SCH1101D Cultural Studies List of Key Terms

Introduction & Culture

Intercultural Competence "a complex of abilities needed to perform effectively and
appropriately when interacting with others who are linguistically and culturally different
from oneself" (Fantini 2006:6)i
Anthropology: The holistic study of humankind (Helman, 2007:2)ii
Medical Anthropology: How people in different cultures and social groups explain the causes of
ill health, the types of treatments they believe in, and to whom they turn if they get ill (Helman,
2007:3).
Etic perspective: The analytical or theoretical description or explanation of a culture or society
produced by an academic outsider (for example, an anthropologist) to that culture.
Emic perspective: An insiders’ perspective on one’s own culture, expressed in one’s own terms
and according to his/her own subjective value system. (Young, J. 2004)iii
Culture: “an inherited ‘lens’ through which the individual perceives and understands the world”
… “learned, accumulated experience” (Helman, 2007, p. 2)
Material culture: The physical artefacts (‘objects’ or ‘things’) created by society.
Non-material culture: The abstract or intangible (non-material) features of culture such as ideas,
language, customs, and rules.
Values: Guiding principles for behaviour.
Attitudes: Ways of viewing the world that arise out of experience and access to information
Beliefs: Systems of understanding (beliefs systems) which may be religious and otherwise, which
provide guiding principles that help people make sense of the world
Social construction: The socially created characteristics of human life based on the idea that
people actively construct reality, meaning it is neither ‘natural’ nor inevitable. Therefore, notions
of normality/abnormality, right/wrong, and health/illness are subjective human creations that
should not be taken for granted
Enculturation: The process by which people learn the requirements of their surrounding culture
and acquire the values and behaviours appropriate in that cultural context.
Cultural norms: Rules or standards that guide or constrain individual’s actions or behavior.
Cultural identity: Identity formed as individuals raised in specific cultures grow up with strong
sense of ‘belonging’ to that culture.
Sub-cultures: Culturally distinct communities within a larger society.
Occupational subcultures: A form of sub-culture that derives from professional and/or
workplace norms.
Acculturation: The process of adapting to / becoming absorbed into another, ‘dominant’ culture.
Assimilation: The process by which an individual develops a new cultural identity, becoming in
‘all ways’ like a member of the dominant culture.
Cultural diffusion: The spread of a culture or cultural characteristics from one group to
another.
Cultural loss: The loss of cultural traits, traditions, languages or religions.
Ethnocentrism: Viewing others from one’s own cultural perspective, with an implied sense of
cultural superiority based on an inability to understand or accept the practices and beliefs of
other cultures.

‘Race’, Ethnicity and Health

Race: A term without scientific basis that uses skin colour and facial features to describe what
are alleged to be biologically distinct groups of humans. Race is actually a social construction
used to categorise groups of people and sometimes implies assumed (and unproven) intellectual
superiority or inferiority.
The Noble Savage: A stereotype of some Indigenous people as an outsider, wild human, an
 "other" who has not been "corrupted" by civilization, and therefore symbolizes humanity's
innate goodness.
Ethnicity: A method of classification based upon a common trait of the population such as
common heritage or ancestry, a common culture, a shared language or dialect. Ethnic groups
likely have a common consciousness of shared origins and traditions, a common cultural bond
that develops due to their unique historical and social experience.
Ethnic ‘cleansing’: The systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial and/or religious groups from a
given territory by a more powerful ethnic group.
Racism: Beliefs and actions used to discriminate against a group of people because of their
physical and cultural characteristics.
Institutional racism (also known as systemic racism) is a form of racism expressed in the practice
of social and political institutions. It is reflected in disparities regarding wealth, income, criminal
justice, employment, housing, health care, political power and education, among other factors.

Culture and Health

Illness: A ‘feeling’ of not being normal and healthy due to disease or a feeling of psychological or
spiritual imbalance. Illness as a cultural construct – people in society decide on what it means to
be ill.
Disease: The malfunctioning or maladaption of biological or psychological processes. An
objectively measured pathological condition.
Health: Etymologically, the English word ‘health’ means wholeness, being whole, complete,
sound, well.
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Definition of Health: A state of complete physical,
mental and social wellbeing and not merely absence of disease or infirmity.
Culture-Bound Syndromes: Locally defined patterns of illness that occur only in specific
communities and are identified by a set of symptoms that derives from the culture of the society
that experiences them
Illness behaviour: How one acts when one is ill.
Hofstede’s Model of Culture: A model of culture based upon a 1970s study of IBM employees,
which groups cultures based upon sets of broad cultural tendencies.
Individualism: A life philosophy which places the emphasis on the self, personal achievement,
individual rights, and the uniqueness of beliefs. Individualism is the extent to which people feel
independent, as opposed to being interdependent as members of larger wholes.
Uncertainty Avoidance: The extent to which members are threatened by ambiguities and how
they have created beliefs and institutions to avoid them (i.e. cope with anxiety by reducing
uncertainty);
Collectivism: A life philosophy in which individuals are seen as predominantly members of
lifelong and cohesive groups or organisations.
High-context communication cultures: Cultures where context is emphasized in communication;
communication may be implied or implicit because it is understood that the listener will know
what is being said.
Low-context communication cultures: A communication style that is explicit and straightforward
(words contain all the meaning), which makes it useful in culturally diverse contexts.
Healing Systems
Popular Models of Health: Common sense’, local understandings and knowledge about health
and illness.
The Biomedical Model of Health: The conventional approach to medicine in Western societies,
based on the diagnosis and explanation of illness as a malfunction of the body’s biological
mechanisms. This approach underpins most health professions and health services, which focus
on treating individuals.
Cartesian Dualism: A belief that the mind and body are separate entities. This assumption
underpins medical approaches that view disease in physical terms and thus ignore the
psychological and subjective aspects of illness.
Victim-blaming: The process whereby social inequality is explained in terms of individuals being
solely responsible for what happens to them in relation to the choices they make and their
assumed psychological, cultural and/or biological inferiority.
Medicalisation: The process by which human conditions and problems come to be defined and
treated as medical conditions, and thus become the subject of medical study, diagnosis,
prevention, or treatment.
The Social Model of Health: The social model of health examines all the factors which contribute
to health such as social, cultural, political and the environment.
Epidemiology: The statistical study of patterns of disease in the population. Originally focused on
epidemics, or infectious diseases, it now covers non-infectious conditions such as stroke and
cancer.
Social Determinants of Health: The conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and
age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life. These forces and
systems include economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social
policies and political systems.
Public Health Infrastructure: The buildings, installations and equipment necessary to ensure
healthy living conditions for the population, particularly WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene).
Socio-economic status (SES): The social standing or class of an individual or group. It is often
measured as a combination of education, income and occupation.
Folk Models of Health: A variety of traditional healing practices and ideas practiced or applied by
people in a culture with the relevant training and experience.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM): A broad term to describe both alternative
medical practitioners and practices that may stand in opposition to orthodox medicine and also
those who may collaborate with, and thus complement, orthodox practice.
Medical Pluralism: A general term that refers to the vast array of healing modalities across the
globe, in particular to the increasing popularity of alternative therapies and their coexistence
with biomedicine in Westernised societies.
Integrative Medicine: The blending of Biomedicine with another healing modality, such as a form
of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).
Cultural Competence
Ethics: Moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity.
Non-maleficence: A principle of bioethics that asserts an obligation not to inflict harm
intentionally.
Beneficence: The obligation to do good or to care for people.
Autonomy: The notion that people have the right to be free from the control of others and to
make decisions about their lives without interference from others.
Justice: Giving each person what she or he is due.
Transcultural care: Providing health care that acknowledges an individual’s culture, values,
beliefs and practices.
Cultural competence: A set of behaviours, attitudes, policies, and structures that enables the
 health care system to deliver the highest quality care to patients regardless of race, ethnicity,
culture, or language proficiency.
The Cultural Competence Continuum: Cultural Competence is often expressed in terms of a
continuum moving increasingly towards effective inter-cultural behaviour.
Culture shock: The disorientation felt by people when suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar
culture or way of life.
The ‘W’ Curve of Cultural Adaptation: Culture shock can be understood as a process of
adaptation with ‘ups’ and ‘downs’, forming a curve shaped like a ‘W’.
Cultural Agility: The capacity to move effectively, and often quickly between and within diverse
cultural constructions of service provision, research and therapy.
Australian Aboriginal History and Culture
Aboriginal: From the Latin word for ‘origin’ or ‘beginning’, the name for the first definition
Katijin: The word for ‘knowledge’ in the Nyungar language.
Traditional Law: Aboriginal ‘legal system’ of Elders, for the resolution of disputes.
Traditional Lore: Oral history and yarning that is passed down generation to generation and
clarifies Aboriginal peoples’ relationships with the environment and with each other.
Totems: At birth, Aboriginal people are given a totem of either flora or fauna; each individual has
a special relationship with their totem, and this relationship also requires the individual help to
protect that totem.
Social Determinants of Aboriginal Health
Terra Nullius: Land belonging to no one.
Intergenerational trauma: The transfer of trauma from the first generation of survivors that
have experienced or witnessed it directly, to the second and subsequent descendants of the
survivors.
The Cycle of Disadvantage: The cycle of transport disadvantage for Aboriginal people, where
geographical isolation leads to low employment opportunities, which leads to low income levels
and therefore low levels of car ownership and licencing, is repeated over and over with no hope
of escape.
Aboriginal Resilience and Terms of Reference
Resilience: “The dynamic ability to negotiate through tensions to support wellbeing, using the
strengths and resources available in culturally meaningful ways”(Ungar 2008:225)iv
Aboriginal Terms of Reference: A set of protocols that ensure Indigenous knowledge, experience
and values are respected and worked with during an Indigenous project or decision-making
process.
The Third Space: Based on Homi Bhabha’s (1990) work on postcolonialism, the Third Space refers
to a ‘place’ (both cultural and physical) where two groups meet, but where neither group’s rules
and laws prevail.
Aboriginal Definition of Health: means not just the physical well-being of an individual but refers
to the social, emotional and cultural well-being of the whole Community in which each individual
is able to achieve their full potential as a human being thereby bringing about the total well-
 being of their Community. It is a whole of life view and includes the cyclical concept of life-death-
life.
Migrant and Refugee Health
Migrant: A person who makes a conscious choice to leave his/her country of origin and live in
another country.
Diaspora: Meaning ‘scattering’ or ‘dispersion’, diaspora refers to the movement of people away
from their established homeland.
Migrant Worker: A person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a
remunerated activity in a state of which he or she is not a national.
Refugee: According to Article 3A of the 1951 Refugee Convention, a refugee is any person who is
outside their country of origin, having crossed an international frontier, and unable or unwilling
to return there because of a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular group, or political opinion” (Article 1A).
Internally Displaced People (IDP): People who have fled their homes, usually for the same
reasons as refugees (human rights violations, persecution) but also due to events such as natural
disasters. Because they have not crossed the border, they are not entitled to international
protection – they have to rely on their own governments to resolve their displacement
Refugee Status Determination (RSD): The process by which an individual or group is found to fit
the Article 1A definition of a refugee.
An Asylum Seeker: A person who is outside their country of origin, having crossed an
international frontier, and who wants to be but has not yet been recognised as a refugee under
the Refugee Convention Article 1A definition.
The ‘healthy migrant effect’: Migrants tend to have better health than the Australian-born
population, in some cases, better diets / healthier lifestyles than Australia, but more often, is an
effect of screening (i.e. mandatory health testing means that only the healthy are accepted into
the country).
Altruism effect: The experience of trauma and/or migration motivates people to help others and
to contribute to society.
Vicarious resilience: a term for positive meaning-making, growth and transformation in
individuals due to exposure to another person’s trauma story.
Culture, Death and Dying
Death: Under Australian law, death is “…either irreversible cessation of circulation of blood in a
body of a person or irreversible cessation of all function of the brain of a person” (NHMRC)
Gender and Health
Gender reveal parties: Celebratory occasions, shared with family and friends, announcing the
sex/gender of a baby.
Biological sex: physical primary and secondary sex characteristics – male or female
Gender: the socially constructed identities of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’
Gender identity: how you identify on the inside
Gender expression: how you express yourself / dress / act in relation to gender
Heteronormativity: refers to the Western social norm, or assumption, that the overwhelming
majority of sexual relationships in society are heterosexual […] the dominant sexual model of
social, cultural, political, and economic organization (SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies).
Heterosexism: refers to the cultural ideology that reproduces the normative and privileged
status of heterosexuality in most aspects of peoples’ lives, vilifying and stigmatizing LGBTIQ
identities, behaviours, relationships and communities (SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies).
Homophobia: negative attitudes or fear of non-heterosexuals and non-heterosexuality […]
characterised as disgust, fear or hatred.

i
Fantini, A. and Tirmizi, A. (2006), "Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence". World Learning Publications.
Paper 1. Retrieved 9 July 2022. http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/worldlearning_publications/1
ii
Helman, C. (2007). Culture, health and illness (5th ed.). Oxford University Press
iii
Young, J. (2005). On Insiders (Emic) and outsiders (Etic):Views of self, and othering systemic practice and action
research, Vol. 18, No. 2. DOI: 10.1007/s11213-005-4155-8
Ungar, M. 2008. “Resilience Across Cultures.” British Journal of Social Work 38 (2): 218–235.