Chapter II: Culture and Society:

The Perspectives of Anthropology

and Sociology
Lesson 1: The Interpretive
Dynamics of Society
 Society as a Concept
The word “Society” was coined by social
scientists to facilitate their exploration of social
phenomena. It is a tool to grasp the complexity
of the phenomenon it represents and a means to
explore its many other dimensions hidden by
its normative use.
 Society as a Facticity
Society is formally defined as constituting a
fairly large number of people who are living in
the same territory, are relatively independent of
people outside their area, and participate in a
common culture. This textbook definition of
society is limited and limiting for several
reasons.
 In this perspective, society is seen as an outcome
of multiple interactions of people upon which
succeeding interactions are made meaningful and
possible.
Symbolic Interactionism and Meaning Making
Symbolic Interactionism does not deal with either
conflict. Instead, it explores the issues of meaning-
making and why this is crucial in understanding order or
conflict as processes that brought about society.
Humans as social beings have the capacity to
generate meaning from their surroundings, be it social
or otherwise. Meaning is important because it is the
basis of actions towards or against specific elements of
the environment.