Deck 4: Shaping the Socio-Cultural Landscape: Language and Media

Question 1

Whorf and Sapir explore the multiple ways in which language shapes:

A) our understandings
B) individuals' body image
C) selfhood
D) scientific inquiry

Answer 1

our understandings

Question 2

What term is used to refer to language and the frameworks within which meaning can be constructed, as emphasized in the works of Michel Foucault and Dorothy Smith?

A) linguistic determinism
B) discourse
C) linguistics
D) parole

Answer 2

discourse

Question 3

The historical use of the term "man" or "he" to refer to all people, regardless of sex, an example of this.

A) linguistic sexism
B) linguistic determinism
C) the Sapir-Whorf thesis
D) masculine generic form

Answer 3

linguistic sexism

Question 4

Serious effort has been made in the last _________ to challenge the pervasive use of gender exclusive language in everyday, scholarly and legal usage.

A) 500 years
B) 50 years
C) 30 years
D) 5 years

Question 5

___________________ refers to the ways in which language conventions highlight one group of people (such as males) while diminishing or concealing another group (such as females).

A) Spotlighting
B) Highlighting
C) Semantic derogation
D) Invisibility

Question 6

While describing her new neighbor Morgan says the following, "Clarice is a female astronaut". By filling in "female", Morgan is engaging in what kind of language convention?

A) spotlighting
B) highlighting
C) semantic derogation
D) belittling

Question 7

In what Canadian province do women retain their birth surname throughout their lives, whether or not they formally marry?

A) Alberta
B) Ontario
C) Saskatchewan
D) Quebec

Question 8

The term "policeman" is a masculine form. The term "police officer" is, by contrast, a ___________ form.

A) feminist
B) politically correct
C) generic
D) legal

Question 9

Over time, some words come to have negative connotations that may be very sexist, as in the examples of mistress vs. master, spinster vs. bachelor and witch vs. wizard. These differences in connotation illustrate the element of sexist language known as _____________.

A) semantic derogation
B) slang
C) diminution
D) masculine generic form

Question 10

Deprecating language in which non-standard (or informal) words are used, in ways that may be belittling to certain categories of people (as in the case of honey, chick, stud, and hunk), are examples of __________________.

A) semantic derogation
B) slang
C) diminution
D) sexism

Question 11

Mohammed applies for a server job at a local restaurant and is asked to wait for the manager at the "waitress station". This exemplifies the use of _____________ as one element of linguistic sexism.

A) slang
B) diminutives
C) sexist bias
D) misogyny

Question 12

Dr. Zeera, who argues that the media mirrors the values of the mainstream culture, as opposed to shaping them, is arguing on behalf of the following approach:

A) cultivation theory
B) mass media theory
C) the reflection hypothesis
D) the internalization hypothesis

Question 13

The theory which focuses upon the relationship between our exposure to media and its influence upon us is known as _________________.

A) cultivation theory
B) mass media theory
C) the reflection hypothesis
D) internalization hypothesis

Question 14

What does empirical research suggest about cultivation theory?

A) is it premised upon faulty assumptions
B) it has some validity
C) it is biased
D) it is no longer relevant in the 21^st century

Question 15

According to the media theorist Stuart Hall, which of the following is NOT one of the basic ways in which we interpret mediated messages?

A) through dominant meanings
B) through oppositional meanings
C) through negotiated meanings
D) through passive acquiescence

Question 16

The method by which media messages are evaluated through analysis of encoded symbols is known as __________ analysis.

A) content
B) qualitative
C) cultivation
D) signifier

Question 17

Kerry is undertaking an analysis her favorite television show by attending to the roles undertaken by various characters, the positions of dominance/submission in gendered interaction and the physical appearance of the characters. She is conducting the following type of analysis:

A) ethnomethodological analysis
B) conversational analysis
C) content analysis
D) a cultural study

Question 18

The degree to which we accept cultural ideals is referred to as ____________________.

A) internalization
B) subordination
C) acquiescence
D) encoding

Question 19

Most research reveals that gender-polarizing messages are ____________in the mass media today.

A) less present
B) decreasing, with the advent of third-wave feminism
C) prevalent
D) very difficult to detect, but powerful in subtlety

Question 20

Research exploring the gendered nature of video games has found that women are ____________________ in popular video games.

A) largely absent
B) very present but highly subordinated
C) diversely represented
D) now more typically represented in "combat" roles

Question 21

Discuss the relationship between naming conventions, patriarchy and "tradition"?

Question 22

Why might it matter whether or not we use "old patterns" of masculine words (such as "mankind") vs. gender neutral words (such as "humankind")? What is at stake?

Question 23

Describe the methodology used by Melanie Muise to investigate local sporting practices at Laurentian University .

Question 24

How does cultivation theory account for the impact of mass media on our beliefs and behaviors?

Question 25

Discuss the difference between what Stuart Hall calls "encoding" and "decoding". Provide an example, based upon popular cultural representations of gender

Question 26

Write an essay in which you critically examine any recent attempt to subvert the dominant messages in media with respect to gender and/or sexuality, using Stuart Hall's distinctions in your analysis. Examples could include, but are not limited to: the new "Dove" ad campaign, Adbusters, Bitch Magazine, etc.

Question 27

Conduct a content analysis in which you compare the representation of male and female athletes in mainstream media, focusing upon a particular sport Based upon chapter four, what are some of the major similarities and differences that you found? What conclusions would you draw from this research?

Question 28

Conduct some research into a debate that has taken place over the past 5 years over sexism in mass media (for example, in relation to music lyrics, video games, popular films, etc.). Analysis the different sides of the debate and consider the extent to which they draw upon some of the key assumptions from the different theories of mass media influence that are presented and discussed in chapter four. What do you think and what is the basis for this?