SOCIOLOGY
★ Is the science that deal with society and
the social interactions within or outside t
he society
Why study sociology?
➢ It increases understanding of ourselves a
nd our society
➢ It makes us aware that the organization
and institutions of our society
➢ The results of the sociological investigat
ions are essential for the community lea
ders in maintaining social order and plot
ting courses of action
➢ To discard our prejudices
a. Anthropology
- The scientific study of society
- Studies the biological, social, a
nd cultural development of hu
mankind and seeks to answer t
he similarities and different acr
oss the human race.
Branches of Anthropology
1. Physical or Biological Anthropology
- Focus on humans as a biologic
al organism
- Mostly concerned about how bi
ological changes occur and ho
w all these are related to the nat
ural and social environments
2. Linguistics
- The scientific study of written
and unwritten human language
3. Ethnology
- Is primarily concerned with pre
sent cultures
- Ethnologists immerse themselv
es in a culture for a period of 6-
18 months
- CULTURAL RELATIVISM
4. Archaeology
- It is the collection and preserva
tion of artifacts of past and pres
ent cultures
5. Cultural Anthropology
- Focuses on the origins and hist
ory of human societies and cult
ure such as the evolution of cul
ture of different societies
6. Applied Anthropology
- It applies ideas and information
from the previous fields mentio
ned in order to obtain practical
solutions for specific problems
battling the society
Definitions and Origins of Political Science
❖ “politics” - derived from the Greek wor
d “polis” meaning society
❖ “science” coming from the Latin word
“scire” meaning to know.
❖ Aristotle - the father of political science
❖ DEFINITION: The application of law i
n the different branches of government
4 Zones of Political Science
1. Political Theory
- Deals with the definition and fu
ndamental concepts of political
science like state, government,
law, liberty, equality, justice, a
nd sovereignty
2. Political Institution
- Study of a formal political insti
tution such as the state and the
instrument through which it ru
ns the government
3. Political Dynamics
- The forces and processes at wo
rk in government and politics
4. International Relations
- Study of relationships among c
ountries
Anthropological Perspective
- Cultural is not innate among humans but
is acquired and learned from a person’s
environment
Sociological Perspective
- An object is not to be considered “cultur
al” unless it “enters a circuit of human d
iscourse”
- Meaning unless it is shared by a group o
f people

Characteristics of Culture
1. Learned through socialization and en
culturation
➔ Human beings were not born p
ossessing cultural traits
2. Dynamic, Flexible, Adaptable
- Cultural behavior allows peopl
e to fit into and adapt to their re
spective environments
3. Shared, Contested, and Transmitted
- Various members of the society
or group commonly share ideas,
activities, and artifacts
- The shared ideas, activities, an
d artifacts are handed down fro
m generation to generation
4. Integrated at times unstable and Patte
rned Social Interaction
- For a society: ideas, activities,
and artifacts are not only share
d: their arrangement more or le
ss fits together and interlock to
form a consistent whole (ideas,
activities, and artifacts are inte
grated)
5. Culture is social
- A by-product of human interact
ion
- Individual experiences that wer
e acquired and shared become
part of a subculture or culture tr
ait of a particular group
6. Culture is cumulative
- From generation to generation,
there are things that are transmi
tted, acquired or added to a cult
ure
7. Culture requires language and other f
orms of communication
- “Language is the storehouse of
culture”
- Primary means of cultural trans
mission, is the process by whic
h one generation passes culture
to the next.
Modes of Acquiring Culture
➢ Language gives the facility for humans to sh
are ideas but it is the intellectual capacity tha
t enables man to use language as means to ac
quire culture
1. Imitation - to imitate; such as with a child in
their formative years, parents and other signi
ficant persons in the child’s life will serve as
role models they can imitate.
2. Formal Teaching- teaching cultures in form
al institutions such as in schools.
3. Conditioning- rewards or punishments; con
ditions a person to act a certain behavior or a
ct expected in their culture.
Orientations in Viewing Cultures
★ Our world is composed of many societies wit
h different cultures
★ Despite how much humans have in common,
cultrual differences are far more prevalent th
an cultural universals
★ Moreover, each group tends to believe that it
s view of reality is right and proper and anyt
hing its context is absolutely the opposite.
1. Ethnocentrism
- Derived from Greek word “etho” w
hich means: people, nation, or cultu
ral grouping
- Refers to the tendency of each socie
ty to apply their own cultural values
in judging other culture
- Views that one’s group is superior
than another
- Compares other cultures and views t
hat their own is far superior.
- Ex: superiority of white race, Nazi
germany, times you view other cultu
re’s traditional food as weird or gr
oss
- It is not negative all the time as we
are only showing our support to our
culture. It becomes bad once we loo
k down on others.
2. Xenocentrism
- The belief that one’s culture is infer
ior to another
 - Usually has high regard for other cu
ltures
- Views that their group is inferior co
mpared to another
- Compares other cultures and views t
hat their own is only subpar or infer
ior.
- Ex: Filipinos prefer imported produ
cts rather than locally-made ones .

3. Cultural Relativism
- Practice of viewing another culture
by its own context rather than assess
ing it based on the standards of one’
s own culture
- Unbiased perspective of culture
- Does not compare other cultures but
appreciates them instead.
- Teaches mutual respect for each cul
ture
- It is difficult to practice this because
there are cultures especially the pai
n-inflicting ones, in some parts of th
e globe which majority cannot unde
rstand
- Ex: female mutilation in African co
untries

Tangible and Intangible Culture

- Refer to cultural heritage which is the expres
sion of ways of living developed by a comm
unity and passed on to generations such as cu
stoms, practices, places, objects, artistic expr
ession and values.

1. Tangible Heritage/Culture
- Facets of culture which we can feel,
touch with our senses such as coins,
monuments

2. Intangible Heritage/Culture
- Facets of culture which we cannot f
eel or touch with our senses such as
cultural expressions
- Ex. mano po