UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS

2nd Semester – Midterms

LESSON 1: Introduction to Culture, Society, and Politics

 IDENTITY is the distinctive characteristic that defines an individual or is shared

by those belonging to a particular group.
o People may have multiple identities
o Identity can also change over the course of a lifetime
o Identities are important because they shape both individual and group
behavior
 CULTURE commonly defines as a society’s way of life, provides the basis for
forging identities.
o Material and Nonmaterial aspects associated with culture
o MATERIAL: Clothes, Music, and Food
o NONMATERIAL: Interpretation of other’s behavior
 SOCIETY refers to a group of people living in a community. According to Maclver
and Page, “it is a web of social relationship, which is always changing.”

1.1: Social, Cultural, and Political Change

 1900s – only Filipino MALES could VOTE and participate in Politics

 1930s – Campaign for women’s suffrage gained around and 1935 Constitution
allowed women to vote
 1937 – Plebiscite yielded more than 400,000 votes in favor of women suffrage

1. Rapidly-advancing technology has profound implications for sociocultural and

political change.
a. Trends in clothing, hair style, fashion style, food choices
2. The phenomenon of international migration has also changed Filipino identities
and beliefs.
a. 10% Filipino population is now abroad
b. Mixed Races – Marriage to Foreigners
3. Aspects of their beliefs and values have also changed
a. “modern-day heroes”
1.2: Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science

 SOCIAL SCIENCES – the disciplines under which identity, culture, society, and
politics are studied.
 ANTHROPOLOGY – is the systematic study of the biological, cultural, and social
aspects of man. Greek word, “Anthropos” – man and “logos” – study.
 SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY – studies how social patterns and practices and
cultural variations develop across different societies.
 CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY – studies cultural variations across different
societies and examines the need to understand each culture in its own context.
 LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY – studies language and discourse and how they
reflect and shape different aspects of human society and culture.
 BIOLOGICAL OR PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY – studies the origins of
humans as well as the interplay between social factors and the processes of
human evolution, adaptation, and variations over time.

 SOCIOLOGY is defined by Anthony Giddens as “the study of human social life,

groups, and society.”

 POLITICAL SCIENCE is the systematic study of politics, which according to

Andrew Heywood as “the activity through which people make, preserve, and
amend the general rules under which they live.”