UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
Additional UCSP PPT
1.Anthropology- relates to sociology, it always describes
human, human behavior and human societies around
the world. It is a comparative science that examines all
societies. The term anthropology means scientific study
of man or human beings.a
Cultural anthropology studies, human societies and
elements of cultural life. The goal of studying
anthropology is to understand the origin human evolution
and the diverse forms of its existence throughout time.
The study of Man and Its various aspects is known as
Anthropology. It may be a subject of science and arts.
Disciplines in Anthropology
1. Archeology-it examines the remains of the
ancient and historical population to promote an
understanding of how humans adapted to their
environment and development.
2. Cultural Anthopology promotes the study of
society’ s culture through their belief systems, practices
and possessions.
3. Linguistics Anthropology examines languages of
people and its relation to their nature.
4. Physical anthropology looks into the biological
development of humans and their contemporary
variations.
5. Applied Anthropology attempts to solve
contemporary problems through the application of
theories and approaches of the discipline
2.Sociology is the study of human social relationships
and institutions. Sociology’ s subject matter is diverse,
ranging from crime to religion, from the family to the
state, from the divisions of race and social class to the
shared beliefs of a common culture, and from social
stability to radical change in whole societies. Sociology
is a social science; it belongs to the family of social
sciences. As a social science, focuses its aspects on
man, his social manners, social activities and social life.
The goal of sociology is to help you understand how
human action and consciousness both shape and are
shaped by the surrounding cultural and social structures.
3.Political Science is a social science that deals with
humans and their interactions. It is a branch of social
science which is essentially deals with the large-scale
actions of humans, and group mentality.It is a discipline
that deals with several aspects such as the study of
state and government. It deals with the nature and
formation of the state and attempts to understand its
forms and functions. The goal of Political Science is to
constantly deepen the knowledge, discover progress
and protect the quality of life within a group, community,
country, and the world. Thus, it is the study of power
relationships and competing interests among states
around the world.
4. Anthropological Perspective- are culture, cultural
relativism, fieldwork, human diversity, holism, bio-cultural
focus. The four main perspectives of Anthropology are
the cross-cultural or comparative emphasis, its
Evolutionary/historical emphasis, its Ecological
emphasis, and its holistic Emphasis.
1.Cross-Cultural Analysis is that statistical cross-cultural
comparisons can be used to discover traits shared
between cultures and generate ideas about cultural
universals
2.Evolutionary anthropology, the interdisciplinary study
of the evolution of human physiology and human
behaviour and of the relation between hominids and
non-hominid primates.
3.Ecological anthropology investigates the ways that a
population shapes its environment and the subsequent
manners in which these relations form the population’s
social, economic, and political life.
4.Holism is the perspective on the human condition that
assumes that mind, body, individuals, society, and the
environment interpenetrate, and even define one
another. In anthropology holism tries to integrate all that
is known about human beings and their activities
5.Sociological perspective introduces the discipline of
sociology, including something about its history,
questions, theory, And scientific methods, and what
distinguishes it from other social science disciplines.
Central features include social interaction and
relationships, social contexts, social structure, social
change, the significance of diversity and human
variation, and the critical, questioning character of
sociology. It also explores what sociologists do.
1.In functionalist perspective, societies are thought to
function like organisms, with various social institutions
working together like organs to maintain and reproduce
societies.
2. The conflict perspective sees social life as a
competition, and focuses on the distribution of
resources, power, and inequality.
3. Symbolic Interaction Perspective- sociological theory
that seeks to understand human relationship with their
society b focusing on the symbols that help us give
meaning to our experiences in life.
6.Theoretical perspective Is used to analyze and explain
objects of social study, and facilitate organizing
sociological knowledge.
7.Political science perspective Studies the tendencies
and Actions of people which Cannot be easily quantified
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
or examined. Political science is more focused than any
social sciences.
POLITICAL SCIENCE
The arena approach is associated with the
narrow sense of political party and/ or electoral politics. It
follows formalistic conception of politics. It limits politics
to the state and all its instrumentalities and related
institutions. Its hierarchy of offices and personnel, laws
and policies.
The process approach provides a
comprehensive view of politics. Politics in this sense is
not limited to formal political institutions of the state but
extends to include other institutions within the society,
such as the family, the church, and other parts of the
society.
Governance on the other hand refers to the
web of formal or informal institutions, rules, norms and
expectations which govern behavior in societies and
without which the very idea of human society is
impossible.
Government refers to the agency through which
the will of the state is formulated, expressed and carried
out. The word is sometimes used to refer to the person
or aggregate of those persons in whose hands are
placed for the time being the function of political control.
Governing includes institutions other than those
of he government that are involved in governing. The
institutions included are labor and trade unions,
corporations, universities, church organizations, social
movement organizations that are involved in one way or
another in setting rules or conventions which govern
some aspects of behavior of their members.
One can understand politics as a complete set
of interactions between inputs and outputs, internal and
external environments, feedback, and the political
system.
Inputs are demands and supports that are fed into the
political system
Outputs are decisions and policies that are result out of
the political system.
Demands can be anything that the citizens and groups
in society would want or ask their government to provide
or responds to. For examples are the demand for job or
employment, better transport system , clean air and
water, etc.
Supports on the other hand take the form of favorable
political environment characterized by the presence of
enabling laws and rules, openness of the political
system, public support ,etc.
The internal environment refers to the actual
geopolitical, physical and territorial boundaries of the
state within which the political system belongs. The
external environment refers to the confluence of foreign
influences, forces and dynamics that lie beyond the
boundaries of the state.
The feedback loop serves as the means to
communicate to the political system the response of the
public or larger society to the decision and policy outputs
of the government.
Scope of Political Science
1. Political theory refers to the entire body of
doctrines relating to the origin, form, behavior
and purposes of the state.
2. Public law includes the organization of
government, limitations upon government
authority, powers and duties of government
offices and officers and the obligation of one
states to another
3. Public administration is focused on the
methods and techniques used in the actual
management of state affairs by the executive,
legislative and judicial branches of the
government.
Interrelationship with other branches of learning political
Science is related with the following social science subjects:
1. History . The bond between the political
scientist and historian is obvious in the
observation that “history is the past politics and
politics present history”. The political scientist
frequently adopts a “ historical approach “ and
employs knowledge of the past
2. Economics. In the late 19th century, political
science and conomics “the study of
production, distribution and conservation and
consumption of wealth”
3. Geography. Geopolitics is a science concerned
with the study of influences of physical factors
such as population pressures, sources of raw
materials.
4. Sociology and anthropology. Political
scientist, the sociologist (who specializes in the
study of the society as a whole) and
anthropologist who studies “mankind “in relation
to physical, social and cultural development all
deeply concerned with the origins and nature of
social control and governmental authority, with
the abiding influences of race and culture upon
society and with the patterns of collective human
behavior.
5. Psychology. The political scientist as well as
psychologist promotes studies of mental and
emotional processes motivating the political
behavior of individuals and groups.
6. Philosophy. The concepts and doctrines of
Plato , Aristotle and Locke are important to the
specialist in academic philosophy and also to
the political scientist
7. Statistics and logic. The political theorist must
posses a broad scientific background and
knowledge of current political problems and he
must employ scientific methods in gathering and
evaluating data and in drawing conclusions.
8. Jurisprudence. This branch of public law is
concerned with the analysis of exiting legal
systems and also with the ethical, historical,
sociological and psychological foundations of
law.
Function and Importance of political science
1. The function of political science is to discover
the principles that should be adhered to in public
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
affairs and to study the operations of
government inorder to demonstrate what is
good, to criticize what is bad or inefficient and to
suggest improvements.
2. Its findings and conclusions maybe of immense
practical use to constitution- makers, legislators,
executives and judges who need models or
norms that can be applied to immediate
situations.
3. The study of political science deals also with
problems of social welfare , governmental
economic programs, international cooperation
and wide range of other matters that are urgent
concern to public officials and to private citizens.
Concepts of State and government
State is a community of persons more or less numerous,
permanently occupying a definite portion of territory,
having a government of their own to which the great
body of inhabitants render obedience and enjoying
freedom from external control.
Elements of State
People refers to the mass of population living within the
state.Without people there can be functionaries to
govern and no subjects to be governed. There is no
requirement as to number of people that should
compose state.
Territory it includes not only the land over which the
jurisdiction of the state extends, but also the rivers and
lakes therein and the air space above. The smallest
state in point of territory is Vatican with an area of only
1/6 square mile or 0.43 square kilometer. The former
Soviet Union was the largest state in point of territory
with a total land area of about 8,,599,,776 square miles.
Government refers to the agency through which the will
of the state is formulated, expressed and carried out.
The word is sometimes used to refer to the person or
aggregate of those persons in whose hands are placed
for the time being the function of political control.
Sovereignty it is defined as the supreme power of the
state to command and enforce obedience to its will from
the people within its jurisdiction and have the freedom
from foreign control.
It has two manifestations
Internal or the power of the state to rule within its
territory
External or freedom of the state to carry out its
activities without subjection, it is is often referred to as
independence
Origin of States
There are several theories regarding the origin of states:
1. Divine right theory. It holds that the state is of
Divine creation and the ruler is ordained by God
to govern the people.
2. Necessity or force theory. Maintains that the
states must have been created through force, by
some great warriors who imposed their will upon
the weak.
3. Paternalistic theory It attributes the origin of
states to the enlargement of the family which
remain under the authority of the father or
mother.
4. Social contract theory- it asserts that the early
states must have been formed by deliberate and
voluntary compact among the people to form a
society and organize government for their
common good.
State distinguished from nation
1. The state is a political concept, while nation is
an ethnic concept .A nation is a group of
people bound together by certain characteristics
such as common social origin,
language ,customs and traditions and who
believe that they are one and distinct from
others .
2. A state is not a subject to external control while
a nation may or may not be independent of
external control.
3. A single state may consist of one or more
nations or peoples and conversely a single
nation may be made up of several states. The
United States is a melting pot of several
nationalities.
Forms of Government
The principal forms are the following:
1.As to number of persons exercising sovereign
powers:
Monarchy or one in which the supreme and final
authority is in the hands of single person. Monarchies
are further classified into :
1. Absolute monarch or one in which the ruler
rules by divine right.
2. Limited monarchy or one in which the ruler
rules in accordance with the constitution.
Aristocracy or one in which political power is exercised
by a few privileged class
Democracy or one in which political power is exercised
by a majority of the people.
a. Direct or pure democracy one in which
the will of the state is formulated or
expressed directly and immediately
through the people in a mass meeting
b. Indirect, representative, or republican
democracy or one in which the will of
the state is formulated and expressed
through the agency and representative
2.As to extent of powers exercised by the central or
national government
a. Unitary government or control of
national and local affairs is exercised by
the central or national government.
b. Federal government or one in which
the powers of the government are
divided between two sets of organs, one
for national affairs and other for local
affairs
3. As to relationship between the executive and
legislative branches of the government
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
a. Parliamentary government or one in
which the state confers upon the
legislature the power to terminate the
tenure of office of the real executive.
b. Presidential government or one in
which the state makes the executive
constitutionally independent of the
legislature as regards his tenure and to
the large extent s regards his policies
and acts and furnishes him with
sufficient powers
The three functions and importance of political
science
1. To discover the principles that are adhered to in
public affairs and to study the operations of the
government in order to demonstrate what is good,
to criticize what is bad and to suggest
improvements.
2. Second, its findings and conclusions maybe of
immense practical use to constitution makers,
legislators executives and judges
3. Deals with the problems of social welfare,
governmental economic programs, international
cooperation and urgent concern to public officials
and private citizens.
MODULE 1
The nature, goals and perspectives of anthropology,
sociology and political science
1. Anthropology - relates to sociology, it always
describes human, human behavior and human societies
around the world. It is a comparative science that
examines all societies. The term anthropology means
scientific study of man or human beings.
Cultural anthropology studies, human societies and
elements of cultural life. An example of cultural
anthropology is the Linguistic anthropology which
focuses on language in a certain society. The goal of
studying anthropology is to understand the origin human
evolution and the diverse forms of its existence
throughout time
The study of Man and its various aspects is known as
Anthropology. It may be a subject of science and arts.
It is a branch of sociology. It describes human, human
behavior and human societies and it examines all
societies around the world. It also describes the
ancestors through time and space in relation to its
environmental, social relations, and culture
2. Sociology - is the study of human social relationships
and institutions. Sociology’s subject matter is diverse,
ranging from crime to religion, from the family to the
state, from the divisions of race and social class to the
shared beliefs of a common culture, and from social
stability to radical change in whole societies. The
purpose of sociology is to understand how human action
and consciousness both shape and are shaped by
surrounding cultural and social structures. Sociology is a
social science; it belongs to the family of social sciences.
3. Political Science is a social science that deals with
humans and their interactions. It is a branch of
sociology; it essentially deals with the large-scale actions
of humans, and group mentality it is a discipline that
deals with several aspects such as the study of state
and government.
The goal of Political Science is to constantly
deepen the knowledge, discover progress and protect
the quality of life within a group, community, country, and
the world. Thus, it is the study of power relationships and
competing interests among states around the world.
4. Anthropological perspectives are culture, cultural
relativism, fieldwork, human diversity, holism, bio-cultural
focus.
5. Sociological perspective introduces the discipline of
sociology, including something about its history,
questions, theory, and scientific methods, and what
distinguishes it from other social science disciplines.
Central features include social interaction and
relationships, social contexts, social structure, social
change, the significance of diversity and human
variation, and the critical, questioning character of
sociology. It also explores what sociologists do.
Sociology includes three major theoretical
perspectives:
1. the functionalist perspective;
2. the conflict perspective; and
3. the symbolic interaction perspective.
6. Theoretical perspective
is used to analyze and explain objects of social study,
and facilitate organizing sociological knowledge. In
functionalist perspective, societies are thought to
function like organisms, with various social institutions
working together like organs to maintain and reproduce
societies.
The conflict perspective sees social life as a
competition, and focuses on the distribution of
resources, power, and inequality.
7. Political science perspective studies the tendencies
and actions of people which cannot be easily quantified
or examined. Political science is more focused than most
social sciences.
IMPORTANT CONCEPTS ABOUT POLITICAL
SCIENCE
1.Definition of State Important Elements of State
2. Nation
3. Government
Classifications of Government
1. As to the number of people exercising sovereign
power
a. Monarchy (Absolute and Limited or constitutional
monarchy)
b. Aristocracy
c. Democracy (Direct or Pure Democracy and the
Indirect, republican or representative democracy)
2. As to the extent of powers exercised by the
National or central government
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
a. Unitary Government b. Federal Government
3. As to relationship between the executive and
legislative branches of the government
a. Parliamentary Government
b. Presidential government
4. Origin of States
5. Scope of Political Science
a. Political Theory
b. Public Administration
c. Public Law
Functions and Importance of Political Science
1. To discover the principles that adhered to in public
affairs and to study the operation of the government in
order to demonstrate what is good, to criticize what is
bad or inefficient and to suggest improvements
2. Its findings and conclusions maybe of immense
practical use of constitution makers,legislators,
executives, judges who need models or norms that can
be applied to immediate situations
3. The study of political science deals also with problems
of social welfare, governmental economic programs,
international cooperation, and wide range of other
matters that are urgent concern to public officials and to
private citizens.
Examples of symbolic interaction:
1. Flags and Nationalism
2. Emojis
3. Language
4. The looking glass self- According to Cooley, our self
image is shaped by how we think others perceive us. We
think of other people our self back to us. Our self is thus
constructed through our interactions with society.
MODULE 2
THE CONCEPT OF SOCIETY
MEANING AND NATURE OF SOCIETY
According to sociologist, a society is a group of people
with common territory, interaction, and culture. Arcinas
(2016) in his book, Undertanding Culture, Society. And
Politics, defined society as group of people who share a
common territory and culture. Society is derived from the
Latin term “societas”, from socius, which means
companion or associate.
From the functional point of view, society is
defined as a complex of groups in reciprocal
relationships, interacting upon one another, enabling
human organisms to carry on their life-activities and
helping each person to fulfill his wishes and accomplish
his interests in association with his fellows.
From the structural point of view, society is
the total social heritage of folkways, mores and
institutions; of habits, sentiments and ideals.
The following are reasons people live together as a society
(Ariola, 2012):
a. For survival. No man is an island.
b. Feeling of gregariousness – This is the desire
of people to be with other people, especially of
their own culture. People flock together for
emotional warmth and belongingness
c. Specialization. Professionals
Characteristics of Society
Society comprises of a group of people who share a
common culture, live in a particular area and feel
themselves to constitute a unified and distinct entity.
Society or human society is a group of people related
to each other through persistent relations.
Society has the following characteristics:
1. It is a social system. A social system consists
of individuals interacting with each other. A
system consists of sub-parts whereby a change
in one part affects the other parts. Thus, a
change in one group of individuals will affect the
stability of the other parts of the system.
2. It is relatively large. The people must be
socially integrated to be considered relatively
large than if the people are individually
scattered. Thus, the people in a family, clan,
tribe, neighborhood, community are socially
integrated to be relatively large in scope.
3. It socializes its members and from those
from without. Since most of society’s members
are born to it, they are taught the basic norms
and expectations. Those who come from other
societies, before being accepted as functioning
members, are socialized and taught the basic
norms and expectations of the society.
4. It endures, produces and sustains its
members for generations. For society to
survive, it must have the ability to produce,
endure and sustain its new members for at least
several generations.
5. It holds its members through a common
culture. The individuals in a society are held
together because that society has symbols,
norms, values, patterns of interaction, vision and
mission that are commonly shared by the
members of such society.
6. It has clearly-defined geographical territory.
The members in a society must live in a certain
specific habitat or place and have a common
belongingness and sense of purpose.
MAJOR FUNCTIONS OF THE SOCIETY
A society is important because they have the following
functions:
1. It provides a system of socialization.
Knowledge and skills, dominant patterns of
behavior, moral and social values, and aspects
of personality are transmitted to each member,
especially to the young
2. It provides the basic needs of its members.
Food, clothing, shelter, medicine, education,
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
transportations and communication facilities,
among others must be provided by society to
satisfy the basic needs of its members.
3. It regulates and controls people’s behavior.
Conformity to the prevailing norms of conduct
ensures social control. Peace and order are
created through a system of norms and formal
organizations.
4. It provides the means of social participation.
Through social participation, the individuals in a
society learn to interact with each other, present
and discuss their concerns and solve their own
problems or renew their commitment and
values.
5. It provides mutual support to the members.
Mutual support is provided to the members of
society in the form of relief in any form and
solution to problems met by them. This form of
assistance may come from the family, neighbors,
clans, government and non-government
agencies, civic and religious organizations.
TYPES OF SOCIETES
Societies exist in particular places and times, and they
change over time. Societies are organized in particular
patterns, patterns that are shaped by a range of factors,
including the way people procure food, the availability of
resources, contact with other societies, and cultural
beliefs
Below are the different types of societies as mentioned by
Ariola (2012) in his book Sociology and Anthropology with
Family Planning
According to Economic and Material System
1. Pre-class Societies – They are characterized
by communal ownership of property and division
of labor. Examples of these societies earliest
clans and tribes
2. Asiatic Societies – The people are
economically self-sufficient but their leaders are
despotic and powerful.
3. Ancient Societies- These are characterized by
private land ownership. The rich) owned big tract
of private properties while the poor worked as
laborers. Thus, wealth is limited to a few people.
4. Feudal Societies- - The aristocrats (feudal
lords) owned the wealth of the country due to
their ownership of big tracts of lands. The
peasants worked on the lands of the feudal
lords. However, these types of societies
collapsed due to the rise of cities and metropolis
5. Capitalists Societies These societies existed in
societies where two classes of people appeared.
The bourgeoise (property owners) who owned
the capital and the means of production and the
ploretariat (the laborers or workers) who are
compelled to work for the capitalists or sell their
small properties to the capitalists
6. Democratic Societies- Characterized by free
enterprise to where people are free to engage in
any lawful business for profit
According to Evolutionary View
7. Simple Societies. These are predominantly
small, nomadic and leadership is unstable.
people had no specialization of skills, thus they
lived in a simple life.
8. Compound Societies- Two or more simple
societies merged to form a new and bigger
society. These societies tended to be
predominantly settled agricultural societies and
tended to characterized by division of four or five
social classes.
9. Doubly Compound Societies- These are
completely integrated, more definite in political
and religious structure and more complex
division of labor. Considerable progress in
infrastructure and knowledge in arts had taken
place
10. Militant Societies These are characterized by
the following:
(a) the existence of military organization and
military rank;
(b) individual lives and private possessions are
at the disposal of the State; and
(c) individual activities such as recreation,
movements, satisfaction of biological needs, and
production of goods are totally regulated by the
State.
11. Industrial Societies These societies are
characterized by the following
(a) people elect their representatives to protect
their individual initiatives;
(b) freedom of belief, religion, production of
industrial goods exist;
(c) disputes and grievances are settled through
peaceful arbitration; and
(d) business organizations appear where
cooperative efforts between management are
labor are based on contractual agreement
12. Post Industrial Societies- characterized by:
A) spread of computer machines and existence
of information and communication,
B) inventions and discoveries emerged,
C) pollution, diseases and calamities are
prevalent
According to People’s Substinence
13. Food Gathering Societies (more than 16, 000
years ago) – The people survived from day to
day through hunting larger animals, collecting
shellfish and vegetable gathering. Their tools
were made of stones, wood and bones
14. Horticultural Societies (12, 000 to 15, 000
years ago) -The people planted seeds as a
means of production for substinence
15. Pastoral Societies- most of the people are
nomadic who follow their herds in quest of
animals for food and clothing to satisfy their
needs. Are relatively small, wandering
communities organized along male-centered
kinship
16. Agricultural Societies- The early agricultural
socieities, people used plow than hoe in food
production. Irrigation farming was introduced
which reulted to a larger yield of production
17. Industrial Societies- This period is
characterized by the use of machines as means
of food production.
18. Post-Industrial Societies- Information and
communication technology is the hallmark of
these modern spread of computer technology,
advances in and societies. These are
characterized by the sciences this technology
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE
MEANING AND NATURE OF CULTURE
It was E.B. Taylor who conceptualized the definition of
culture in 1860s. According to him, culture is a complex
whole which consist of knowledge, beliefs, ideas, habits,
attitudes, skills, abilities, values, norms, art, law, morals,
customs, traditions, feelings and other capabilities of
man which are acquired, learned and socially
transmitted by man from one generation to another
through language and living together as members of the
society (Arcinas, 2016).
Below are other definitions of culture as mentioned in the book
of David and Macaraeg (2010) entitled “Sociology: Exploring
Society and Culture”:
 Culture is a historically transmitted pattern of
meanings embodied in symbols, a system of
inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic
form by means of which men communicate,
perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about
and attitudes towards life.-Chifford Geertz
 Culture consists of learned systems of meaning,
communicated by means of natural language
and other symbol systems. – Roy D’Andrade
 Culture is an extrasomatic (nongenetic
nonbodily), temporal continuum of things and
events dependent upon symbols, Culture
consists of tools, implements, utensils, clothing,
ornaments, customs, institutions, beliefs, rituals,
games, works of art, language, etc.- Leslie
White
 Culture consists in the shared patterns of
behavior and associated meanings that people
learn and participate in within the groups to
which they belong. Whitten and Hunter
 A society’s culture consists of whatever it is one
has to know or believe in order to operate in a
manner acceptable to its members. – Ward
Goodenough
 Culture is an instrumental reality, and
apparatus for the satisfaction of the biological
and derived need”.-Malinowski
 Culture in general as a descriptive concept
means the accumulated treasury of human
creation. – Kluckhohn and Kelly
 Culture refers to that part of the total setting of
human existence which includes the material
objects of human manufacture, techniques,
social orientations, points of view, and
sanctioned ends that are the immediate
conditioning factors underlying behavior or in
simple terms it is the “man made part of the
environment. - Herskovits
 A culture is the total socially acquired life-way or
life-style of a group of people. It consists of the
patterned, repetitive ways of thinking, feeling,
and acting that are characteristic of the
members of a particular society or segment of a
society. – Harris
 The concept of culture as everything that people
have, thinks, and does as members of a society.
This definition can be instructive because the
three verbs correspond to the three major
components of culture. That is, everything that
people have refers to material possessions;
everything that people think refers to those
things they carry around in their heads, such as
ideas, values, and attitudes; and everything that
people do refers to behavior patterns. Thus all
cultures comprise (a) material objects, (b))
ideas, values, and attitudes, and (c) patterned
ways of behaving. – Gary Ferraro
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
ACCORDING TO SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE:
Dynamic, flexible and adaptive – Culture necessarily
changes, and is changed by, a variety of interactions.
With individuals, media, and technology, just to name a
few.
– All cultures change, or else, they would have problems
adjusting and adapting to changing environments,
--Culture is adaptive and dynamic, once we recognize
problems, culture can adapt again, in a more positive
way, to find solutions. We need our cultural skills to stay.
Shared and maybe challenged - as we share culture
with others, we are able to act in a appropriate ways as
well as predict how others will act. Despite the shared
nature of culture, that doesn’t mean that culture is
homogenous (the same).
-It may be challenged by the presence of other cultures
and other social forces in society like modernization,
industrialization, and globalization.
Learned through socialization or enculturation
Culture is not biological, people do not inherit it but
learned as interact in society. Much of learning culture is
unconscious. People learn, absorb and acquire culture
from families, friends, institutions, and the media. The
process of learning culture is enculturation.
Patterned cultural socializations
Norms (for example) are cultural expectations in terms of
how one will think, feel, or behave as set by one's
culture. It sets the patterns in terms of what is
appropriate or inappropriate in a given setting some
forms of standards and expectations which in the end
regularize it.
Transmitted through socialization or enculturation
As we share our culture with others, we are able to pass
it on to the new members of society or the younger
generation in different ways.
Requires language and other forms of
communication- In the process of learning and
transmitting culture, symbols and language are
needed to communicate with others in society
FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF
ANTHROPOLOGISTS
Learned. Culture is learned, as each person must learn
how to “be” a member of that culture -Culture is acquired
by being born into a particular society in the process of
enculturation. Through language, the cultural traits of
society are passed on to younger members in the
process of growing up and through teaching.
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
Symbolic. Culture renders meaning to what people do.
Beliefs, religion, rituals, myths, dances, performances,
music. Artworks, sense of taste, education, innovations,
identity, ethnicity, and so on are meaningful human
expressions of what people do and how they act,
Systemic and Integrated Culture is systemic and
integrated as the parts of culture work together in an
integrated whole. The systems of meanings and many
other facets (sides) of culture such as kindred, religion,
economic activities. Inheritance, and political process, do
not function in isolation but an integrated whole that
makes society work
Shared- Culture is shared, as it offers all people ideas
about behavior. Since culture is shared within exclusive
domains of social relations, societies operate differently
from each other leading for cultural variations
Encompassing- Culture covers every feature of
humanity. Around the world, people as members of their
own societies establish connections with each other and
form relationship guided by their respective
ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
1. Symbols refers to anything that is used to stand
for something else. It is anything that gives
meaning to the culture. People who share a
culture often attach a specific meaning to an
object, gesture, sound, or Image Even the
meanings we provide to things such as colors
and graphic symbols provide understanding
which is common to a certain group of people
For instance, a cross is a significant symbol to
Christians
2. Language is known as the storehouse of
culture (Accinas, 2015). It system of words and
symbols used to communicate with other
people. We have a lot of dialects in the
Phillipines that provide a means of
understanding. Through these, culture is hereby
transmitted to future generation through learning
(David and Macaraeg, 2010)
3. Technology refers to the application of
knowledge and equipment to ease the task of
living and maintaining the environment; it
includes artifacts, methods and devices created
and used by people Apnas, 2016),
4. Values are culturally defined standards for what
is good or desirable, Values determine how
individuals will probably respond in any given
circumstances Members of the culture use the
shared system of values to decide what is good
and what is bad. This also refers to the abstract
concept of what is important and worthwhile.
Filipinos are known for the following values:
(a) compassionate;
(b)Spirit of kinship and camaracenie;
(c)hardwork and industry;
(d) ability to survive;
(e)faith and religiosity:
(f) flexibility, adaptability and creativity;
(g) joy and humor;
(h) family orientation:
(i) hospitality; and
(j) pakikipagkapwa-tan 5. Beliefs refers to the
faith of an
5. Beliefs refers to the faith of an individual
6. Norms are specific rules/standards to guide for
appropriate behavior (Arcinas, 2016). These are
societal expectations that mandate specific
behaviors in specific situations (David and
Macaraog, 2010). Like in school, we are
expected to behave in a particular way. If violate
norms, we look different. Thus, we can be called
as social deviants.
Туреs:
a. Proscriptive norm defines and tells us
things not to do
b. Prescriptive norm defines and tells us
things to do
Forms:
a. Folkways are also known as customs
(customary/repetitive ways of doing things); they
are forms of norms for everyday behavior that
people fallow for the sake of tradition or
convenience. For example, we Filipinos eat with
our bear hands.
b. Mores are strict norms that control moral and
ethical behavior; they are based on definitions of
right and wrong (Arcings, 2016). For example,
since our country Philippines is a Christian
nation, we are expected to practice
monogamous marriage. So it a person who has
two or more partners is looked upon as immoral.
polygamy is considered taboo in Philippine
society.
c. Laws are controlled ethics and they are morally
agreed, written down and enforced by an official
law enforcement agency (Arcings, 2016).
TWO COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
Sociologists describe two interrelated aspects of human
culture: the physical objects of the culture (material
culture) and the ideas associated with these objects
(non-material culture)
1. Material culture consists of tangible things (Ragga
2012) refers to the physical objects, resources, and
spaces that people use to define their culture. These
include homes, neighborhoods, cities, schools,
churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, offices,
factories and plants, tools, means of production, goods
and products, stores, and so forth. All of these physical
aspects of a culture help to define its members’
behaviors and perceptions
2. Non-material culture consists of intangible things
(Bangag, 2012). Non-material culture refers to the
nonphysical ideas that people have about their culture,
including beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, language,
organizations, and institutions. For instance, the non-
material cultural concept of religion consists of a set of
ideas and beliefs about God, worship, morals, and
ethics.
Modes of Acquiring Culture
1. Imitation- Children and adults alike have the
tendency to imitate the values, attitudes,
language and all other things in their social
environment. Some of those things imitated are
internalized in their personality and become a
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
part of their attitude, character and other
behavioral patterra.
2. Indoctrination or Suggestion – The may take
the form of formal training or informal teaching.
Formally, the person learns from school,
Informally, he may acquire those behaviors from
listening or watching, reading, attending training
activities or
3. Conditioning – The values, beliefs, and
attitudes of other people are acquired through
conditioning. This conditioning can through
interaction. Be reinforced through reward and
punishment.
Adaptation of Culture
1. Parallelism means that the same culture may
take place in two or more different places
Example: The domestication of dogs, cats, pigs
and other animals may have semblance in other
places
2. Diffusion refers to those behavioral patterns
that pass back and forth from ane culture to
another. This is the transfer or spread of culture
traits from one another brought about by change
agents such as people or media Examples: food
and eating practices, marriage and wedding
ceremonies, burial rituals, feast celebrations
3. Convergence takes place when two or more
cultures are fused or merged into one culture
making it different from the original culture
4. Fission takes place when people break away
from their original culture and start developing a
different culture of their own.
5. Acculturation refers to the process wherein
individuals incorporate the behavioral patterns of
other cultures into their own either voluntarily or
by force. Voluntary acculturation occurs through
imitation, borrowing, or personal contact with
other people
6. Assimilation occurs when the culture of a larger
society is adopted by a smaller society, that
smaller society assures some of the culture of
the larger society or cost society
7. Accommodation occurs when the larger
society and smaller society are able to respect
and tolerate each other’s culture even if there is
already a prolonged contact of each other’s
culture
Causes of Cultural Change
1. Discovery is the process of finding a new place
or an object, artefact or anything that previously
existed.
2. Invention implies a creative mental process of
devising, creating and producing something
new, novel or original, and also the utilization
and combination of previously known elements
to produce that an original or novel product
3. Diffusion is the spread of cultural traits or social
practices from a society or group to another
belonging to the same society or to another
through direct contact with each other and
exposure to new forms. It involves the following
social processes:
A. Acculturation-cultural borrowing and
cultural imitation
B. Assimilation- the blending or fusion of
two distinct cultures through long
periods of interaction
c. Amalgamation – the biological or
hereditary fusion of members of different
societies
d. Enculturation – the deliberate infusion
of a new culture to another
4. Colonization refers to the political, social, and
political policy of establishing a colony which
would be subject to the rule or governance of
the colonizing state.
5. Rebellon and revolutionary movements aim
to change the whole social order and replace the
leadership. The challenge the existing folkways
and mores, and propose a new scheme of
norms, values and organization
Cultural variation is the differences in social behaviors
that different cultures extbit around the world. What may
be considered good etiquette in one culture may be
considered bad etiquette in another. In relation to this,
there are important perceptions on cultural variability:
ethnocentrism, xerocentrism and cultural relativism.
Etnocentrism is a perception that arises from the fact
that cultures differ and each culture defines reality
differently. This happens when judging another culture
solely by the values and standards of one’s own culture
(Baleña, et.al,2016
Xenocentrism is the opposite of ethnocentrism, the
belief that one’s culture is interior compared to others.
People are highly influenced by the culture or many
culture outside the realm of their society. This could be
one of the effects of globalization.
Cultural relativism is an attempt to judge behavior
according to its cultural context (Baleña, et.al,2016). It is
a principle that an individual person’s beliefs and
activities should be understood by others in terms of that
individual’s own culture. This concept emphasizes the
perspective that no culture is superior to any other
culture (Arcings, 2016) because
(a) different societies have different moral code;
(b) the moral code of a society determines what is right
or wrong within the society;
(c) there are no moral truths that hold for all people at all
times;
(d) the moral code of our own society has no special
status, it is but one among many, and
(e) it is arrogant for us to judge other cultures, so we
have to be tolerant to them.
Other Important Terms Related to Culture
1. Cultural diversity refers the differentiation of
culture all over the world which means there is
no right or wrong culture but there is appropriate
culture for the need of a specific group of
people.
2. Sub-culture refers to a smaller group within a
larger culture:
3. Counterculture reters cultural patterns that
strongly oppose those widely accepted within a
society
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
4. Culture lag is experienced when some parts of
the society do not change as fast as with other
parts and they are left behind
5. Culture shock is the inability to read meaning in
one’s surroundings, feeling of lost and isolation,
unsure to act as a consequence of being outside
the symbolic web of culture that binds others
6. Ideal culture refers to the social patterns
mandated by cultural values and norms.
7. Real culture refers to the actual patterns that
only approximate cultural expectations.
8. High culture refers to the cultural patterns that
distinguish a society’s elite
9. Popular culture reters to the cultural patterns
that are widespread among a society’s
population
10. Culture change is the manner by which culture
evolves.
MODULE 3
Cultural Variation refers to the rich diversity in social
patterns that different human group exhibit around the
world.
Cultural Universals are patterns or traits that are
globally common to all societies.
1. Subculture are culture that is shared with a
distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and
values which differ from a larger society. The
group of society who exhibit subculture have a
specific and unique set of beliefs and values that
set them apart from the dominant culture
2. Counter Culture as a culture practice by groups
whose values and norms place it at odds with
mainstream society or a group that actively
rejects the dominant cultural values and norms
3. High Culture is a culture practiced and
patronized by the upper classes of the society.
4. Popular Culture is a culture practiced or
patronized by the middle and working classes of
the society.
Ethnocentrism is the regard that one’s own culture and
society is the center of everything and seen as the most
efficient and superior among the cultures in the world
3. It preserves human cultures. Respect with the
diverse set of traditions, ideas and practices
would help preserve the Culture .
4. Cultural relativism creates a society without
judgement. Worrying and practicing your own
culture prevent disagreement & judgement in the
society.
Culture is evolving: New things are added to material
cultures every day can cause cultural change.
Cultural Change is observed when new opens up new
ways of living and when new ideas enter a culture as a
result of globalization
MODULE 4
Culture is defined as “that complex whole which
encompasses beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws,
norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything
that a person learns and shares as a member of a
society” (Taylor, 2010). It is by-product of the attempt of
humans to survive their environment and to compensate
for their biological characteristics and limitations.
Evolution is a natural process of biological changes
occurring in a population across successive generations
(Banaag, 2012 p.31)
Moreover, man’s progression and characteristics are
essential in understanding the capability for
adaptation.
Hominids “Manlike Primates”- The development of
the different species at primates which were able to
evolve in 40 million years ago. There have been various
relics of hominids which could be described as manlike
primates. They are Ramapithecus, Lucy and
Australopithecus
Homo Habilis “Handy Man”- The apelike man who first
to used stane tools as weapons and protection at their
enemies. They are recognized as the first true human.
Lived about 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago

Culture Shock is the feeling of disoriented, uncertain,

out of place or even fearful when immersed in an
unfamiliar culture

Cultural Relativism is the practice by assessing a

culture by its own standards rather that viewing it
through the lens of one’s own culture. It is the practice
that one must understood in the context of their locality

Advantages of Cultural Relativism

1. It promotes cooperation. Embracing the

differences of the different society can create
cooperation because it allows a stronger bond
with one another in the society.

2. Respect and Equality is encouraged. People

from different culture and experiences in the
society can promote respect and equality With
different ideas that share their own perspectives

Homo Erectus “The Upright Man” It was believed to

be the first man like creature that lived about 500,000
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
years ago in Asia, Africa and Europe. This manlike
specie could walk straight with almost the same brain
with modern man. He made refined stone stools
forhunting and weapons for protection of the enemies
The following are the major discovered fossils:
a. Pithecanthropus Erectus “Java Man” -
Discovered by Eugene Dubois at Trini, Java,
Indonesia in 1891
b. Sinanthropus Pekinensis “Poking Man” -
Discovered at Choukoutien village, Beijing,
China in 1929.
Homo Sapiens “The Thinking Man”-It was believed
that this was the direct descendant of modern man who
lived about 250,000 years ago. They had similar physical
descriptions with modern man. They originated as the
primitive men whose activities were largely dependent
on hunting, fishing and agriculture. They buried their
dead, used had tools and had religion
. The following are Home Sapiens subspecies:
a. Neanderthal Man-Discovered in Neanderthal
valley near Dusseldorf, Germany in 1856 who
lived in cave and dependent in hunting and
fishing it was believed to live in Europe, Asia and
Africa. As a prehistoric man, they were the first
to produce art in cave.
b. Cro Magnon Man – Discovered by a French
archanolog st Louis Lartet in the Ero Magnon
Cave in Southern France, paintings and crafting
decorated tools and accessories
Our Thinking capacity-
- The primary biological component of humans
that allowed for culture is the developed brain, it
has the necessary parts for facilitating pertinent
skills such as speaking, touching, feeling,
seeing, and smelling
- Compared with other primates, humans have a
larger brain, weighing 1.4 kg. Due to the size of
brain and the complexity of its parts, Humans
were able to create survival skills that helped
them adapt to their environment and outlive their
less adaptive biological relatives
Our gripping capacity.
- Look at your hands. Notice how your thumb
relates with your other fingers. This capacity to
directly oppose your thumb with your other
fingers is an exclusive trait of humans. It allowed
us to have a finger grip.
- The hand of human has digits (Fingers) that are
straights, as compared with the curved ones of
the other primates. Notice that the thumb of the
human is proportionately longer than those of
other primates. These characteristics of the
human hand allowed for two
Types of grip power and precision.
 Power grip enabled humans to wrap the thumb
and fingers on an object; it became the
cornerstone of our capacity to hold tool firmly for
hunting and other activities.
 Precision grip enabled humans to hold and
pick objects steadily using fingers. This capacity
was crucial for tool- making activities
Our speaking capacity
- As the brain is the capacity source of humans’
capacity to comprehend sound and provide
meaning to it. The vocal tract acts as the
mechanism by which sounds are produced and
reproduced to transmit ideas and values
- Humans have longer vocal tract compared with
chimpanzee. A longer vocal tract means that
there is a longer vibration surface, allowing
human to produce a wider array of sounds than
chimpanzees
- The tongue of human is also more flexible than
of a chimpanzee, allowing for more control in
making sounds.
Our standing-walking capacity
- Primates have two forms of locomotion:
bipedalism and quadropedalism, Bipedalism is
the capacity to walk and stand on two font,
whereas quadropedalism uses all four limbs.
Although apes are semi-bipedal, humans are the
only fully bipedal primates
- Being bipedal, humans gained more capacity to
move while carrying objects with their free hands
it gave humans more capacity or productivity
with their hands like hunting and foraging.
Cultural and Sociopolitical Development
The physical as well as the mental development of early
human beings helped them understand and adapt to
their existing environment. Culture enables the
members of society to develop ways of coping with
exigencies of nature as well as ways of harnessing their
environment (Panopio, et al, 1994)..
Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age) 3 million years to
8,000 BC
- Use of simple pebble tools
- Learned to live in caves.
- Discovered the use of fires
- Developed small sculptures; and monumental
painting, incised designs, and reliefs on the wall
of caves.
- “Food-collecting cultures”
Neolithic Age (New Stone Age) Occurred sometime
about 10,000 BCE
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
- Stone tools were shaped by pelishing or
grinding.
- Settlement in permanent villages.
- Dependence on domesticated plants or
animals.
- Appearance of such crafts as pottery and
weaving.
- “Food-producing cultures"
Age of Metals 4,000 B.C.-1,500 BC
- The used of metal such as bronze, copper, and
iron produced a new historical development form
cradles civilization of Egypt, Mesopotamia,
Persia, including India and China which later on
spread throughout Asia.
- The civilization which defines to a more
developed social, cultural, political and
economic system.
- It had already direct contacts through tribes,
kingdoms, empire and later on state which the
constant political activities were through
conquest, wars and trades
COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
As perceived by sociologists and anthropologists, culture
is rather a complex concept. To understand culture, one
must examine its major elements:
Material Culture it is the physical objects a
society produces, things people create and use.
These are tools, furniture, clothing, automobiles,
and computer systems, to name a few.
 Technology. A Society’s culture consists of not
only physical objects but also rules for using
those objects. Sociologists sometimes reter to
this combination of objects and rules as
technology
1. Non-material Culture-It consists of elements
termed norms, values, beliefs, and language
shared by the members of a society. Non-
material culture is considered as the carriers of
culture
 Language. Perhaps, the most defining
characteristics of human being is the ability to
develop and use highly complex systems of
symbols like language. A symbol, as sociologists
say, is the very foundation of culture. The
essence of culture is the sharing of meanings
among members of a society. Unless one shares
the language of a culture, one cannot participate
in it. (Fishman, 1985; p.128). Without language,
there will be no culture.
 Beliefs. These are ideas that people hold about
the universe or any part of the total reality
surrounding them. There are the things how
people perceive reality.
 Values. They are shared ideas about desirable
goals. They are the person’s ideas about worth
and desirability or an abstract of what is
important and worthwhile.
 Norms. These are shared rules of conduct that
specify how people ought to think and act. A
norm is ideas In the minds of the members of a
group put into a statement specifying what
members of the group should do, ought to do or
are expected to do under certain circumstances
(Homens, 1950: p. 123).
 Mores. These are norms associated with strong
ideas of right and wrong, Mores are standard of
conduct that are highly respected and valued by
the group and their fulfilment is felt to be
necessary and vital to group welfare.
 Folkways. These are norms that are simply the
customary, normal, habitual ways a group does
things. These customary ways are accumulated
and become repetitive patterns of expected
behavior which tends to become permanent
traditions. One of the essential features of
folkways is that there is no strong feeling of right
or wrong attached to them.
 Laws. These are often referred to as formal
norms. They are rules that are enforced and
sanctioned by the authority of the government.
The Legacy of Early Humans to Contemporary
Population
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the primary
transnational entity that manages and negotiates matters
relating to human heritage. It defined cultural heritage as
follows
Cultural heritage is not limited to material
manifestations, such as monuments and objects that
have been preserved over time. This notion also
encompasses living expressions and the traditions that
countless groups and communities worldwide have
inherited from their ancestors and transmit to their
descendants, in most cases, crally (UNESCO, 2010)
Heritage being tangible in the form of structures,
monuments, historical sites, and other artifacts.
Heritage being intangible in the form of literature, oral,
traditions, concepts, and values.
Movable tangible heritage pieces are often removed
from the sites where they were found and transferred to
museums for safekeeping and maintenance.
Immovable tangible heritage pieces are often left to
the elements of nature (ie., rain, wind, sand, sun), which
makes them vulnerable to decay and corrosion
MODULE 5
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
Context refers to the culture, language, social structures
and one’s position within that particular society. It also
includes history and the rolet people and institutions
around them performed in the past. For example, a
family’s economic class may have a huge impact on how
parents associate or deal with their children.
Gender stereotypes also bear strong influence on
socialization processes. Cultural expectations for gender
roles and gendered behavior are conveyed to children
through color-coded clothes and sorts of game
Robert Merton (1910-2003), pointed out that social
processes often have many functions.
Manifest functions are the consequences of a social
process that are sought or anticipated, while
Latent functions are the unsought consequences of a
social process. Latent functions can be beneficial,
neutral, or harmful

Race also pays a factor in socialization. Since white

people bear a disproportionate experience of police
violence, they can encourage their children to defend
and know their rights when the authorities try to violate
them, in contrast, parents of color must instruct their
children to remain calm, compliant and secure in the
presence of law enforcement. Dysfunction Social processes that have undesirable
consequences for the operation of society
The content and process comprise the work of this
undertaking. How parents assign chores or tell their
children to interact with police are examples of content
Conflict Theory
and process, which are also defined by the span of
socialization, the methods used, the people involved, Conflict theory looks at society as a competition for
and the type of experience. limited resources. This perspective is a macro level
approach most identified with the writings of German
Results are the outcome of socialization and refer to
philosopher and sociologist Karl Marx (1818-1883), who
the way a person conceives and conducts after
saw society as being made up of two Classes, the
undergoing this process.
bourgeoisie (capitalist) and the proletariat (workers),
As children mature, the results of socialization includes who must compete for social, material, and political
knowing how to obey rules, wait for their turn or organize resources. Social institutions like government, education,
their schedule to be productive. We can see the results and religion reflect this competition in their inherent
of socialization in everything, from men hitting the gym to inequalities and help maintain the unequal social
achieve appealing biceps to women wearing make ups structure
to look more attractive
The bourgeoisie owns and controls the means of
production, which leads to exploitation due to the profit
motive, in this arrangement, proletarians have only their
MODULE 6 labor to sell, and do not own or control capital, False
consciousness is Marx’s term for the proletarian’s
Social groups are fundamental parts of human life.
inability to see her real position within the class system,
They are a multitude of people who see each other often
a mis-recognition that is complicated by the control that
and think of themselves as part of a group. There
the bourgeoisie often exerts over the media outlets that
appears to be groups of people everywhere.
disseminate and normalize information.
Sociological Theories or Perspectives, Different
Class consciousness, or a common group identity as
sociological perspectives enable sociologists to
exploited proletarians and potential revolutionaries.
view social issues through a variety of Useful
lenses:

Structural-Functional Theory German sociologist Max Weber agreed with some of

Structural-functional theory, also called
functionalism, sees society as a structure with
interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and
social needs of the individuals in that society. Hebert
Spencer (1820-1903), who saw similarities between
society and the human body.
Emile Durkheim, another early sociologist, appalled
Spencer’s theory to explain how societies change and
survive over time. Durkheim believed that society is a
complex system of interrelated and interdependent parts
that work together to maintain stability Durkheim 1893),
and that society is hold together by shared values,
languages, and symbols. Social facts are the laws,
morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions,
rituals, and all of the cultural rules that govern social life
(Durkheim 1895).
Mark’s main ideas, but also believed that in addition to
economic Inequalities, there were inequalities of political
power and social structure that caused conflict. Weber
noted that different groups were affected differently
based on education, race, and gender, and that people’s
reactions to inequality were moderated by class.
Differences and rates of social mobility, as well as by
perceptions about the legitimacy of those in power.
Ida B. Wells articulated the conflict perspective when
she theorized a connection between an Increase in
lynching and an Increase in black socio-economic
mobility in the United States from the late 1800s into the
mid-20th century. She also examined competition within
the feminist movement as women fought for the right to
vote, yet the presumably egalitarian mainstream
suffragist movements were headed by white women who
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
excluded black women from suffrage. W.EB. DuBois
also examined race In the US, and in U.S. colonies from
a conflict perspective, and emphasized the importance
of a reserve labor force, made up of black men. Race
conflict paradigms will be examined later in the course in
the module devoted to race and ethnicity.
Symbolic Interactionist Theory
Symbolic Interactionist Theory is a micro-level theory
that focuses on meanings attached to human interaction
both verbal and non verbal, and to symbols.
Communication-the exchange of meaning through
language and symbols-is believed to be the way in which
people make sense of their social worlds.
Charles Horton Cooley introduced the looking-glass
self (1902) to describe how a person’s self of self grows
out of interactions with others, and he proposed a
threefold process for this development:
1)we see how others react to us,
2) we interpret that reaction (typically as positive or
negative) and
3) we develop a sense of self based on those
interpretations. “Looking-glass” is an archaic term for a
mirror, so Cooley theorized that we “see” ourselves
when we interact with others.
George Herbert Mead (1853-1932) founder of
symbolic interactionism, though he never published
his work on this subject (Lakasta and Restres 1993).
Herbert Blumer, actually coined the term “symbolic
interactionism” and outlined these basic premises:
humans interact with things based on meanings ascribed
to those things; the ascribed meaning of things comes
from our interactions with others and society; the
meanings of things are interpreted by a person when
dealing with things in specific circumstances (Blumer
1969).
Social scientists who apply symbolic-interactionist
thinking look for patterns of interaction between
individuals. Their studies often involve observation of
one-on-one interactions.
Erving Goffman (1922-1982) To develop a technique
called dramaturgical analysis. Goffman used theater as
an analogy for social interaction and recognized That
people’s interactions showed patterns of cultura:
“scripts.”
FORMS OF FOCIAL GROUP
Groups are formed as an assemblage of people who
often interact with each other on the basis of a common
outlook concerning behavior and a sense of common
identity. A social group may consist of two or more
individuals who do things together with a common goal
and interest.
Examples:
- Family relatives couples friends
- Church mate schoolmate co-workers business
- Neighborhood organization team mate
Group
- Is any collection of people who interact on the
basis of shared expectations regarding one
another’s behavior (Kornblum, 2003)
- Is consist of two or more people who are bound
together in relatively stable patterns of social
interaction and who share a feeling of unity
Hughes and Kramer, 2009)
- is comprised of two or more persons who are in
social interaction, who are guided by similar
norms, values and expectations, and who
maintain a stable pattern of relationship over a
period of time. –
- is a specified number of individuals where each
recognizes members from non-member;
- it is a collection of individuals characterize by:
A) Communication
B) Recognition c
C) Specialized roles
Three Requirements for a group.
1. There must be two or more people..
2. There must be interaction
3. The members must be together physically
Factors that influence Groups
1. Motivational base shared by individuals (based
on needs, interests, desires, noble activities,
insecurities, or problems)
2. Size of the group
3. Type of group goals
4. The kind of a group cohesion/unity (the
capability to function and interact collectively in
the direction of their goals)
General Characteristics of a Group
Group is characterized by the following:
1. A group has identity identifiable by both its
members and outsiders:
2. A group has a social structure in the sense that
each part or member has a position related to
other positions.
3. Each member in a group has roles to play.
4. There is mutual reciprocity among members in a
group
Group as distinguished from other Collection of
People like:
1. Aggregate – a simple collection of people who
are in the same place at the same time without
interacting with each other Eg People inside the
movie house, people riding in an LRT/MRT
2. Category – a simple collection of people who
share distinctive characteristics (uge, sex, race,
income/social class, occupation, religion, political
beliefs, ethnicity,
e.g. Males/females in the society; the infants, children,
youth; adults/ the aged; stum dwellers; the middle class;
the millionaires
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
3. Collectivity-Collection of people in a given place
and time
e.g. Crowds, masses, public and social movements are
temporary groups
IMPORTANCE OF A GROUP
1. A group is a major source of solidarity and
cohesion.
2. A group reinforces and strengthens our integration
into society.
3. A group shares basic survival and problem-solving
techniques to satisfy personal and emotional needs.
4. A group gives meaning and support to an
individual.
HOW IS A GROUP FORMED?
1. The desire to achieve an objective
2. To meet the needs of the individual member
3. People are treated like by others
CLASSIFICATION OF GROUPS
GROUP BOUNDARIES
A. IN-GROUP
Group with which the individual identifies and which
gives him sense of belonging, solidarity,
camaraderie, esprit de corps, and a protective
attitude toward the other members.
-The members are loyal to each other and share
common norms, activities, goals and background.
B. OUT-GROUP
Viewed as outsiders by the in-group:
-Any member of the in group has insufficient contact
with the members of the out-group
-Members of the in group have feelings of
strangeness, dislikes, avoidance, antagonism,
indifference and even hatred
-Toward the out-group
C. REFERENCE GROUP
- Group that is significant to us as models even
though we ourselves may not be a part of the group.
– is one which an individual does not only have a
high regard for but one after which he or she
patterns his/her life Its central aspect is self-
identification rather than actual membership
TYPES OF GROUP BOUNDARIES
A. FORMAL GROUP BOUNDARIES groups in
which duties and privileges are clearly defined and
expectations are prescribed, independent of the
person who happens to occupy a given position
Individual roles are explicitly designed as president,
v-president, secretary, and treasurer with
constitution or sot of by laws
B. INFORMAL GROUP BOUNDARIES Arises
spontaneously out of the interactions of two or more
people
-They are unplanned, have no explicit rules for
membership, and do not have specific objectives to
be attained -The members exchange confidences,
share a feeling of intimacy and acquire a sense of
belongingness,
CONSEQUENCES OF GROUP BOUNDARIES
a. People gain a clearer sense of their diversity
b. Ethnocentrism may grow
c. Serious personal and social problems may
arise
FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL GROUPS
The primary group plays a vital part in the
socialization process. It forms the social nature and
ideals of individuals especially in shaping the culture
and personality where a person learns social norms,
beliefs, morals, and values
Secondary Group members tend to relate to others
only in specific roles and for practical reasons. This
group helps in fulfilling various types of human
needs and brings about social awareness and social
change. Also, this group helps fulfill various special
interests in such fields
An in group may form within our secondary group
such as our workmates, group mates, or assembly
which functions as a
Reference Group provides standard of
measurement. This group has a strong impact on
how a person thinks or acts
Social Network are influential wide range of omline
platform used for building social relations
MODULE 7
STATE were the dominant actors in the international
arena.
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
- is an organized political community acting under
a government and united by common set of
laws. It uses absolute power in directing the path
of a society. It also uses complete political
coerciveness, which may come in the form of
armed forces personnel, stricter laws, and rigid
government policies in order to attain its societal
goals and objectives.
Market exchange is the primary form of economic
subsistence of a state wherein standardized currencies
are being used to exchange commodities.
Government is the particular group of people that
controls the state at a given time. In other words,
governments are the means through which the state
power us employed like applying the rule of law.
Nation which refers to a large geographical area and the
people therein who perceives themselves as having a
common identity.
The state is a political geopolitical entity; the nation is a
cultural or ethnic entity.
These laws are created to manage the interaction
among individuals and between the individuals and the
state. As a citizen of a country, an individual is subjected
to the legal norms in the territory. These norms may
include paying taxes, rendering military services, and
contributing to the political life in the society.
The State intends to be a strong actor in the
performance of the three important political functions. The
state, in full form,
1. maintains control over violence in its
domain
2. allocates resources and rewards at its
discretion, and
3. stands as the major focus of identity for
the large majority of the people under its
authority.
ELEMENTS OF STATES
1. Population It is the people who make the state.
Population is essential for the state. Without
population there can be no State.
2. Territory There can be no state without a fixed
territory. People need territory to live and
organize themselves socially and politically. It
may be remembered that the territory of the
states includes land, water and airspace.
3. Government It is the organization or machinery
or agency of the State which makes,
implements, enforces, and adjudicates the laws
of the state.
4. Sovereignty It is the most exclusive elements of
State. Without sovereignty no state can exist.
State has the exclusive title and prerogative to
exercise supreme power over all its people and
territory. It is the basis which the State regulates
all aspects of the life of the people living in its
territory.
FORMS OF STATES
A. Authoritarian governments differ in who holds
power and in how control they assume over those
who govern.
Monarchy is a form of government in which supreme
power is absolutely lodged with an individual, who is the
head of the state, often for life or until abdication. The
person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch.
Some monarchs hold unlimited political powers while many
constitutional monarchies, such as the United Kingdom and
Thailand. Currently, 44 nations in the world have monarchs as
head of state.
Totalitarianism is a political system that strives to
regulate nearly every aspect of public and private life. It
theoretically permits no individual freedom and that
seeks to subordinate all aspects of individual life to the
authority of the state. Modern examples of totalitarian states
include the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, Nazi Germany
under Adolf Hitler, the People’s Republic of China under Mao
Zedong, and North Korea under the Kim Dynasty.
B. Oligarchic Government An oligarchy is a form of
government in which power effectively rests with a
small-elite segment of society distinguished by
royalty, wealth, family, military, or religious
hegemony. An oligarchy does not have one clear
ruler, but several powerful people who rule.
Theocracy is a government by divine guidance or by
official who are regarded as divinely guided. Leaders are
members of the clergy, and the state’s legal system is
based on religious law. Contemporary examples of
theocracies include Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Vatican.
C. Democratic Government
Democracy is a form of government in which the right to
governs is held by the majority of citizens within a
country or a state. The two principles of democracy are
that all citizens have equal access to power and that all
citizens enjoy universally recognized freedoms and
liberties. People can either become country leaders
through electoral process or elect leaders who represent
the core values and beliefs. There are 99 democratic
nations globally. Examples of democratic nations are
Philippines, Norway, New Zealand, United States of America,
Canada, Columbia, Italy, and South Africa.
ROLES OF STATES
1. State provides security against external aggressions
and war. For this purpose, the state maintains an army.
2. State ensures security against internal disturbances
disorders and crimes. For this purpose, the state
maintains police.
3. State legally grants and guarantees the rights of the
people.
4. The state issues and regulates currency and coinage.
5. State undertakes steps for the creation of necessary
conditions for the socio-economic-politico-cultural
development of the people.
6. State grants citizenship and protects their interests
and rights.
7. State conducts foreign relations, foreign trade and
economic relations.
8. State secures the goals of national interest in
international relations
Nonstate institutions are people and/ or organization
that participate in international affairs and relations but
are not affiliated with any state or nation. These nonstate
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
institutions are equally capable of influencing policy
formation and implementation.
BANKS is a financial institution licensed to provide
several financial services to different types of customers.
Operation mainly for their deposits and lending
functions. Customers are allowed to deposit their money
to banks which grow through an interest rate. Banks also
provide loans, with an interest to customers who need
money either for personal consumption or for investment
and businesses.
Major Forms of Banks
Commercial Banks
 Financial deposit with security and convenience which
could be in the form of credit cards, debit cards, and
check
 Provide business, individual, and personal loans,
enabling commercial banks to earn interest
 Serve as payment agents within and outside the
country through wire transfer
 Subjected to more regulations
Investment Banks
 Financial intermediaries that performs a variety of
services for businesses and some government
 Issues securities to the investing public
 Make markets, facilities, mergers, and other corporate
reorganizations
 Acts as brokers for institutional clients
 Under the supervision of regulatory bodies such as the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), FINRA,
and the US Treasury
 Subjected to fewer regulations
The two most well-known financial institutions that are actively
shaping the socioeconomic development of the Philippines are
the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. They have
been providing financial aid to the Philippine government and
various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to facilitate
their development objectives.
CORPORATIONS it is a form of business operation that
declares the business as a separate entity guided by a
group of officers known as the Board of Directors. They
were created by individuals, stockholders or
shareholders, with the purpose of operating for profit.
They have all legal rights of an individual, except for the
right to vote and certain limitations. They are given the
right to exist by the state that issues their charter.
Corporation example includes General Motors Corporation an
icon of American craftmanship, Apple Corporation as one of
the famous tech companies, Amazon Corporation founded by
Jeff Bezos is the world’s leading eCommerce and innovation
company, Domino’s Pizza is a global food chain company
delivering quality food worldwide.
A corporation can be created by a single shareholder or
by multiple shareholders who come together to pursue
common goal. A corporate can be formed as a for-profit
or a non-for-profit entity.
• For-profit entities form most corporations, and
they are formed to generate revenues and provide a
return to their shareholders, according to their
percentage of ownership in the corporation.
• Not-for-profit entities operate under the
category of charitable organizations, which are
dedicated to a particular social cause such as
educational, religious, scientific, or research purposes.
Rather than distribute revenues to shareholders, not-for-
profit organizations use their revenues to further their
objectives
Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are business
organization that extends ownership, management,
production, and sales activities into several or more
countries. MNCs are boon to the economic growth and
development of the states.
COOPERATIVES are people-centers enterprises
owned, controlled and run by and for their members to
realize their common economic, social, and cultural
needs and aspirations.
Cooperatives are businesses governed on the principle of one
member, one vote. There are several common types of co-ops,
including cooperatives owned and operated by:
a. The people working there (worker cooperatives);
b. The people buying the co-op’s goods or services
(consumer cooperatives)
c. The people collaborating to process and market their
products (producer cooperatives); and
d. Groups uniting to enhance their purchasing power
(purchasing cooperatives)
Cooperatives play a critical role in building community
wealth for several key reasons:
a. They often provide quality goods and services to
areas that have been shunned by traditional businesses
because they are deemed less profitable
b. They typically invest in local communities
c. Since most cooperative members are local residents,
business profits remain and circulate in the community
d. Cooperative membership builds social networks and
strengthens social cohesion which are essential
elements of a strong, healthy communities by connecting
diverse community residents
e. Purchasing cooperatives help small, local businesses
remains competitive within markets dominated by large,
national retailers
f. Worker cooperatives create quality, empowering jobs
for community members
TRADE UNIONS are organizations formed by workers
from related fields that work for common interest of its
members. They help workers in issues like fairness of
pay, good working environment, hours of work and
benefits. They represent a cluster of workers and
provide a link between the management and workers.
The purpose of these unions is to look into the
grievances of wagers and present a collective voice in
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
front of the management. It acts as the medium of
communication between the workers and management.
Functions of Trade Unions:
1. Advocating for fairness and equality for workers’
compensations
2. Securing better working conditions for workers
3. Trade Unions will organize strikes and demonstrations
on behalf of worker demands
4. Fight for social welfare for workers
5. Promote and advocate for education and proper
training for workers
6. Advocate and fight the government for legislative
protections of the workers
7. Promote and advocate for organizational growth and
stability
8. Trade Unions acts as representatives of workers in
national and international forums
9. Involved in collective bargaining agreements and
disputes with management to settle any conditions on
employment
10. Advising management on correct personnel policies
and procedures
11. Involved in collective and personal collective
grievances between management and workers.
TRANSNATIONAL ADVOCACY GROUPS (TAGs) play
an increasingly important role in international and
regional politics and have contributed to changing
policies of multilateral organizations and states. They are
particularly visible in contentious areas as human rights,
environmental issues, international peace, and women’s
rights. They have specific roles to partake that can be
achieved through effective measures, case-specific
methods, and activities. TAGs serve as international
catalysts for change, aiming to achieve international
changes towards policies and practices. The very
essence of TAGS is the formation and development of
their advocacies and campaigns that represent causes,
ideas, values, and beliefs.
DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES have been established to
develop the cooperation between the public sector,
private sector, and civil society. These are organizations
with specific aims and goals. The common denominator
among these organizations is the term development.
These agencies concentrate on the growth, progression,
and advancement of specific concerns, which can be
infrastructure or social institutions.
Types of Development Agencies:
International Organization is an institution with
membership drawn from two or more countries. Its
activities transcend national boundaries as it facilitates
cooperation among its members in the performance of
one or more tasks. The international organization can be
public or private. A public organization is an international
government organization (IGO) with states as its
members. A private organization has a membership of
individuals or groups and is an international
nongovernment organization (INGO) that originate for
reasons other than politics such as International Criminal
Police Organization (Interpol). INGOs may lobby or work
regularly with the government and IGOs.
Non-government Organization is a non-profit group
that functions independently of any government. It
serves the social or political goals such as humanitarian
and environmental causes. Most NGOs aim to promote
the practice of democracy among societies and social
change through their initiatives and organizational
methods. Many NGOs have targeted their efforts toward
population groups that tend to be underserved by
governmental programs, including women, the aged,
physically and mentally disabled persons, the poor, and
various social groups that have been marginalized by
virtue of race, religion, ethnicity, caste, and social class.
Interrelationship of Government and Non-state
Institutions
Government rules society. This reflects how powerful
government institution can be. If nonstate institutions
interfere with the governing body, two possible things
can happen:
1. Integration among these two institutions may take
place to achieve precise solution towards development
2. Conflict and tension may also arise because one
could exceed the other in terms of societal control and
influences (Penninx, 2013)
Inherent Powers of the State:Art III Bill of Rights
Sec. 9
1.Power of eminent domain
2. Power of taxation
3. Police power - power of the state to enact laws and
regulations in relation to persons and property that will
promote public health, public morals, public safety and
general welfare and convenience.
Basis of the Police Power of the State
Two Latin Maxims:
1.Salus populi suprema est lex (the welfare of the
people is the supreme law)
2. Sic utere tou ut alienum non laedas (so use your
own as not to injure another’s property
Illustrations on the Police Power of the State ( Sec 9
Art. III1987 Constitution)
1.Public Health
2. Public Morals
3. Public Safety
4. General welfare and convenience
Importance of the Inherent or Essential Powers of
government
1.They all rest upon necessity because there can be no
effective government without them
2.They are inherent in sovereignty.
3.They are the ways by which State interferes with
private rights and properties
4. They are all legislative in character
5. They all presupposes an equivalent compensation
received directly or indirectly, by the person affected by
the exercise of these powers by the government
MODULE 8
Education is the social institution through which society
provides its members with important knowledge,
including basic facts, job skills, and cultural norms and
values (Macionis, 2012). Education is the acquisition of
knowledge, habits, skills, and abilities through instruction
and training or through self-activity. It is systematic
training of the moral and intellectual faculties of the
mind. It is the process of transmitting to the young, the
vital cultural heritage of a group.
TYPES OF EDUCATION
1. Formal education - This refers to the hierarchically
structured, chronologically graded educational system
from primary school to the university, including programs
and institutions for full time technical and vocational
training.
a. Elementary Education - involves compulsory, formal
education primarily concerned with providing basic
education, and usually corresponds to a traditional six
grades or seven grades, and in addition, to preschool
programs. Such preschool education normally consists
of kindergarten schooling but may cover other
preparatory courses as well.
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
b. Secondary Education - public schools and private
schools, is concerned primarily with continuing basic
education of the elementary level and expanding it to
include the learning of employable, gainful skills, usually
corresponding to four years of junior high school and two
years of senior high school.
c. Tertiary Education - Institutions of higher education
may be classified as either public or private college or
university, and public institutions of higher education
may further be subdivided into two types: state
universities and colleges and local colleges and
universities
2. Non-formal education - It refers to any organized
educational activity outside the established formal
system to provide selected types of learning to a
segment of the population. As a concept, non-formal
education emerged in response to the world crisis in
education identified by Philip H. Coombs in 1967, who
argued that the formal education system have failed to
address the changing dynamics of the environment and
the societies.
3. Informal education - It is a lifelong process whereby
every individual acquires from daily experiences,
attitudes, values, facts, skills, and knowledge or motor
skill from resources in his or her higher environment.
*Special Education - refers to the education of persons
who are physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, or
culturally different from socalled “normal” individuals,
such that they require modification of school practices to
develop their potential. Special education provides
distinct services, curricula, and instructional materials
geared to pupils or students who are significantly higher
or lower than the average or norm. SPED aims to
develop the maximums potential of the child with the
special needs to enable him/her to become self-reliant
and take advantage of the opportunities for a full and
happy life.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has signed a law
mandating all schools nationwide to ensure inclusive
education for learners with disabilities. Republic Act (RA)
11650, inked by Duterte on March 11, provides that no
learner shall be denied admission based on their disability.
Special education is designed to ensure that students with
disabilities are provided with an environment that allows them
to be educated effectively.
Four benefits of special and inclusive education
1. Tailors teaching for all learners
2. Makes differences less “different”
3. Provides support to all students
4. Creates high expectations for all
Why is special education and inclusive education
important in the Philippines?
To help enhance participation rate among children with
special needs, inclusive education has become the main
thrust in the education of children with special needs in
the Philippines. This is implemented through the
organization of SPED Center as resource center in
special needs education.
Functions of Education in the Society
As British sociologist Herbert Spencer explains,
functions are important to be performed as they make
the society whole. If each function is working well,
society attains progress.
1. Productive Citizenry Being a productive citizen
requires critical thinking. One must have the
ability to understand his or her duties and be
able to respond to them by making decisions.
Through education, individuals are
www.shsph.blogspot.com 6 introduced to
concepts concerning democracy, power,
inequality, and the like. This promotes greater
awareness in his or her society. It encourages
vigilance and participation. Educational
attainment does not only contribute to the
individual’s success but also to the betterment of
his or her environment.
2. Self-actualization Education develops one’s
sense of self. As a huge part of the discovery
process of oneself, education encourages having
the vision to become self-actualized. According
to Abraham Maslow, self-actualization is the
highest form of human need. It was defined as
“to become more and more what one is, to
become everything that one is capable of
becoming.” The concept of Maslow’s hierarchy
of needs is once that level is fulfilled the next
level up is what motivates us, and so on.
1.
Physiological needs - these are biological requirements for
human survival, e.g. air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth,
sex, sleep. If these needs are not satisfied the human body
cannot function optimally.
2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order,
law, stability, freedom from fear.
3. Love and belongingness needs -the need for
interpersonal relationships motivates behaviour Examples
include friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance, receiving
and giving affection and love. Affiliating, being part of a group
(family, friends, work).
4. Esteem needs - which Maslow classified into two
categories: (i) esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement,
mastery, and independence) and (ii) the desire for reputation or
respect from others (e.g., status, prestige). Maslow indicated
that the need for respect or reputation is most important for
children and adolescents and precedes real selfesteem or
dignity.
5. Self-actualization needs - realizing personal potential,
selffulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.
The primary function of education is the socialization
of the new members of the society. The late president
Ramon Magsaysay aptly observed that “education is
the greatest equalizer of opportunities” for everybody
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
Other most important objectives of education are:
1) Teaching basic skills, such as reading, writing, and
arithmetic.
2) Helping children develop skills in abstracting thinking
and problem solving.
3) Transmitting the cultural heritage, from which
individual may develop an appreciation of their society.
4) Communicating to children the basic value of the
society.
5) Teaching the special aspects of the culture, such as
art, music, literature, drama, science, technology, and
sports.
6) Teaching vocational skills that help individuals enter
the job market.
7) Training citizens for life within the political system of
their society.
8) Preparing children to live long and form meaningful
relationship with other human beings.
Primary Education as a Human Right
Primary education is essential in the early stages of
human life. Humans need education to enable them to
adapt to the dictates of their society.
The United Nations Educational Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declare that
education is a fundamental human right and essential for
the exercise of all other human rights.
Education is a powerful tool by which economically and
socially marginalized adults and children can lift
themselves out of poverty and participate fully as
citizens.
MODULE 9
Social stratification is an inherent character of all
societies. It is historical as we find it in all societies,
ancient and modern; and it is universal as it exists in
simple or complex societies. The social differentiation on
the basis of high and low is the historical heritage of all
societies.
Meaning and Nature of Social Stratification
Sociologists use the term social stratification to
describe the system of social standing.
o It refers to what sociologists call it as
“institutionalized inequality” of individual or
“social injustice” due to social categories (Ariola,
2012).
o It is an institutionalized pattern of inequality in
which social categories are ranked on the basis
of their access to scarce resources Brinkerhoff &
White, 1988).
o It is the way people are ranked and ordered in
society (Cole, 2019).
o It is a system whereby people rank and evaluate
each other as superior or inferior and, on the
basis of such evaluation, unequally reward one
another with wealth, authority, power, and
prestige. One result of each differentiation is the
creation of a number of levels within the society.
(Hebding & Glick, 1992)
o It is the hierarchical arrangement and
establishment of social categories that evolve
into a social group together with statuses and
their corresponding roles. (Panopio el al., 1994)
o It is the differentiation of a given population into
hierarchically superposed classes. It is
manifested in the existence of upper and lower
social layers. Its basis and very essence consist
in an unequal distribution of rights and
privileges, duties and responsibilities, social
values and privations, social power and
influences among the members of a society
(Sorokin, 1927).
Social differentiation refers to how people can be
distinguished from one another. People in a group may
differ in skin color, hair color, race, mental and
physical ability, and the like.
Social stratification refers to the ranking of people in a
society. Separation of people into social categories and
these categories are ranked as higher
or lower.
The individual’s position in the social structure is called
status.
The higher or lower positions that come about through
social stratifications are called statuses.
Ascribed statuses are assigned or given by the society
or group on the basis of some fixed category, without
regard to a person’s abilities or performance. These
include sex, family background, race, and ethnic
heritage.
Whereas, achieved statuses are earned by the individual
because of his or her talent, skills, occupation and
persevernace. These include, degree or educational
attainment, promotion, position, earned wealth and the
like.
Prestige refers to the evaluation of status. You have
prestige according to your status.
1. Power refers to the ability to influence other people. It
is getting what they want despite the unwillingness of
others to give in to their desires.
2. Prestige refers to the person’s position in the society.
This refers to having a certain status that enables
someone to have resources or opportunities.
3. Wealth refers to the amount of resources that a
person has (Arcinas, 2016).
Sources of Income. There are different sources of
income. These are the inhereted wealth, earned wealth,
profits, professional fees, salaries, wages, private relief,
among others.
Occupation. What people do for a living determines, to
a large extent, the social position of the person.
Occupation may be classified into professionals, non-
professionals (clerks, drivers, etc) proprietors of small
business, skilled workers, semi skilled workers, and
unskilled workers.
Education. Educational attainment of a person may be
categorized as masteral or doctoral degree holder,
college graduate, high school graduate, elemetary
school drop-out, among others.
Types of house dwellings. Dwellings can be
categorized as permanent house (concrete and excellent
in appearance), semi-permanent house (semi-concrete
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
and very good in appearance and construction),
temporary house (wood and fair in appearance and
construction), and poorly constructed house (houses
found in squatter areas, or those considered below-the-
bridge houses).
Location of residence. Power, prestige and wealth are
also attached to the location of residence. There is
disparity of social status when one residence is located
in Forbes Park, White Plains, squatter area,
mountainous-rugged area, in subdivision and non-
subdivision area.
Kinship or family. In the Philippines, when a person
belongs to the Ayala’s, Soriano’s, Zobel’s, Villar’s, that
person is regarded as belonging to the upper class (rich)
status. Children of sultans and datus are hgihly regarded
as rich. If a person is from a family whose house is
situated in the squatter’s area, that person is regarded
as poor or belonging to lower class status.
A. OPEN SYSTEM - It encourages people to strive and
achieve something. People belonging to one social class
have similar opportunities, similar lifestyles, attitudes,
behavior and possibly similar socio-economic positions.
1. Upper Class – The people in this class have great
wealth and sources of income.
2. Middle Class – The people in this class may belong
to the upper-middle class which is often made up of
highly educated business and professional people with
high incomes. Aside from generally command of high
income, people belonging to the upper-middle class
often have college education, live in comfortable homes,
own properties, have some money savings, and active
in community activities. People in the lower-middle class
have not achieved the same lifestyle of the upper –
middle class but somehow have modest income and live
in simple life.
3. Lower Class –The lower class is typified by poverty,
homelessness, and unemployment. The people in this
class belong to the bottom of socio-economic ladder.
B. CLOSED SYSTEM - Closed system accommodates
little change in social position. They do not allow people
to shift levels and do not permit social relationships
between levels.
1. Caste System – It is regarded as closed stratification
system in which people can do little or nothing to change
their social standing.
2. Estate System – It is somewhat a closed system in
which the person’s social standing is based on
ownership of land, birth, or military strength.
C. ETHNIC SYSTEM - This type of social stratification is
based on national origin, laguage and religion. Ethinicity
sets segments of society apart and each group has a
sense of identity. People interact more freely with those
people belonging to the same ethnic category.
Social mobility refers to the movement within the social
structure, from one social position to another. It means a
change in social status. All societies provide some
opportunity for social mobility.
KINDS OF SOCIAL MOBILITY
1. Social Mobility refers to the movement upward or
downward among the social positions in any given social
stratification. Vertical mobility refers to the movement
of people of groups from one status to another. It
involves change in class, occupation or power.
Horizontal mobility is a change in position without the
change in status. It indicates a change in position, within
the rage of the status.
2. Geographical Mobility is otherwise known as physical
mobility.
3. Role Mobility is the individual’s shifting from role to
role. Every member of a society has roles to play.
Different situations call for enactment of various roles.
In sociology, the functionalist perspective examines
how society’s parts operate.
Conflict theory focuses on the creation and
reproduction of inequality.
Symbolic-interactionism is a theory that uses everyday
interactions of individuals to explain society as a whole.
MODULE 10
THE MEANING OF SOCIAL INEQUALITY
Social inequality is the difference in the distribution of
social desirables such as wealth, power, and prestige. It
also refers to the unequal opportunities of individuals
based on their social class or status.
Social inequality is characterized by the existence of
unequal opportunities and rewards for different social
positions or statuses within a group or society. It
contains structured and recurrent patterns of unequal
distributions of goods, wealth, opportunities, rewards,
and punishments.
1. Inequality in the access to social, political, and
symbolic capital
Social Capital is the ability of a collective to act together
to pursue a common goal. It refers to the connection of
individuals within the society.
Political Capital refers to the trust, good will, and
influence possessed by a political actor, such as
politician, to mobilize support toward a preferred policy
outcome.
Symbolic Capital refers to the resources that one
possesses which is a function of honor, prestige or
recognition, or any other traits that one values within a
culture.
Government Programs Addressing these
Inequalities are:
1. Conditional Cash Transfer program locally known as
Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program, or 4Ps, is a
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
government program that provides conditional cash
grants to the poorest of the poor in the Philippines.
2. Agrarian reform in the Philippines seeks to solve the
centuries old problem of landlessness in rural areas.
Through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
(CARP) initiated in 1987, the government addressed key
national goals: the promotion of equity and social justice,
food security and poverty alleviation in the countryside.
3. SK Reform Act of 2015 has the provisions that
prohibits political dynasty. It prohibits any person to run
in any Sanggunian Kabataan Office either elected or
appointed if it has a relative up to second degree in the
barangay level to governorship.
4. The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary
Education Act is a law that institutionalizes free tuition
and exemption from other fees in state universities and
colleges (SUCs), local universities and colleges (LUCs)
in the Philippines. It is intended to give underprivileged
Filipino students a chance to earn a college degree. The
law allows financially-able students to avail of the free
higher education provision
2. Minority groups are groups composed of less-
dominant classifications in society that experience
disproportionately lower opportunities than their
dominant counterparts.
1. Gender Inequality
Programs:
The Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive
Development (PPGD) rests on a vision of development
that is equitable, sustainable, free from violence,
respectful of human rights, supportive of self-
determination and the actualization of human potentials,
and participatory and empowering.
The Magna Carta of Women (MCW) is a
comprehensive women’s human rights law that seeks to
eliminate discrimination through the recognition,
protection, fulfillment, and promotion of the rights of
Filipino women.
2. Ethnic Minorities Because some minorities live
traditionalistic lives far away from the city and
technology, and some may appear differently than usual,
they have been consistently labeled and treated as
people with minimal knowledge and capabilities.
Programs:
Republic Act 8371, known as the Indigenous Peoples
Rights Act (IPRA), was enacted in 1997. It has been
praised for its support for the cultural integrity of
indigenous peoples, the right to their lands and the right
to self-directed development of these lands.
3. Other Minorities This may include people with
disabilities or people with religions that are less
prevalent in society.
Programs:
Republic Act No. 9442, an Act Amending Republic
Act No. 7277, Otherwise known as the Magna Carta for
Disabled Persons, and For Other Purposes’ Granting
Additional Privileges and Incentives and Prohibitions on
Verbal, Non-verbal Ridicule and Vilification Against
Persons with Disability.
Enactment of Anti-Bullying Law which mandates
directed all elementary and secondary schools to adopt
policies to address the existence of bullying in their
respective institutions.
Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development This Agenda is a plan of
action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to
strengthen universal peace in larger freedom.
GOALS AND TARGETS OF 2030 AGENDA
a. People
b. Planet
c. Prosperity
d. Peace
e. Partnership
Sustainable Development Goals
o Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
o Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and
improved nutrition and promote sustainable
agriculture
o Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-
being for all at all ages
o Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality
education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all
o Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower
all women and girls
o Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable
management of water and sanitation for all.
o Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable,
sustainable and modern energy for all.
o Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and
sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment and decent work for all.
o Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote
inclusive and sustainable industrialization and
foster innovation.
o Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among
countries.
o Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
o Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and
production patterns.
o Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate
change and its impacts*
o Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the
oceans, seas and marine resources for
sustainable development.
o Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote
sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,
sustainably manage forests, combat
desertification, and halt and reverse land
degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
o Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive
societies for sustainable development, provide
access to justice for all and build effective,
accountable and inclusive institutions at all
levels.
o Goal 17. Strengthen the means of
implementation and revitalize the global
partnership for sustainable development.
MODULE 11
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
As inspired by Karl Marx’s analysis in the rise of
industrialization, he defined social inequality as the
difference in the distribution of social desirables such as
wealth, power, and prestige. It also refers to the unequal
opportunities of individuals based on their social status.
Social Inequality includes:
1. Access to social, political, and symbolic capital
2. Gender Inequality
3. Ethnic Minorities
4. Other Minorities
5. Global inequality
6. International inequality
o In a functionalist society, minorities also play
social roles that contribute to social balance and
equilibrium. However, these roles are bound by
limitations and social norms.
o In conflict societies, minority groups are seen as
lower-class individuals that will not be able to
keep up with the consistent competition
occurring within the environment.
o In both societies, discrimination against
minorities is possible. Inequality among minority
groups is greatly driven by global inequalities
significantly coming from the influence of richer,
more influential countries.
MODULE 12
Adaptation - A change or the process of change by
which an organism or species becomes better suited to
its environment is called adaptation. This also refers to
the action or process of adapting or being adapted or the
process of changing to suit different conditions.
 Adaptations enhance the fitness and survival of
everyone.
 Adaptation is not always easy and not
something simple. An individual or organism
must be physically fit and viable at all stages of
its development evolution to be able to survive.
A) Structural adaptations are physical features of an
organism such as shape, body covering, armament; and
even the internal organization (e.g. a penguin has
blubbered to protect itself from freezing temperatures).
B) Behavioral adaptations are composed of inherited
behavior chains and/or the ability to learn (e.g. bears
hibernate in winter to escape the cold temperature and
preserve energy).
C) Physiological adaptations permit the organism to
perform special functions like venom (in the snakes and
the like), secreting slime, phototropism; and more
general functions such as growth and development,
temperature regulation and ionic balance. Making
adjustments to decisions and activities in order to
manage risks.
Behavioral adaptation is defined as the things
organisms do to survive. They may try to work on new
ways to meet own goals more effectively. Learned and
not always heritable.
ADAPTATION TO ENVIRONMENT IN SEVERAL WAYS
A) Genetic change is an inherited or acquired
modification in organisms that makes them better suited
to survive and a particular environment.
B) Developmental adjustments. One of the more
powerful types of adjustments to environmental stresses
is a change in growth patterns and development. This
occurs in childhood and typically results in anatomical
and/or physiological changes that are mostly irreversible
in adulthood.
C) Acclimatization and cultural practices. These
reversible changes are referred to as acclimatization or
acclimatory adjustment. It is useful to consider the
different forms of acclimatization in terms of the length of
time over which they can occur.
D) Use of technology. Humans do not only interact with
their environments biologically. People invented
technological aids that allowed us to occupy new
environments without having to first evolve biological
adaptations to them. Human made technology
eliminates the biological adaptive advantages of
particular individuals or groups.
Mitigation is another term for adaptation to climate
change which is defined as technological change and
substitution that reduces resource inputs and emissions
per unit of output.
Adaptation is a broader one than mitigation because
adaptation requires a good understanding of the natural
environment and the ongoing effects of climate change
within and needs a thorough earth and environment
observation.
A) Using efficient energy generation technology.
B) Using more efficient energy end user technology.
C) Replacing fossil fuels with none or low carbon
emitting energy generating technology such as
renewable energy sources or nuclear energy.
D) Adopting a more sustainable natural resource
management.
E) Harvesting or extraction technologies and practice.
Transnational Migration and Overseas Filipino
Workers
A) International Migration is the permanent transfer of
residence from one country to another. It is the change
of residence over national boundaries. An international
migrant is someone who moves to a different country.
International migrants can be further classified as legal
immigrants, illegal immigrants and refugee. Legal
immigrants are those who moved with the legal
permission of the receiver nation. Illegal immigrants
are those who moved without legal permission, and
 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
refugees are those crossed an international boundary to
escape persecution.

B) Internal Migration is a change in residence within a

country and refers to a change of residence within
national boundaries, such as between states, provinces,
cities, or municipalities. An internal migrant is someone
who moves to a different administrative territory.

C) Circulation Migration is a temporary movement of a

person.

Migration is not a one-way street.

Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a person of Filipino

origin who works and lives outside the country. This term
applies to Filipinos who are abroad indefinitely as
citizens or as permanent residents of a different country
and to those Filipino citizens who are abroad for a
limited, definite period as workers or as students.