SOC 1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: American Literature, English Canada, Canadian Identity

• School: Irvine Valley College
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1
• Professor: brown

Document Summary

Review the defining features of canadian culture and values. Geographically, canada is the second largest country in the world and is blessed with rich and diverse natural resources. Canadian writer margaret atwood believes that canada"s adaptation to a harsh physical environment has defined its culture, and to some extent has defined what it means to be. However, the province"s distinctiveness does not rest solely on language but also on quebecers" shared history, symbols, ideas, and perceptions of reality. The search for elements that define canadian culture is necessarily a comparative exercise because we cannot try to understand ourselves in a vacuum. Indeed, canadians, historically at least, have defined themselves by what they are not: americans. Studying how canadians are different from americans fascinates canadians and, particularly, canadian sociologists. Lipset (1922 2006), based a career on studying what makes canadians and americans different. Lipset"s book continental divide (1990) summarizes and consolidates his almost 50 years of research on canadian american differences.