UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS

LESSON1: DEFINING CULTURE, SOCIETY, & POLITIC

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, social habits,
music, and arts
Society is generally defined as an organized group or groups of interdependent people who share a common territory,
language, and culture, and who act together for collective survival and well-being. In reality, there can be no culture without
society.
Politics, on the other hand, refers to the” theory, art and practice of government”.
These aforementioned concepts- culture, society, and politics, are essential in understanding human behavior and social
groups. They are interrelated and to some extent reflective of each other. Though similarities and areas of convergence existed
among them, they are not identical.
Gender refers to society’s division into two categories based on sex. Gender guide on how males and females think and act
about themselves, the ways they interact with others, and the performance of their roles in the society. Contrary to the popular
notion that gender deals only with differences, that is, society constructs masculine and feminine people, in reality, it how
society confers the power of each of these sexes, thus developing the sense of empowerment and sensitivity.
The types of social class/status operate in varying forces and combinations at different times within the society or diverse
societies. In the case of the Philippines, three types are identified: upper class, middle and lower classes.
Upper Class:· Elite Families
· Two general types
a. New rich ( nouveau riche)- those who have humbled beginnings and most experienced rags-to-riches turn of
fortunes.
b. Traditional upper class- made up of descendants of powerful elite families who acquired their wealth through
inheritance or birthright.
Middle Class: Compose of small business and industry operators mostly owners, and managers, professionals, office
workers and farm owners.
Lower Class: Unemployed or underemployed who belong to indigent families or informal sectors.
The most potent cultural concept, ethnicity is the expression of the set of cultural ideas held by a distinct ethnic or indigenous
group. An ethnic group refers to people who collectively and publicly identified themselves as a distinct and unique based on
distinguishable cultural features that set them apart from the others such as shared ancestry and common origin, language and
customs and traditions.
Ethnicity is the expression of the set of cultural ideas held by a distinct ethnic or indigenous group. An ethnic group refers to
people who collectively and publicly identify themselves as distinct and unique based on distinguishable cultural features that
set them apart from others, such as language, shared ancestry, common origin, customs, and traditions (Haviland, et.al: 313).
Religion is an organized system of ideas about the spiritual sphere or the supernatural, along with associated ceremonial or
ritualistic practices by which people tried to interpret and/or influence aspects of the universe otherwise beyond human control.
Exceptionality refers to the state of being intellectually gifted and/or being physically or mentally challenged conditions such
as personality/behavior, communication, intellectual, physical, and combination of more specific exceptionality or disability.
Nationality is the relationship that binds between a person and a country.

SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND CULTURAL BEHAVIOR AND PHENOMENA

Every society has its own norms to follow. These norms serves as a guide or models of behavior which tells us what is proper
or improper, appropriate or inappropriate,right or wrong. They set limits within which individuals may seek alternative ways to
achieve their goals.

Norms are often in the form of rules, standards, or prescriptions that are strictly followed by people who adhere on certain
conventions and perform specific roles. Often, norms indicate a society’s standards of propriety, morality, ethics, and legality. In
the conduct of social interaction, each person has sets of expectations on how others will respond and react accordingly.
Norms of Decency and Conventionality
Norm of appropriateness and norm of conventionality are the most adhered norms in society. Norm of appropriateness or
decency is commonly exhibited on the type of clothing a person wears in a specific occasion. Norm of conventionality are
beliefs and practices that are acceptable to certain cultures but can be inimical to other cultures.
Individuals or groups can shape the norms and values of their society through the concrete application of their beliefs, norms,
and values in their everyday lives.

Conformity and Deviance As individuals and groups conform to an establish norm, the norm then becomes a convention.
Conventional norms exert more sanctions in the society as it is tantamount to public approval and recognition. Despite the
tendency of social control to enforce conformity as a potent mechanism in the socialization process, there are forms of behavior
that are relatively or distinctly away from a norm. This form of behavior can be referred to as deviant behavior or nonconformity.

2 TYPES OF DEVIANT
*FORMAL – actions that violate enacted laws
*INFORMAL – actions that violate social norms but are not codified by law.
Taboos related to food are also manifestations of deviancy. though these practices may be case to case basis since what one
society may viewed as deviant may not be true to others, which perceived it as normative, traditional, or desirable. In the same
way cultural foods and cultural food habits vary, cultural and religious food prohibitions also differ to some extent
(Meyer-Rochow 2009).Hindus are prohibited to eat beef since cow is considered as sacred in India. Muslims and Jews abstain
from eating pork, as pigs is considered “unclean”.

SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND CULTURAL BEHAVIOR AND PHENOMENA

Social, Political, and Cultural Change
Social Changes refers to variations or modifications in the patterns of social organization, of sub-groups within a society, or
of the entire society itself.
3 Causes of Social Change
· Invention
· Discovery
· Diffusion
Political Change includes all the categories of change in the direction of open, participatory, and accountable politics. It is
the change that occurs in the realm of civil and political societies and in the structure of relations among civil society, political
society, and the state (Alagappa: 10).
Cultural Change refers to all alterations affecting new traits or trait complexes and changes in culture’s content and
structure. These changes are caused by several factors, such as the physical environment, population, war, conquest, random
events and technology.
The Essence of Anthropology, Political Science, and Sociology
Anthropology is the study of human beings and their ancestors.
Political Science is the study of knowledge relating to the study of the state and government. It primarily focuses on the
“power” that plays a crucial part in the struggle in which the individuals and their groups may be found involved according to
their capability and degree of interest at all levels- local, regional, national, and international (Sharma and Sharma:6)

LESSON 2:Social, Political and Cultural Change

Change is generally pervasive and is taking place in culture, society and politics. Changes in culture bring about changes in
society and human beings; likewise, changes in society and human beings bring about changes in culture and politics
(Panopio:263). These changes even overlapping and interdependent in contemporary times due to factors affecting social
mobility like migration, urbanization, transnationalism, and globalization.

There are three causes of social change: invention, discovery and diffusion. Invention is often defined as new
combination or a new of existing knowledge. Discovery takes place when people reorganized existing elements of the world
they had not noticed before or learned to see in a new way. Diffusion refers to the spread of culture traits from one group to
another. It creates changes as cultural elements spread from one society to another through trade, migration, and mass
communication. Culture diffused through the process of enculturation, socialization, socialization, association and integration.
Enculturation takes place when one culture is spread to the other through learning, thus education is the most popular form of
enculturation. Pedagogical interventions provide proper venues for the diffusion of culture. On the other hand, socialization
refers to learning through constant exposure and experience to culture, which ultimately imbibe the latter to the system of
values, beliefs, and practices of the individual or groups. Association is establishing a connection with the culture thereby
bridging areas of convergence and cultural symbiosis. Lastly integration is the total assimilation of culture as manifested by
change of worldviews, attitudes, behavior and perspectives of looking things.

The second type of change, political change includes all categories of change in the direction of open, preparatory, and
accountable politics. It is the change in ream in civil and political societies and in the structure of relations among civil society,
and the state (Alagappa: 10). Youth awareness and active participation during election process belong to this type of change.

Cultural change refers to all alterations affecting new trait or trait complexes, to changes in culture’s content and structure.
These changes are caused by several factors such as physical environment, population, war and conquest, random events,
and technology. The above –mentioned changes have brought positive and negative effects to individuals and societies. Their
nature and impact can be best understood with the aid of appropriate disciplines such as Anthropology, sociology and political
science.

The Essence of Anthropology, Political Science and Sociology

Anthropology is the study of human beings and their ancestors. Historically, the discipline traces its roots to philosophy,
world travel and scholars who studied preliterate peoples and evolutionary thoughts.
Anthropologist work within four fields of disciplines. While physical anthropologist focuses on humans as biological
organism, cultural anthropologist investigate the contrasting ways groups of humans think, feel and behave. Biological
anthropologists, are mostly archaeologist, try to recover information about human cultures – usually from the past-by studying
material samples, skeletal remains, and settlements.
Political science is the body of knowledge relating to the study of the state and government. It primarily focuses on the
power that plays a crucial partin the struggle which the individuals and their groups may be found involved according to their
capability and degree of interest at all levels-local, regional, national and international.
Sociology on the other hand, is considered as the science of society and social behavior, which is viewed as an aggregate of
individuals. It also considered as the science of origin and development, structure and functions of social groups, their forms
laws customs, constitutions, modes of life, thought and action of their contribution to human culture and civilization. In the case
of the Philippines, the ethnic origin of an individual, which is central in the study Anthropology, formed the basis in the granting
Filipino Citizenship.
LESSON 3 : Aspects of Culture

Society and Culture

A human society is characterized by:
❖ Territorially localized population
❖ Members of which inter-act in a network of relationship
❖ Distinctive, culturally defined limited
❖ Affectively bonded by the common linguistic and other forms of symbolic representations.
Culture is the “that complex whole which encompasses beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols,
knowledge, and everything that a behavior and the fact that humans are characterized by them by the virtue of being born as
“human beings” apart from other creatures in the animal kingdom suggests the universal nature of the concept.
John Honigmann has pointed(1959)
CULTURE-ACTIVITIES, IDEAS, AND ARTIFACTS
Ideas are thoughts, beliefs, feelings and rules.
Activities are the dynamic components of culture.
Artifacts are man-made products of ideas and activities.

Aspects of Culture Culture is dynamic, flexible and adaptive; shared and contested; learned through socialization or
enculturation; patterned social interactions; integrated at times unstable; transmitted to socialization/enculturation; and requires
language and other forms of communication
Dynamic, Flexible and Adaptive Cultural behaviors permits human to fit into and adaptive to their respective
environments. In contemporary societies, culture has even developed allowing people to fit the environment to their daily need.
The cumulative and social nature of human ideas, activities and artifacts gives a tremendous potential from other groups if their
cultural behaviors have found to have survival value.
Shared and Contested This means that ideas, activities and artifacts are shared in common by the various members of a
society or group. They have become socially and conventionally standardized in form and manner. Since culture is extra
geneticist, transmission is not simply automatic but largely depends on the willingness of humans to give and receive it.
Learned Through Socialization or Enculturation Every normal infant has the potential to learn any culture as he grows
and survives the various stages of life. Through the process of socialization or enculturation, the child eventually acquires the
prevailing attitudes and believes, the forms of behavior appropriate to the social role he occupies, and the behavior patterns
and values of society into which he is born.
Patterned Social Interactions Social Interaction implies theories of reciprocity, complementarily, and mutuality of
response. The patterns of social interactions may be viewed as inherent characteristics of the participants merely given the
opportunity to be exposed or as emergent in the sense that they arise in the interaction as a product.
Integrated and at Times Unstable The various behaviors we observe are different kinds of cultural expressions and are
behaved for different reasons and purposes.
Transmitted Through Socialization/Enculturation Being acquired by learning, cultural ideas and artifacts are handed
down from generation to generation as a super-organic inheritance. That is accomplished by social learning, by imitating the act
of others, though most often is transmitted more directly by human language, which in itself a part of culture and considered the
most important part, the “soul” of every culture.
Requires Language and Other Forms of Communication Language is shared set of spoken symbols and rules for
combining those symbols in meaningful ways. Language has been called “the store house of culture”. It is the primary means of
capturing, communicating, discussing, changing and passing shared understanding to new generations. Language is the most
important means of cultural transmission, the process by which one generation passes culture to the next.