Learning Guide #1 - Introduction on Culture, Society and Politics

(Anthropology, Sociology and Politics)

LESSON I: ANTHROPOLOGY
From the Greek word
ANTHROPOS (man) + LOGY (study)
ANTHROPOLOGY - the science or study of man.
The term "Anthropology" is defined as the scientific study of human beings,
human behavior, and the different societies that have existed in the past and
what we have now at present. In a nutshell, anthropology is the systematic
study of humanity, with the main goal of understanding our human origins,
our uniqueness as a species, and the great diversity in our forms of social
existence across the world and through time.

RELATIONSHIP of ANTHROPOLOGY to other DISCIPLINES

Conrad Phillip Kottak (A.B Columbia College 1963; Ph.D Columbia
University, 1966) a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan.

1. Anthropology and Sociology

Similarities: Shares an interest in social relations, organization, and behaviors.
Differences:
1. The kind of society that they study
2. Data gathering procedures
3. Method of conducting the study
(sampling and statistical technique versus ethnography)
2. Anthropology and Psychology
Psychological Anthropology studies about the different cultural and mental
processes of man. (Cognition, emotion. Motivation, and psychological
processes).
3. Anthropology and Education
Research from anthropology extends from experts to classrooms into homes,
neighborhoods, and communities.
4. Anthropology and Business
Through micro enculturation (the gradual acquisition of the characteristics and
norms of a culture or group by a person, another culture, etc.)

FOUR MAJOR FIELDS OF ANTHROPOLOGY

Roberta Lenkeit (2008), introduces in her book “Introducing Cultural
Anthropology” the four major fields of Anthropology.
1. Biological Anthropology/ Physical Anthropology
-Studies the HOMO SAPIENS as biological beings both in the present and in
the past to explain and describe the evolution of our species.
Paleoanthropology also spelled
Palaeoanthropology, Also called Human
Paleontology, and interdisciplinary branch
of anthropology concerned with the
origins and development of early humans.
Fossils are assessed by the techniques of
physical anthripology, comparative
anatomy, and the theory of evolution.
Primatology is the study of primate orders of mammals other than recent
humans (Homo sapiens). The species are characterized especially by the
advanced development of binocular vision, specialization of the appendages
for grasping, and enlargement of the cerebral hemisphere.
2. Cultural Anthropology/ Social Anthropology
The study of the description and comparison of the adaptation made by
human groups to the diverse ecosystem on earth.
Ethnography is a branch of
anthropology and the systematic study
of individual cultures. In contrast with
ethnology, ethnography. Explores
cultural phenomena from the point of
view of the subject of the study.
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology
that compares and analyzes the
characteristics of different peoples and
the relationships between them.
3. Archeology
A systematic study of remains of the previous culture as a means of
reconstructing the lifeways of the people who lived in the past.
Prehistoric Archeology
1. Artifacts- object made or altered by humans
2.Features- no portable evidence of technology (roads, buildings)
3.Eco facts- natural materials such as plants and animals.
4. Linguistics
The study of language. Anthropological linguists do not necessarily speak
several languages. (such person is called a polyglot)
Descriptive Linguistics is the
study of the grammar,
classification, and arrangement
of the features of a language at a
given time, without reference to
the history of the language or
comparison with other
languages.
Historical linguistics, also called Diachronic Linguistics, is the branch of
linguistics concerned with the study of phonological, grammatical, and
semantic changes, the reconstruction of earlier stages of languages, and the
discovery and application of the methods by which genetic relationships
among languages can be demonstrated.

LESSON II: POLITICAL SCIENCE

Political science focuses on the theory and practice of government and politics
at the local, state, national. And international levels. Dedicated to developing
understandings of institutions, practices, and relations that constitute public
life and modes of inquiry that promote citizenship.
ARISTOTLE- The FATHER OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

LESSON II: POLITICAL SCIENCE

4.1. TYPES OF MAJOR POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES
Socialism, the social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than
private ownership or control of property and natural resources. According to
the socialist view, individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in
cooperation with one another.
Furthermore, everything that people produce is, in some sense, a social
product, and everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled
to a share in it. Society as a whole, therefore, should own or at least control
property for the benefit of all its members.

5. LESSON III: SOCIOLOGY

Sociology is the study of human social relationships and institutions.
Sociology’s subject matter is diverse, ranging from crime to religion, form 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. Unifying the study of these diverse subject of study is
sociology’s purpose of understanding how human action and consciousness
both shape and are shaped by surrounding cultural and social structures.

LESSON III: SOCIOLOGY

5.1. RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIOLOGY TO OTHER SCIENCES
How does sociology enrich our life?
1.Teachers, students, and even ordinary individuals can use it as an intellectual
exercise if they are curious about the different things that are happening
around them.
2. It can be used to understand our lives better.
3. It can also be used in pursuing a specific career in the government.

RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIOLOGY TO OTHER SCIENCES

According to Thomas (1995), he highlighted the relationship of Sociology
with another field of Social Sciences, and these are as follows:
1. Sociology and Anthropology- the comparative study of the various aspects
of the past and present in the social science closest to sociology in its subject
matter. anthropologists traditionally have concentrated on examining past
culture and present simple societies.
2. Sociology and Psychology- both studies how a human being behaves and
acts inside the society, the only difference is that psychology focuses on one
individual, why sociology studies society as a whole.
3. Sociology and Economics- the study of the choices people make to satisfy
their needs and wants. It is the factor that affects people’s choices and how
they live with various groups in society.
4. Sociology and Political Science- both deal with the interests including the
voting patterns, the concentration of political power, and the formation of
politically-based groups.
5. Sociology and History- both of the disciplines study past events to explain
the present situation in society.
5. LESSON III: SOCIOLOGY
5.2. PIONEERS OF SOCIOLOGY

Auguste Comte (1798-1857) " FATHER OF SOCIOLOGY"

Comte proposed the two Branches of Society
1.Static – the study of an organization that allows society to endure.
2.Dynamics – the study of the process by which societies change.

Auguste Comte was the first to develop the concept of "sociology." He defined
sociology as a positive science. Positivism is the search for "invariant laws of
the natural and social world." Comte identified three basic methods for
discovering these invariant laws, observation, experimentation, and
comparison. He is also famous for his Law of the Three Stages. These three
stages are theological, metaphysical, and positivist. Comte discussed the
difference between social statistics and social dynamics; which have been
renamed social structure and social change. Comte’s ideas have had a major
role in developing structural functionalism. His major goal was to integrate
theory and practice.
HARRIET MARTINEAU (1802-1876)
Even before the works of Marx, Engels, or Weber, Martineau examined social
class, religion, suicide, national character, domestic relations, and how these
elements affected social problems and individuals. Martineau was also very
active in women's rights, the fight against slavery, the struggle of the common
worker, and religious tolerance.
Harriet Martineau is considered the first woman sociologist. She is an essayist,
novelist, journalist, and economic and historical writer who was prominent
among English intellectuals of her time. Perhaps her most scholarly work is
The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte, Freely Translated and Condensed,
2 vol. (1853), her version of Comte’s Cours de philosophie positive, 6 vol.
(1830–42).
HERBERT SPENCER (1820-1903)
Herbert Spencer, an English sociologist, and philosopher, an early advocate of
the theory of evolution, who achieved an influential synthesis of knowledge,
advocating the preeminence of the individual over society and of science over
religion.
He was known for his contributions to evolutionary theory and for applying it
outside of biology, to the fields of philosophy, psychology, and sociology. In
this work, he coined the term "survival of the fittest." In addition, he helped
develop the functionalist perspective, one of the major theoretical frameworks
in sociology.

KARL MARX (1818-1883)

Karl Marx, in full Karl Heinrich Marx, a revolutionary, sociologist, historian,
and economist. He published (with Friedrich Engels) Manifest der
Kommunistischen Partei (1848), commonly known as The Communist
Manifesto, the most celebrated pamphlet in the history of the socialist
movement.
He also was the author of the movement’s most important book, Das Kapital.
These writings and others by Marx and Engels form the basis of the body of
thought and belief known as Marxism.
Emile Durkheim
Emile Durkheim was a well-known sociologist famous for his views on the
structure of society. His work focused on how traditional and modern societies
evolved and function. Durkheim's theories were founded on the concept of
social facts, defined as the norms, values, and structures of society.
This perspective of society differed from other sociologists of his era as
Durkheim's theories were founded on things external in nature, as opposed to
those internal in nature, such as the motivations and desires of individuals.
According to Durkheim, collective consciousness, values, and rules are critical
to a functional society. In this lesson, we will focus on Durkheim's theories of
functionalism, anomie, and division of labor.
Max Weber
Max Weber was a 19th-century german sociologist and one of the founders of
modern sociology. He wrote 'The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'
in 1905. German sociologist and political economist best known for his thesis
of the “Protestant ethic,” relating Protestantism to capitalism, and for his ideas
on bureaucracy. Weber’s profound influence on sociological theory stems from
his demand for objectivity in scholarship and from his analysis of the motives
behind human action.