UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
NOTES/REVIEWER - PRELIMS
Module 1: Human Variation
SOCIAL/CULTURAL/POLITICAL BEING
● As social beings we always belong to
a group and interact with people.
● As cultural beings or cultural bearers,
we carry our ancestors’ traditions and
beliefs, speak the language of our
parents, practice faith, etc.
● As political beings we are subjected to
power relations. Our very existence,
our relationships, our decisions, our
choices, our rights, and our privileges
are limited because we are governed
by the rules and laws of our society.
JOURNEY IN DISCOVERING ONESELF
● Society = constantly changing
○ Indirectly or directly shaped &
influenced by various factors
- World = one COMPLEX WHOLE that
affects the sum of its parts
- Starting point of understanding the
complex whole is understanding
oneself (culturally, socially,
politically)
ONE BIOLOGICAL NATURE YET DIFFERENT IN
MANY ASPECTS
- INTELLECT sets humans apart from
other species
- Humans have similar biological
features but the likeliness is
ABSOLUTE
- Human genetic makeup is not the
same with each individual
- Humans draw strength & maximize
potentials because of others
- Survivability = done because of
adaptation
SOCIAL, CULTURAL, & POLITICAL BEING
| SOCIAL
- Always belong to a group & interact
with people
| CULTURAL
- Carry our ancestors’ traditions and
beliefs, speak the language of our
parents, practice faith, etc.
| POLITICAL
- Subjected to power relations
- We, as humans, are still limited due to
the rules and laws of our society
WHY IS STUDYING CULTURE SIGNIFICANT?
| CULTURAL
➔ broadens our perspective on how we
value our own and others’ cultures.
➔ Gives us background on how diverse
and complex others’ customs,
traditions, and cultural practices are,
& ➔ Teaches us the value of religious
tolerance, and respect for people of
different races, religions, gender, and
political background.
➔ Promotes the importance of arts, local
and national heritage, and history,
and
➔ Promotes understanding and
appreciation.
NOT
| SOCIAL
❖ gives us meaning to the importance of
the self in relation to others (kapwa).
 ❖ It promotes a full understanding of – Study of humans, past, and present in order
how social groups affect our thinking, to understand the full sweep of cultures
and behavior. across all human history
❖ It acknowledges that social institutions SOCIOLOGY
like our families that shape and affect
– Sociology is the study of society, social
how we live our life.
institutions, and social relationships (Aguilar,
❖ It describes why and how we belong
2016).
to a bigger global society that is
– It is significant for a person to learn about
composed of nation-states,
his/her society. To coexist with other people in
international institutions, and others
peace, one must first discover who he/she is,
working together and sharing
who the co-members in the society are,
resources to solve common problems.
understand the internal and external factors
that contribute to their personalities, and their
| POLITICAL
functions in society.
➢ Educates us on the importance of
– Systematic study of social behavior and
exercising our rights and maximizing
human groups
our political participation to sustain,
– Focuses on social relationships and how
maintain or change society;
these influence people’s behavior and
➢ Examines power relations in society
society
and how these affect the recognition
- Social phenomena are the constantly
and affirmation of our identity; rights
evolving individual and external
and duties as citizens.
influences that significantly affect our
behaviors and opinions.
ANTHROPOLOGY

– Dubbed as the “science of humanity,” AUGUSTE COMTE

anthropology is the study of human beings,
- Father of Sociology
their origin, their societies, and their cultures
socius —---> companion
(Abulencia, 2016).
- Favored POSITIVISM, an approach to
– Anthropology is derived from two Greek
understanding the world based on
words, anthropos and logos
science.
– anthropos = human
- “Society operates according to certain
– logos = study/love of
laws, just as the physical world
– It branches into two subdivisions:
operates according to gravity and
1. social anthropology, which studies
other laws of nature.”
humans in relation to societies; and
- Indicated society as a social organism
2. cultural anthropology, or the study of
possessing a harmony of structure and
human cultures.
function
– Grandfather of all social and behavioral
sciences
 POLITICS ETHNICITY

Definition of Politics - Ethnic groups share specific social

- Politics is associated with how power is environments, traditions, and histories.
gained and employed to develop - 180 indigenous ethnic groups
authority and influence in social affairs.
- The process exercised by the TAKE NOTE: Nationality and Ethnicity are NOT
government in the implementation of INTERCHANGEABLE
its duty is what we call politics.

POWER GENDER

- is the ability to influence others. It gives - Refers to the socially constructed

authority to lead. roles, behaviors, activities and

attributes that a given society
ORDER
considers appropriate.
- is attained through obedience on the
rules set by leaders.
SEX
JUSTICE
- Biological characteristics of humans
- is felt in a society with order. such as male or female.

POLITICS AS AN ART
● Politics is played with style.
● Constituents choose leaders based on
their preference.
● Leaders use charisma in influencing
the people.

POLITICS AS A SCIENCE
SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS
● Policy-making and government
Idea associated with being poor and rich:
decisions are done through research,
➢ GLOBAL SOUTH – developing countries
investigation, analysis, validation,
➢ GLOBAL NORTH – developed countries
planning, execution and evaluation.
or industrialized nations

NATIONALITY
GREAT BRITAIN
- The identity that is tied to being part of ★ Three-class system (upper, middle, and
a NATION or a COUNTRY. working class);
- Acquired by being born in a country or ★ Seven-class system (elite, established,
through a legal process such as middle class, technical middle class,
naturalization. new affluent workers, traditional
working class, emergent service
workers, and precariat)
 people that make up society, social
PHILIPPINES interactions may not happen (Atienza, 2016).
❖ Mayaman, medyo mayaman, sakto
lang, at mahirap SOCIETY
– A group of people who share a culture and
GREAT BRITISH CLASS SURVEY
a territory.
– Complex web of relationships existing out of
man’s interaction with one another.

TALCOTT PARSONS
– Conceives society as a commonly
understood cultural norm of generalized
symbols and associated meanings.

G.D.H COLE
– Views society as a complex of organized
associations and institutions with a
POLITICAL IDENTITY community.
- A social category refers to the set of ROBERT MACIVER AND CHARLES PAGE
attitudes and practices that an
– Society is a system of usages and
individual adheres to in relation to the
procedures of authority
political systems and actors within his
– Society is a mutual aid of many groupings
or her society.
and divisions, of controls of human behavior
RELIGION and liberties
MONOTHEISTIC CULTURE
- Believing in the existence of ONE god.
– is the shared product of human group or
POLYTHEISTIC
society
- Believing in the existence of MULTIPLE
– “colere” means to cultivate
god.
– First used by the English anthropologist
Edward R. Taylor in his book, Primitive Culture
Module 2: Culture and Society in the - “Culture is that complex whole which
perspectives of Anthropology, Sociology and includes knowledge, belief, art, law,
Political Science morals, custom, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by
Human beings are considered to be naturally man as a member of society”
inclined to establish societies because – capabilities and habits acquired by a man
human beings are social beings that interact as a member of society
with other individuals to ensure their survival – major influence on the biological evolution
by establishing mutually beneficial of the human body.
relationships with one another. Without the
– Denotes acquired behaviors and habits
shared by & transmitted among groups of
people as a result of interaction
– Accumulation that a new generation
inherits and heritage into which a child is born
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURE & SOCIETY
– Different but very interrelated concepts
– Require the interaction of people with one
another
– Revolve around relationships arising from
interactions
– Culture is distinct from society
● Adds value, merit, and meaning to
created relationships
– Examples of the society include villages,
cities, districts, municipalities, religious groups,
professional organizations, etc.
– Manifestations of culture include language,
arts, music, festivals, etc.
– Human societies have acquired a specific
set of cultural practices while culture in itself
can only exist in the context of society
– Without group of people interacting =
culture would not be outwardly manifested
– Advent of globalization and technology has
changed society and culture positively
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
– Varies across time and space
– Societies across the world have acquired
different sets of customs and practices over
generations and historical contexts
1. CULTURE IS LEARNED
– Not innate in a person
– Learned through families, peers, institutions,
and media
– Process of learning about culture is known
as ENCULTURATION
– A child growing up = does not choose what
culture they want to learn
● Child acquires patterns of behavior
from surroundings
2. CULTURE IS SHARED
– People share similar behavior and patterns
develop over time
– Interaction of people in societies lead to
the sharing of beliefs, customs, ideals, and
practices.
– Despite the shared nature of culture = not
homogeneous
3. CULTURE IS INTEGRATED
– Different cultural practices may exist within
a single society, but culture remains holistic
– One must learn the entirety of culture not
just the fragmented parts to understand the
dominant culture in a particular country
– When culture is understood as an
integrated whole = a country's different
cultural manifestations create a specific
society that distinguishes it from all the other
parts
– Systematic
4. CULTURE IS ADAPTIVE AND DYNAMIC
-- Adapts to various environmental and
geographical conditions as witnessed
throughout the context of the history of the
world
● Defines people way of life in a specific
society
– Has been a mechanism for people to
survive (e.g., hunting, fishing, agriculture, etc.)
– Allowed humans to survive the last ice age
and transition into the digital and globalized
world
– Changes when cultures come in close
contact with others
5. CULTURE IS ABSTRACT
– No single tangible manifestation that can
take the form of culture itself
– Exists in the minds of the people interacting | CULTURAL RELATIVISM
with one another within a particular society or – Promotes the idea that no culture is superior
even across societies to any other.
– Manifested through behavior, habits, – Views that a specific culture is as worthy as
mannerisms, and activities the other cultures.
6. CULTURE IS SYMBOLIC – Widely accepts cultural values and norms
– Concepts and ideas can be manifested derive meaning from a specific social
– All cultures are driven by symbols that stand context
for something – Understands why people act the way they
– Symbols are validated when people agree do and why institutions function as such
on what the symbols stand for based on societies they are in
– All cultures must be understood in terms of
|ETHNOCENTRISM their own values and beliefs, not by the
– Belief of people that there is an inherent standards of another.
superiority of one’s culture over the other – No culture is better than any other and
- Bager (2014) cultures can only be judged on whether they
- Indicated that ethnocentrism is are meeting the needs of their own people.
making false assumptions about
the ways of others based on |CULTURAL HERITAGE
limited experience - UNESCO
– People tend to judge other people based ● Cultural heritage is the legacy of
on the standards set by own cultural physical artifacts and intangible
associations attributes of a group or society that
– The tendency to judge other cultures as are inherited from past generations
inferior. and maintained in the present and
Example: making a sound or slurping while bestowed for the benefit of future
eating. Others would see this as rude while generations
others would see it as a compliment to the
person who cooked the food – Tangible heritage includes:
Although ethnocentrism brings together ● Landscapes
people and builds solidarity within a ● Natural environment
particular society, it can justify prejudice and ● Food
discrimination. ● Clothing
● etc.
| XENOCENTRISM – Intangible forms of cultural heritage include:
– The culturally-based tendency to value ● Traditions
other cultures more highly than one’s own. ● Values
– Xenocentric people are more appreciative ● Oral history
of other societies' culture. Hence, social ● Voices
solidarity among people is hard to establish.
| MATERIAL CULTURE
– physical object of cultures
– reflection of their
advancement, resources, and the needs of
the people.
| NONMATERIAL CULTURE
– made up of intangible things
– includes symbols and values
TWO KINDS OF FUNCTION:
ROBERT MERTON
technological MANIFEST FUNCTION
- intended, recognized, and obvious function
LATENT FUNCTION
- unintended, unrecognized function
FUNCTIONALISM FOCUS ON SOCIAL ORDER
If something happens to disrupt this social
order, its part will adjust in a way that

ENCULTURATION VS. ACCULTURATION produces new stability.

| ENCULTURATION
Definition: Refers to the process of learning SOCIAL CONSENSUS
and internalizing their culture’s values, norms, - most members of the society agree on
beliefs, and behaviors. - cooperate to achieve it
Example: Raised in the Missionary faith, a - holds the society together
young girl is instilled with traditional Christian
values and beliefs.
CONFLICT THEORY
– Society is an arena of inequality and
| ACCULTURATION
division resulting in conflict.
Definition: The process of cultural exchange
– People are gladiators fighting for their very
when people from different cultures come
lives.
into sustained contact.
– The WINNER takes the rewards and is
Example: A woman from Mexico moves to
assured of FREEDOM.
the United States and learns English to
communicate with her neighbors.
CONFLICT
● Makes change and dynamism
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ● Brings about a new set of relations and
Society is made possible through the three interaction
theoretical perspectives:
➢ STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM – CONFLICT THEORY INVOKES SOCIAL
➢ CONFLICT THEORY PROGRESS –
➢ SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
– Society is seen as a complex system whose
parts function and work in harmony, bringing
stability in the process.
– All parts are interdependent.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
– We respond based on the meaning that we
attach to the surrounding world; people
assign meaning to each other’s words or
actions.
– Society is continuously recreated when
humans interact.
 • Charles Wright Mills (1959) coined the
REMEMBER: “social imagination” which foregrounds the
FUNCTIONALISM → holds society together
vision and mission not just of sociologists but
CONFLICT THEORIST → looks what divides it
of social scientists — ”to enable us to grasp
INTERACTIONIST → Centers on the meaning
history and biography and the relations
that people attach to the issue or
between the two within society.”
phenomenon
THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
RESEARCH METHODS
• It is stimulated by a willingness to view the
1. SURVEY METHOD
social world from the perspective of others.
– used in testing hypotheses and answering
• It involves moving away from thinking in
research problems that need statistical
terms of the individual and their problems,
analysis.
focusing rather on the social circumstances
2. INTERVIEW
that produce social problems.
– a qualitative research method that asks

questions to key informants and participants.

by: Eunice Fhaye Pantig
12 - St. Martin <3
3. FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION (FGD)

– a group interview of respondents on a

specific topic for discussions.

4. FIELD WORK

– going out to the field to do research. This

employs a combination of observation, data

collection through interviews or surveys.

5. ETHNOGRAPHY

– used by anthropologists in immersing

themselves in someone’s culture to observe,

interview, or do an experiment. It is

qualitative in doing cultural research.

SOCIAL SCIENCE THEORIES

• It encompasses concepts, analytic frames,

and critical ideas that lay down and shape

the general and specific discourses on

certain topics.