched the significance of which of the following in Malaysian society?
    1. Symbolic resistance
    2. Culture
    3. Materialism
    4. Capitalist resistance
    5. Dominant cultural ideologies
15. According to Jonathan Crush, which of the following is true about development discourse?
    1. It is rooted in the rise of the West and the history of capitalism.
    2. It is universally transferable.
    3. It is well-suited to Third World economies.
    4. It is generally misleading.
    5. It is a tool for the oppressed.
16. Which of the following is true, according to Edward Said’s Orientalism?
    1. It reinforced common assumptions about the Orient
    2. It deconstructed common assumptions about the Orient
    3. It is critical of Asian cultures
    4. It championed Asian economic policy
    5. It is inherently racist
17. Which of the following is NOT a weakness of postmodern theories on culture and development?
    1. They are counter-productive for the marginalized and oppressed for whom they claim to speak
    2. They view culture as a homogeneous and essentialist whole
    3. They adopt an uncritical attitude toward tradition
    4. They are culturally relativistic
    5. They are overly economistic and fail to consider non-material aspects of culture
18. While postmodern theories start out with the intention of preaching tolerance, they come dangerously close to a celebration of which of the following?
    1. Elitism
    2. Domination
    3. Underrepresentation
    4. Objectivity
    5. Repression
19. What crucial element does the postmodern framework overlook when analyzing culture?
    1. Objective truth
    2. Relations of power
    3. Economic exploitation
    4. Regional affinities
    5. Traditionalism
20. What aspect of post-colonial theory takes away from an engagement with the present?
    1. The creation of a false dichotomy between the future and the past
    2. The lack of causal analysis
    3. An obsessive focus on colonialism and Eurocentrism
    4. The inability to account for cultural diffusion
    5. An over emphasis on socio-economics
21. Which of the following is true about postmodern theories?
    1. They are generally critical of cultural relativism.
    2. They consider culture to be the foundation of development.
    3. They are prone to slide into cultural relativism.
    4. They embrace universalism.
    5. They consider cultural practices to be either “good” or “bad.”
22. The “Asian values” thesis put forward by Lee Kuan Yew is an example of which of the following?
    1. Racist cultural analysis
    2. Legitimate cultural analysis
    3. Elites using cultural propaganda to obtain legitimacy
    4. Cultural relativism
    5. Critical postmodern discourse
23. Why has culture often been a misunderstood concept?
    1. It is often used rather strictly
    2. People do not read enough literature about the concept
    3. It usually denotes contradictory meanings
    4. It never denotes contradictory meanings
    5. It denotes a clash of civilizations
24. What did the Latin word cultura refer to?
    1. The cultivation or the nurturing of animals or crops
    2. The cultivation or the nurturing of animals, crops, or human begins
    3. The nurturing of human beings
    4. The cultivation of crops
    5. The nurturing of animals
25. Who argued that “development discourse is rooted in the rise of the West”?
    1. Karl Marx
    2. Jonathan Crush
    3. Max Weber
    4. Clifford Geertz
    5. E.B. Tylor
26. What is the term for the impersonal, a negative moral connotation attached to labour, control over nature, and a negative view of illness?
    1. Cultura
    2. Nationalism
    3. Fidnaa
    4. Episteme
    5. Colonialism
27. What does the role of technology in present-day culture tell us about culture as a whole?
    1. That culture does not exist in a vacuum, rather it is constantly shaped by material forces
    2. That culture is easily manipulated by consumerism
    3. That culture is not as complex as previously believed
    4. That cultures are not identical therefore some are not affected by technology
    5. That global culture has shifted toward favouring manufacturing and retailing
28. Why is binary thinking problematic when discussing culture?
    1. It ignores the injustices of the past
    2. It puts blame on factors that have no effect on culture
    3. It does not help us arrive at a proper understanding of culture
    4. It goes against the clear definition of culture
    5. It neglects to include cultures that do not fit in the binary distinctions
29. What do modernization theorists typically blame for slowness of economic growth?
    1. Inequality
    2. Insufficient scientific and technological resources
    3. “Backward” mentalities of “traditional” societies
    4. Capitalist exploitation
    5. Poverty
30. Which of the following development phenomena has culture assumed significance in explaining?
    1. Poverty
    2. Economic growth
    3. Violence
    4. None of the above
    5. All of the above

True or False Questions

The material can be effectively separated from the cultural.

In development, culture has become increasingly popular as a way to explain poverty, growth, and violence.

The experience of colonialism led to a questioning of the value of “reason.”

The distribution of cattle in western India in 2006 is a successful application of modernization theory.

Culture can be seen as a description of a particular way of life.

Mass culture is usually produced “from below,” and stands in opposition to the dominant culture.

Many misunderstandings about culture stem from the attempt to analyze it in conjunction with economic aspects.

Modern culture and mass media are inextricably linked.

According to Marshall Sahlins, a lack of material possessions is the universal defining feature of poverty.

It is necessary to make a sharp distinction between materialism and idealism.

Karl Marx established the theory of the Protestant ethic.

Nationalism is often used as a symbolic tool by powerful members of society.

The ruling classes’ ideological and material interests usually dominate the art and culture of a given place and time.

The “American dream” is a dominant cultural idea viewing success as stemming simply from hard work and individual talent.

Mass media is the primary medium for the Global South to influence the values of the Global North.

According to Amartya Sen, culture can be both a means to, and an end of, development.

Efforts to justify colonialism by labelling colonized people as “children” who needed to be looked after seriously damaged Indigenous ways of life and knowledge.

Post-development theories stress the importance of culture in development.

Postmodernism is a grand unifying theory.

Postmodern theory cannot avoid the slide into cultural relativism.

The Ethiopian concept of fidnaa holds a lot in common with modern development.

Criticism of oppression and the struggle for equality are not only European or modern values.

Social justice can still be achieved without an appeal to universalism.

The propagation of “Asian values” is an attempt to legitimate elite rule in Singapore.

Charles Taylor suggests a means to avoid cultural relativism is to appeal to shared human constants.

Culture came to mean a progressive process of human development towards refinement based on rural and primitive principles.

An elitist definition of culture can suggest that culture belong only to a few people.

The discipline of anthropology helped correct the notion of the inferiority of non-European cultures.

New definitions of culture are still not fully devoid of the Eurocentric assumptions of the evolutionary and elitist concept of culture.

Since one of the most distinctive features of humans is language, the study of culture should be focused on progress.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did colonizers use culture to defend their domination over Indigenous populations?
2. How does the 2006 Indian government relief package embody the tension between modernization and traditional culture?
3. Discuss various definitions of the term “culture.”
4. Discuss how the lack of material possessions does not make tribal people poor but rather free.
5. Discuss the debate between materialist and idealist positions on culture.
6. Briefly describe Weber’s notion of the “Protestant ethic.”
7. How can culture be used as a means of domination?
8. Discuss the myth of homogeneous cultures in the context of nationalism.
9. How has the “American dream” acquired an ideological form?
10. Discuss the use of symbolic resistance.
11. How have mass media impacted traditional cultural practices?
12. What are the practical concerns of wastefulness of consumerism in the Global South?
13. Why has the perceived failure of “development” led to the “cultural turn”?
14. How do gossip, songs, and jokes form a critique of power?
15. How has the symbol of Che Guevara been appropriated by capitalism?
16. Discuss Edward Said’s Orientalism and how it perceives the construction and perception of culture.
17. Present several critiques of postmodern thinking about culture and development.
18. Why might it be dangerous to abandon all notions of universalism?
19. Discuss the “Asian values” thesis.
20. What has been the importance of the development of anthropology in the understanding of the concept of culture?
21. Why is the symbolic a good start to the study of culture?
22. What are some of the myths around the concept of culture?

Essay Questions

1. How can culture be seen as a double movement? What is the implication of this for development?
2. How have essentialized cultural values influenced development norms?
3. How is nationalism a myth? Why is this significant?
4. How has the concept of culture been misunderstood and how have these misunderstandings been corrected in the last centuries?
5. Explain the early connections established between culture and development? Why have these connections been problematic?