Understanding Culture, Society and Politics

(Module 1)

The Nature and Goals of

Anthropology, Sociology and Political

Science

 Anthropology - means scientific study of man or human beings.

 Relates to sociology, it always describes human, human behavior and human societies around the world.
It is a comparative science that examines all societies.
 Linguistic anthropology - which focuses on language in a certain society.
 The goal of studying anthropology - is to understand the origin human evolution and the diverse forms
of its existence throughout time.

 Sociology - is the study of human social relationships and institutions.

 it belongs to the family of social sciences.
 The purpose of sociology - is to understand how human action and consciousness both shape and are
shaped by surrounding cultural and social structures.

 Political Science - is a social science that deals with humans and their interactions.
 it essentially deals with the large-scale actions of humans, and group mentality.
 it is a discipline that deals with several aspects such as the study of state and government.
 The goal of Political Science - is to constantly deepen the knowledge, discover progress and protect the
quality of life within a group, community, country, and the world.

Lesson 2: Perspectives of Anthropology, Sociology and

Political Science

 Anthropological perspectives - are culture, cultural relativism, fieldwork, human diversity, holism, bio-
cultural focus.
 The four main perspectives of Anthropology - are the cross-cultural or comparative emphasis, its
evolutionary/historical emphasis, its ecological emphasis, and its holistic emphasis (Dudgeon).
 Example for this is the analysis and solutions of the different aspects of the society such as the
environment issues of pollution, the issues on health and medicine and other issues related to the
human activities.
Sociological perspective - introduces the discipline of sociology, including something about its history,
questions, theory, and scientific methods, and what distinguishes it from other social science disciplines.
 Central features - include social interaction and relationships, social contexts, social structure, social
change, the significance of diversity and human variation, and the critical, questioning character of
sociology.

Sociology includes three major theoretical perspectives:

1. the functionalist perspective;
2. the conflict perspective; and
3. the symbolic interaction perspective.
  Theoretical perspective - is used to analyze and explain objects of social study, and facilitate organizing
sociological knowledge.
1. Functionalist perspective - societies are thought to function like organisms, with various social
institutions working together like organs to maintain and reproduce societies.
2. Conflict perspective - sees social life as a competition, and focuses on the distribution of resources,
power, and inequality.
3. Symbolic Interaction Perspective - a sociological theory that examines how people create meaning
through social interactions
 Political science perspective - studies the tendencies and actions of people which cannot be easily
quantified or examined.
 An example - is the study of democracy as a form of government and why is democracy considered as
the best form of government.

(Module 2)

Analyze the Concept, Aspects and Changes

in/of Culture and Society

Lesson 1:
❖ Culture - refers to a group or community which shares common experiences that shape the way its members
understand the world. It includes groups that we are born into, such as race, national origin, gender, class, or
religion. It can also include a group we join or become part of.

❖ Culture - is a strong part of people's lives. It influences their views, values, humor, hopes, loyalties, worries and
fears. It helps to have some perspective and understanding of their cultures.

❖ Culture and society defined, culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics
common to the members of a particular group or society.

❖ Through culture, people and groups define themselves, conform to society's shared values, and contribute to
society.

❖ The major elements of culture - are symbols, language, norms, values, and artifacts.

1. A symbol - is anything that is used to stand for something else. People who share a culture often attach a
specific meaning to an object, gesture, sound, or image. For example, a cross is a significant symbol to Christians.
To Christians, it represents the basis of their entire religion, and they have great reverence for the symbol.

2. Language - is a system of words and symbols used to communicate with other people. This includes full
languages as we usually think of them, such as English, Spanish, French, etc. but, it also includes body language,
slang, and common phrases that are unique to certain groups of people.

3. Systems of values - are culturally defined standards for what is good or desirable. Members of the culture use
the shared system of values to decide what is good and what is bad.

⚫ Cultural artifact or artefact - is a term used in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, ethnology, and

sociology for anything created by humans which gives information about the culture of its creator and users.
• Artifacts are such valuable tools for exploring the past and using them to understand the past.

• Human values are essential in our life because they help us to grow and develop. It is a person's standards of
behavior, principles and own judgment. Some of the values, human treasures are honesty, love, happiness, and
integrity.

• Social and cultural norms are rules or expectations of behavior and thoughts based on shared beliefs within a

specific cultural or social group.

• Social change - variations or modifications in the patterns of social organization of sub groups within society

• Cultural change - refers to all alterations affecting new traits or trait complexes and changes in a cultures
content and structure.

Lesson 2: Explain the Importance of Cultural Relativism in Attaining Cultural

Understanding.
❖ Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using
the standards of one's own culture.

❖ The goal of this is to promote understanding of cultural practices that are not typically part of one's own
culture.

❖ Cultural Relativism is important to anthropology and one of the things that makes anthropology unique
because it is a tool, a method for attempting to see things from a multiplicity of viewpoints so as to better
understand them.

❖ Cultural Relativism does not mean that anything a culture does is good or moral. This is one of the ones that
confuse people.

❖ Cultural relativism teaches us that, marriage patterns are cultural options, not objective truth.

❖ Cultural Relativism doesn’t mean that cultures can’t be compared. There is sometimes a strange notion that
there are no commonalities between cultures.

(Module 3)
Becoming A Member of Society

Lesson 4: Analyze the Significance of Cultural, Social, Political and Economic Symbols and Practices

 Socialization - is a continuing process of social interaction through which people acquired their
identities and skills in society. It is a learning from people to other people. It exposes the person
to the culture of society and acquire them.
 Socialization is great because they established our identity.
 Weare guided how to act in a socially acceptable ways and because of socialization we acquire
culture that may improve us individuals.

 Socialization is also a form of social control. It may be in the form of coercion: like punishment,
economy.
  It may also be in the form of language which was used as cultural symbols.

Sociologist view on Socialization

Sociologist Theory
Sigmund Freud Psychoanalytic Theory  Unconscious mind
shaped the behavior of a
person.
 The formation of the self
occurs between the id
and the superego.
 The influence of society
happens in superego.

Jean Piaget Cognitive Development Theory  Socialization happens in

different stages of our
mind’s development
from infancy to
adolescence or
adulthood.
Lawrence Kohlberg Moral Development  Moral development is a
Theory continual process that
occurs throughout us
Lifespan.
George Herbert Mead’s Theory of the Social Self  The self Emerges from
social interactions.

Charles Cooley Cooley’s Theory of  We learn to take the role

Looking-Glass Self of others. The
expectation of others
forms the venue for
acquiring social roles

ID - instinctual part of the mind driven by pleasure and basic needs.

Ex: Mangawat ug candy
Superego - "superego" acts as the moral conscience, internalizing societal rules and judging our actions
based on what is considered right and wrong.
Ex: Makahuna huna nga bad ang mangawat ug candy
Ego - is the psychological component of the personality that is represented by our conscious decision-
making process.
Ex: Instead na mangawat mo palit na lang ug candy.

Examples of the id, ego, and superego interacting

 Skipping a workout
The id wants to skip the workout, the superego says it's unhealthy, and the ego decides to do a shorter
work out today.
 Being annoyed by someone
The id wants to punch the person, the superego wants to walk away, and the ego asks the person why
they are annoyed.
 Wanting ice cream
The id wants the ice cream, the superego says it's wrong to take someone else's ice cream, and the ego
decides to buy their own ice cream.
Socialization Example: interacting with family and friends, being told to obey rules, being rewarded for
doing chores, and being taught how to behave in public places.
Moral Development: how people make decisions about right and wrong, and how they treat others.
 a person makes moral decisions based on receiving a reward that will personally benefit them.
Ex: a child may obey their parents and clean their room to avoid being grounded.
 a child may eat all their dinner without arguing to receive dessert.
Immoral Development: Immorality is often called wickedness and is a state avoided by good people.
Since morality refers to things that are right, immorality has to do with things that are
wrong like stealing, lying, and murdering.
Social Interaction - is the study of how people learn and behave in social settings. It describes how
people's behavior changes depending on their environment, mood, and the people around them.
Ex: someone might be formal at work but more relaxed at a picnic.
Looking Glass-self/ social roles - the process wherein individuals base their sense of self on how they
believe others view them. essentially shaping their self-perception based on how they believe others
perceive them; this reflects the idea that our self-image is formed by "looking into the mirror" of
others' reactions.
Ex: a woman believing that she is very attractive because another person complimented her outfit.
Compliments
Someone might feel attractive if they receive a compliment on their appearance.
Negative comments
Someone might feel unattractive if they receive a negative comment on their appearance.

(Module5)
 Cultural, Social and Political Organization

Lesson 6: Analyze The Forms and Functions of Social Organizations

Social organization is defined as the system of relationships between persons and among groups with
regard to the division of activity and functional mutual obligations within society.
Family serves as an important universal social institution. It is the basic unit of social organization that
is essential part of human society.
There are several kinds of families:
nuclear (consist of parents and children)
extended (nuclear family with relatives)
reconstituted families (spouses and children from previous marriage).
The basis of kinship - a system of social organization which is based on recognized family ties.
Kinship ties is based on descent can be:
Matrilineal (female line)
Patrilineal Kinship (male line)
Bilineal kinship (both female and male lines)
-Kinship is of three types:
 Consanguineous kinship that is also known as a kinship by blood.
 Affinal kinship which is also known as kinship by marriage, and the kinship by ritual.
 Affinal kinship, on the other hand refers to the bond that is formed through marriage.
 It can be monogamous or polygamous.
 Monogamy means that a person is married to one person only.
 Polygamy, on the other hand, means that a person has more than one spouse at a time.
-Kinship plays a huge role in the kind of society that we are living today. Its influences affect our
politics and economy.
- One example would be the existence of the political dynasties. A dynasty refers to a succession of
rulers from the same family or lineage.
- Political organizations follow certain guidelines or regulations to ensure that political processes
are going smoothly.
-Authority – is the concept of right to issue and, using coercive power to enforce a command.
Legitimacy – originated from the Latin word “legitimare”, meaning to declare, lawful”. According to
Weber, it is the basis of every system of authority, a willingness to obey, and a belief by virtue of
which persons exercising authority are lent prestige”
-Weber’s Theory of Authority is classified into three types:
 Traditional Authority - is legitimated by sanctity of tradition or custom
 Charismatic Authority - is authority made legitimate by a leader with a mission and vision
that inspires others.
 Legal-Rational Authority - refers to a form of leadership made legitimate by legal rationality.
Its legitimacy derived from the power of the content of law.