LESSON 1.

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE SOCIETY AND POLITICS

SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDYING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS

ACTIVITY NO.1 PINT POINT!

Using the picture above identify the concepts that you can associate with culture, society and politics. Write
your answer in a graphic organizer.
DISSCUSSION

Social interaction is the foundation of society. It is more than simply acting but a communication of
information that is either simple or complex between and among individuals. Sociologists use the term social
interaction to refer to the behavior between two or more people that corresponds to a meaning that is given by
them, whether it is based in harmony or conflict, social interactions later results to developing a culture that is
commonly shared by a group of people.

Human society is defined as a system of social interaction that includes both culture and social
organization (Anderson and Taylor: 2017). Individual members of the society maintain ties of interaction by
performing and conforming to the general way of life that is recognized by the whole society also known as
culture.

Culture refers to the total lifestyle of a people, including all of the ideas, values, knowledge, behaviors
and material objects that every members share, everyone then is both encouraged and mandated to
conform(Suvillian:1995). In this manner why culture is possible to pass on from generation to generation
resulting to believe that a society is distinct from other societies. It also provides people with a blueprint for how
to lead their lives as individuals can learn what is good or bad, right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable and
even what they desire and what they dislike.

On the other hand, individuals live in a cooperative society. It is true that within a society, diversity also
exist despite of a commonly shared culture. Individual differences, conflict and competition are observable and
must be controlled in order to maintain cohesiveness and cooperation through social control or laws. It is when
behavioral patterns or norms has been formalized and enacted by people who are vested with governmental
power; thus politics then exist in the society.

Politics refers to the use of power to determine whose values will predominate, how rewards and
resources will be allocated and the manner in which conflicting interest in society will be resolved. In this
society, the individual members will be directed to conform what is tolerable or approved behavioral patterns
thus preventing deviations from what is acceptable. By means of social control also known as laws,
cohesiveness of the group shall be maintained; the objective of which is to secure harmony and cooperation
within the society.

ACTIVITY NO.2 ESSAY WRITING

Direction: Choose an issue or problem about culture, society or politics as your topic. Include your actions or
solution to the problem.
HUMAN CULTURAL VARIATION, SOCIAL DIFFERENCES AND POLITICAL IDENTITIES

Human Cultural variation

History, environment and our physical attributes are the primary factors that shape the behavior of
human groups. This behavior aids as a tool for the different motivations projected by the environment is
influenced by beliefs, practices and material possessions. Through constant practice, these sets of behavior
form human traditions are passed on from one generation to the other. As each group experience differing
environmental conditions, human cultural variation are established. Human cultural variation refers to the
differences in social behaviors that different cultures exhibit around the world. What may be considered good
etiquette in one culture may be considered bad etiquette in another.

A. Nationality is the identity a person tied to being a part of a nation or a country. It is a group of people
who share the same history, traditions, custom, belief and language and who occupies a particular territory
within a political boarder and controlled by a government. Nationality can be acquired by being born in a
country or by the process of legal applications called naturalization.

B. Ethnicity is one’s identification with social group that shares specific cultural traditions, languages,
social experiences, or ancestry. It is the expression of the set of cultural ideas held by a distinct ethnic or
indigenous group (people who collectively and publicly identify themselves as distinct and unique or different
from others based on their distinguishable cultural features that set them apart from others such as language,
shared ancestry, common origin, customs and tradition). In the Philippines there are about 180 indigenous
ethnic groups and more than 100 tribal groups who mostly inhabit ancestral domains in the lowland, upland
and coastal areas. Base on the 2000 census of National Statistic Office (NSO) there are 8 major ethno-
linguistic groups in the Philippines. These are: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Bisaya/Binisaya, Ilonggo,
Hiligaynon, Bikol and Waray.

C. Religion can be explained as a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the
universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving
devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
(Examples are Christian, Muslim, Hinduism, and Buddhism)

Social Differences

Social differences refer to dissimilarities among the individuals that are based on their social
characteristics and qualities.
 a. Gender is socially-constructed characteristics of being male or female. Gender serves as a
guide on how males and females think and act about themselves; the way they interact with other and how
they perform their various roles in the society. Gender is different from sex. Sex refers to the biological
characteristics of human such as female or male. Gender categories are more varied such as lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex. In some gender becomes the basis of one’s identity, as social
norms allow for their acceptance or neglect in the society.

b. Socio economic class/status refers to the category of persons who have more or less the
same socioeconomic privileges in a society. These privileges are due to inherited wealth, occupational status
of the breadwinner in the household and/or those who are from rags-to-riches.

Types of social classes

1. Upper class consists of elite/rich/famous families, very successful in their field of interest and
endeavor. They are considered the most productive in terms of resource generation and they are very
successful in their respective fields of interest or endeavors. It can be in agriculture, industry, business,
professions and government. There are two types of elites: the new rich who have humble beginnings and
often experiences rag-to-riches while the traditional upper class is made through inheriting the fortunes or
wealth of their ancestors.
2. Middle class composed mostly of small business owners and managers, professionals, office
workers and farm workers with income sufficient enough to provide a comfortable and decent living, head of
the families are employed, can provide the basic needs of the members.
3. Lower class-farm employees, skilled and unskilled artisans, service workers and people who are
unemployed or underemployed with a subsistence lifestyle of: could hardly eat three decent meals a day, the
daily income of breadwinner can hardly feed the entire family and the breadwinner does not have a permanent
job.

c. Exceptionality/non-exceptionality
Exceptionality is the state of being intellectually gifted and/or having physically or mentally challenged
conditions concerning personality/behavior, communication and intellect while non-exceptionality tends to be
the average capacity of an individual.

d. Political identity is always associated with a group affiliation and describes the ways in being a
member of a particular group that expresses specific political opinion and attitudes. As a social category it
refers to the sets of attitudes and practices that an individual adheres to in relation to the political systems and
actors within the society. (Examples are being a member of Ang Ladlad, a party that negotiates for the welfare
of the LGBTQi community and Kabataan, a party that promotes youth empowerment.)

FOUNDATION OF ANTHROPOLOGY, POLITICAL SCIENCE AND SOCIOLOGY

 Social Science is the discipline under which identity, culture, society and politics are studied. These
discipline comprised of a wide array of disciplines that studies the overall function of a society as well as the
interactions among individual members of an institution. Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science are few
of the areas of the study.

Anthropology is the field of studying humans. Unlike other disciplines of social science, it promotes a
holistic study of humans. It derived from two Greek words antropos (humans) and logos (study), anthropology
seeks to answer this primary question: What does it mean to be human? This allows for an extensive and
inclusive approach such that anthropology studies humans as both biological and social creatures. Biologically,
it inquires on the genetic composition of humans, their relationship with other primates and their evolution.
Socially it inquires on human behaviors, attitudes and belief systems which range from birth practices to burial
rites. Another element that makes anthropology holistic is it research time frame, which ranges from the
evolution of humans as a species to our current development. It also studies humans from various ethnic
groupings and geographical locations.
These points of inquiry are addressed by the five sub disciplines of anthropology:
 Archaeology examines the remains of ancient and historical human population to promote an
understanding of how humans have adapted to their human population to promote an understanding
of how humans have adapted to their environment and developed.
 Cultural anthropology promotes the study of a society’s culture through their belief systems, practices
and possessions.
 Linguistic anthropology examines the language of a group of people and it relation to culture.
 Physical anthropology looks into the biological developments of humans and their contemporary
variation.
 Applied anthropology attempts to solve contemporary problems through the application of theories and
approaches of the discipline.

Sociology is the scientific study of society, including patterns of social relationships, social interaction and
culture. It studies societies to promote social change, create new theories and document human behavior.

BRANCHES SOCIOLOGY

 Social organization includes the study of social institutions, social inequality, social mobility, religious
groups, and bureaucracy.
 Social psychology focuses on the study of human nature and its emphasis on social processes as they
affect individual or responses which are called “social stimuli”.
 Applied sociology is concerned with the specific intent of yielding practical applications for human
behavior and organizations. The goal of Applied Sociology is to assist in resolving social problems
through the use of sociological research.
 Population studies include size, growth, demographic characteristics, composition, migration,
changes, and quality vis-à-vis economic, political, and social systems.
 Human ecology pertains to the study of the effects of various social organizations (religious
organizations, political institutions and etc.) to the population’s behavior.
 Sociological theory and research focuses on the discovery of theoretical tools, methods, and
techniques to scientifically explain a particular sociological issue.

Political Science is a field of study characterized by a search for political understanding of good political life,
significant empirical method and wise political and policy judgments.

Political Science comes from two Greek words: Polis and Scire. Polis refers to the city-state in ancient Greece.
The political activities within polis are later termed as Politikus(Latin). Scire means “to know”. Combining the
two meanings, political science aims to know the activities in within the state. Such activities include the
following: human interaction and conflict, human and state relations and power distribution.

Branches of Political Science

  Political theory is the branch of political science that studies the topic such as property, rights, liberty,
law and enforcement
 Public law is the part of the law between the govern relationships of the individual and government
 International law is the body of rules established by nations as custom or treaty and recognized by
nations as binding on the relations with one another

ACTIVITY NO.3 PHOTO ANALYSIS

Examine the pictures. What can you say about the issues presented? In what particular field or discipline are
they appropriate to discuss? Explain
HOMEWORKWrite an essay about the benefits which you can gain from studying anthropology, sociology
and political science Explain why anthropology, sociology and political science are important in
comprehending the dynamics of culture, society and politics
SUMMATIVE QUIZ

Identify the following:

______________1.It is the biological distinction between male and female. SEX
______________2.It is the identity that is tied to being a part of a nation or country. NATIONALITY
______________3.It is the set of cultural ideas held by a distinct ethnic or indigenous group. ETHNICITY
______________4.It is the study of the human species and its immediate ancestor. ANTHROPOLOGY
______________5.It is the systematic study of human social interaction. SOCIOLOGY
______________6.It is the dissimilarities among the individuals that are based on their social characteristics
and qualities. SOCIAL DIFFERNCES
______________7.It serves as a guide on how males and females think and act about themselves and interact
with other. GENDER
______________8.It is defined as a system of social interaction. HUMAN SOCIETY
______________9.It is the foundation of society. SOCIAL INTERACTION
______________10.It pertains to the study of the effects of various social organizations to the population’s
behavior. HUMAN ECOLOGY

Enumerate the following:

1. Types of Social classes (3)
2. Branches of Anthropology (5)
3. Branches of Political Science (3)
4. Social Differences (4)

References:
Damilig, Angelita UCSP 2016. Hunt Publishing Center Page 10-11)
https://www.slideshare.net/CarlPatrickTadeo1/human-cultural-variation-social-differences
https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/
https://www.slideshare.net/kellykhel/understanding-the-concepts-of-anthropology-sociology
https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-science