Glossary

Glossaries have been created to provide the definition for words specific to each theme area. It is suggested that students review the glossaries before they examine a specific theme area. For example, the Ranching Glossary contains many terms such as "greenhorn," "heifer," or "wrangler," that only a rancher or cowboy might know.

Automatic Drawing: Was developed as a way for artists to express the subconscious. In automatic drawing, the hand is allowed to move "randomly" across the paper. In applying chance and accident, drawing is to a large extent freed of rational control.

Ballet: A classical form of dance characterized by grace and precision of movement.

Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR): The CPR was formed to unite Canada from coast to coast. The groundbreaking ceremony near Fort William (now Thunder Bay) on June 1, 1875, signaled the beginning of its construction. The "Last Spike" of the main line was driven in on November 7, 1885.

Choreographer: A person who plans, creates, and develops new dances.

Classical Abstraction: The use of rigorous intellectual discipline and technical control in abstract painting and sculpture.

Consumer Goods: Items, such as food and clothing that satisfy human needs or wants through their use.

Discrimination: It is the treatment of a person or their perceived worth being based on their physical characteristics or class rather than their personality and merit.

Drafted: Being forced to enroll in the armed forces.

Economics: The science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Emigrate: To leave one country to move to and settle in another.

Great Depression: Term referring to the period in Canada from 1929 until 1939. Western Canada's economy had massive unemployment, breadlines, relief camps, protest marches and dust storms. The beginning of the Second World War in 1939 brought Canada out of the Great Depression.

Immigrant: A person who leaves one country to settle permanently in another.

Jazz: A style of music that developed in the southern United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Elements of music from western Africa, American gospel singing, and European harmony were all mixed to create a new form.

Maverick: There are two main definitions.

1. Originally, it referred to cattle that have not been branded yet, usually meaning a calf that has become separated from its mother. They were usually considered the property of the first person to brand them.

2. Today, it refers to a person who is independent in thought and deed, or who refuses to "go along with the group."

NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Nonconformist: A person who does not follow the accepted beliefs, customs, or practices of most others.

Order of Canada: Canada's highest civilian honour. It recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, and service to the nation.

Porter: A railroad employee who waits on passengers in a sleeping car or parlor car.

Post Haste: As fast as possible or with great speed.

Promoter: A sponsor who books and stages public entertainment such as wrestling matches.

Rancher: Comes from the Spanish word "rancho" which means a small farm, hut, or group of people who eat together. A rancher is a person who runs an extensive farm where large herds of cattle or horses are raised.

Segregation: The practice of separating people of different races or ethnic groups within schools, housing, and public or commercial places. It is a form of discrimination.

Social Change: Any change in a society or alterations in the way people live their lives.

Stetson: A type of cowboy hat having a high crown and wide brim.

Surrealism: An art style that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by fantastic imagery.

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