DEFINING CULTURE AND

SOCIETY FROM THE

PERSPECTIVES OF
ANTHROPOLOGY AND
SOCIOLOGY
How do you think people
lived in the past?
Does society bring an effect to
the culture of an individual?
 Does culture shape the society
and how people live their lives?
When is life better?
“Then VS Now”:
Process Questions:
What is the major effect of culture
on our life?
How does culture contribute to
the evolution of human life?
CONTENT STANDARDS
The learners shall be able to demonstrate an
understanding of:
•Culture and society as anthropological and
sociological concepts;
•Perspectives in/approaches to the study of
culture and society
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
The students shall be able to:
• Appreciate the nature of culture and society
from the perspectives of anthropology and
sociology;
• Demonstrate a holistic understanding of
culture and society;
• Value cultural heritage and express pride of
place without being ethnocentric.
ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES
The students shall be able to:
•Evaluate anthropological and sociological
perspectives on culture and society.
• Analyze the concept, aspects and changes in/of
culture and society.
• Explain the importance of cultural relativism in
attaining cultural understanding.
DAILY OBJECTIVES
The students shall be able to:
• Discuss the topic “Defining Culture and Society in the perspectives
of Anthropology and Sociology”
• Identify the different types of society
• Distinguish material culture to non-material culture
• Explain the connecting culture iceberg
• Describe the elements of culture
• Discuss the concept of ethnocentrism, xenocentrism and cultural
relativism
• Participate in an activity called “Then VS Now”
DEFINING CULTURE AND
SOCIETY FROM THE
PERSPECTIVES OF
ANTHROPOLOGY AND
SOCIOLOGY
At the end of our session we hope to answer:
•What is culture on a wider perspective?
• What are the types of society that existed?
• What are the elements of culture?
• What is the difference between material and non-
material culture?
• What is the meaning of connecting culture iceberg?
• What is the concept of Ethnocentrism,
Xenocentrism and Cultural Relativism?
People rarely distinguish the difference between the terms “culture”
and “society”, sociologists said that these two terms have different
meanings and the distinction is important. A society describes a
group of people who share common territory and a culture.
By “territory”, sociologists refer to a definable region- as small
as neighbourhood (barangay) a city (Manila) a country
(Philippines) to as large as the global regional context (Asia).
While culture refers to “that complex whole which
encompasses beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws, norms,
artefacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a person
learns and shares as a member of society”.
 To clarify, a culture represents the beliefs,
practices, and artefacts of a group,
while society represents the social structures
and organization of the people who share those
beliefs and practices. Neither society nor
culture could exist without the other.
What are the different types of societies that
exist?
 Types of Society
Hunting and gathering societies
• These are the earliest forms of
society. These are small and generally
with less than 50 members and is
nomadic. The members survive
primarily by hunting, trapping,
fishing, and gathering edible plants.
There is division of labor based on sex
where in men are responsible for
hunting and women for gathering.
Pastoral societies
• Rely on products obtained
through the domestication and
breeding of animals for
transportation and food. These are
common in areas where crops
cannot be supported and only
have to move when the land in
which the animal graze is no
longer usable.
Horticultural societies
• These societies rely on the
cultivation of fruits, vegetables,
and plants in order to survive.
They are often forced to relocate
when the resources of the land are
depleted or when the water
supplies decrease.
Agricultural societies
• They rely on the use of
technology in order to cultivate
crops in large areas, including
wheat, rice, and corn. Productivity
increases, and as long as there are
plenty of food, people do not have
to move.
Industrial societies
• They use advanced sources
of energy to run large machinery
which led to industrialization.
Innovations in transportation led
people to travel, work in
factories, and live in cities.
Post-industrial societies
• Their economy is based on
services and technology, not
production. The economy is
dependent on tangible goods,
people must pursue greater
education, and the new
communications technology
allows work to be performed
from a variety of locations.
Is culture only evident with material things
that are seen around?
 Classification of Culture
All cultures have visible/tangible and nonvisible or nontangible
components.
• Material Culture - Cultural components that are visible and tangible
are called material culture which include all material objects or those
components or elements of culture with physical representation such as
tools, furniture, buildings, bridges, gadgets, etc. Components of culture
which are created and produced, changed and utilized by people are all
included in the material culture.
• Non-material Culture - On the other hand, there are components of
culture that are nontangible or without physical representation and
these are called nonmaterial culture which can be categorized into
cognitive and normative nonmaterial culture.
MATERIAL CULTURE
NON-MATERIAL CULTURE
How is material culture and nonmaterial
culture connected to each other?
 The material and nonmaterial cultures are always
interlinked. The existence of material culture is
justified by the nonmaterial culture. Any form/element
of the material culture will be meaningless and will
cease to exist without the ideas and normative
expectations that support it. Example, a chair will be
just a piece of wood or metal without the function that
it serves in the society, and its worth or value varies
depending on who created it and who will sit on it and
use it.
 The Connecting Culture Iceberg
This model shows that culture
is not what is only visible. Part
of it we can see and part of it
we can only feel through
abstractions and meaning.
Thus, giving way to the two
classifications of culture the
material and nonmaterial
culture.
What are the elements of culture?
 The Elements of Culture
1. Beliefs – are conceptions or ideas
people Are conceptions or ideas
people have about what is true in the
environment around them like what is
life, how to value it, and how one’s
beliefs on the value of life relate with
his or her interaction with others and
the world. This may be based on
common sense, folk wisdom, religion,
science or a combination of all these.
 2. Values - Describe what is
appropriate or inappropriate
(good or bad; desirable or
undesirable; worthy or
unworthy) in a given society
or what ought to be. These are
broad, abstract, and shared to
influence and guide the
behaviour of people.
 3. Symbols - Are used to
understand each other. It
could be verbal (words) or
nonverbal (acts, gestures,
signs, and objects) that
communicate meaning that
people recognize and
shared.
 4. Language - Is a
shared set of spoken and
written symbols. It is
basic to communication
and transmission of
culture. It is known as
the storehouse of
culture.
5. Technology - Refers to
the application of
knowledge and
equipment to ease the
task of living and
maintaining the
environment. It includes
all artefacts, methods and
devices created and used
6. Norms - Are specific
rules/standards to guide
appropriate behaviour.
Societal norms are of
different types and
forms.
 Types of Norms

1. Proscriptive - Defines and tells us things not

to do
2. Prescriptive - Defines and tells us things to
do
 Forms of Norms

1. Folkways -also known as

customs, these are norms
for everyday behaviour
that people follow for the
sake of tradition or
convenience. Breaking a
folkway does not usually
have serious
consequences.
 Forms of Norms

2. Mores - these are

strict norms that control
moral and ethical
behaviour. Mores are
norms based on
definitions of right and
wrong.
 Forms of Norms
3. Taboos - these are
norms that society holds
so strongly that violating
it results in extreme
disgust. Often times the
violator of the taboo is
considered unfit to live in
that society.
 Forms of Norms

4. Laws - these are

codified ethics, and
formally agreed,
written down and
enforced by an official
law enforcement
agency.
 By themselves, norms are guidelines for human
behaviour. Sanctions encourage conformity to
norms. Sanctions are socially imposed rewards
and punishments in society which may be formal
or informal.
 Characteristics of Culture

• Dynamic, Flexible, and Adaptive

• Shared and may be Challenged
• Learned through socialization or enculturation
• Patterned social interactions
• Integrated
• Transmitted through socialization/enculturation
• Requires language and other forms of
communication
 Ethnocentrism/Xenocentrism and Cultural
relativism as Orientations in Viewing Other
Cultures

Today, we live in a rapidly changing globalized

society. And, as modern technology gets more
innovative, people from various cultures get closer in
interaction with each other. Depending on the level of
sensitivity and respect people have for other cultural
groups, this interaction may be seen as positive or
 Do you think that culture superiority is
positive? Or when you think your culture is
above others’ ?
 Ethnocentrism
“is the view of things in which
one’s own group is the center of
everything and all others are scaled
and rated with reference to it. Each
group nourishes its own pride and
vanity, boasts itself superior, exalts
its own divinities, and looks with
contempt on the outsiders.”
- William Graham Summer
 Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the tendency

to see and evaluate other
cultures in terms of one’s own
race, nation, or culture. This
rests on the belief of the
superiority of one’s own culture
or ethnic group compared to
others.
 Xenocentrism
People are highly influenced by the culture or many cultures
outside the realm of their society. In this globalized society, one’s
exposure to cultural practices of others may make one to give
preference to the ideas, lifestyle, and products of other cultures
which is termed by John B. Fullmer as xenocentrism.
People who usually experience xenocentrism came from a
country with lower economic position as compared to the one
preferred. This may be triggered by comparison wherein the person
sees one’s position as inferior and would like to improve one’s status
or experience a better condition compared to his/her current position.
Cultural Relativism
 Cultural Relativism
Is the principle that an individual human’s beliefs and
activities should be understood by others in terms of
that individuals own culture. It highlights the
perspective that no culture is superior to any other
culture when comparing systems of morality, law,
politics, etc. Culture is seen to have equal value it
rests on the idea that all cultural practices and
beliefs are equally valid that truth itself is relative,
depending on the cultural environment.
 Types of Cultural Relativism

• Moral relativism
• Situational relativism
• Cognitive relativism
How can we say that the past teaches us the
best lessons which can be used to face the
future better?
 Rubric
Criteria 5 4 3 2
Completeness, Your answer contains Your answer contains Your answer contains Your answer contains
accuracy of lots of complete and complete and some accurate very little accurate
information and accurate information accurate information information about the information about the
coherence of position about the question. about the question. question. question.

Surface features Your answer is very Your answer is neat Your answer is Your answer is messy
(including neatness, neat and contains no and contains some generally neat and and it contains many
spelling, punctuation errors in relation to errors in relation to contains several errors in relation to
and capitalization. the conventions of the conventions of errors in relation to the conventions of
writing. writing, but these the conventions of writing that impact on
errors don’t impact writing, but these the overall
the overall effectives. errors have little effectiveness
impact on the overall
effectiveness.