UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS

Social Science08/19-20/21 Archaeology Examines the remains—such as fossils

and artifacts, of ancient and historical
Social Science is comprised of a wide array human populations to promote an
of disciplines that studies the overall function understanding of how humans have
of a society as well as interactions among adapted to their environments and
individual members of an institution. developed.
Cultural Promotes the study of a society’s
Anthropology Anthropology culture through their belief systems,
practices, and possessions.
From the Greek words; antropos (human)
Linguistic Examines the language of a group of
and logos (study) Anthropology people and its relation to relation to
It can be defined as “the study of people- their culture.
their origins, their development, and Physical Looks into the biological development,
contemporary variations, wherever and Anthropology the genetic compositions of humans
of humans and their contemporary
whenever they have been found on the face
variation. Asks the question, “How do
of earth.” (Ember, Ember, Ember and
they develop? How do they evolve?”
Peregrine, 2010)
Applied Attempts to solve contemporary
Humans studying humans, this discipline Anthropology problems through the application of
promotes a holistic study of humans. theories and approaches of the
discipline.
Studies humans as both biological – inquires
on the genetic composition of humans, their
relationship with other primates and their Sociology
evolution, and social creatures – inquires on From the Greek words socious (companion)
human behaviors, attitudes and belief and logos (study)
systems, which range from birth practices to
burial rites. It is a cognitive tool to understand society,
institutions, and their impact on human
Another key element is its research time behavior.
frame, which ranges from the evolution of
humans as a species to our current How society affects individuals, how
development, studying humans from various individuals affects society and how
ethnic groupings and geographic locations. individuals affect individuals.

Methodology used in gathering information Developed because of the changes in society

in Anthropology was crucial. and people tried to solve its problems.

1. Interview Method – Requires a key Categorically, it is the “scientific study of

informant that would interview the society, including patterns of social
subjects. relationships, social interaction, and
2. Participant-Observation Method – culture.” (Calhoun, 2002)
Anthropologists participate on the The word sociology was coined by Auguste
daily practices and rituals of the Comte in 1830 to refer to a scientific inquiry
subjects. that covers human social interactions.
Five subdisciplines of Anthropology:

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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
[Plato and Socrates are considered as Social 3 Social Change Inquires on the shift in social
Philosophers because their studies on and and cultural interactions and
human behavior are not based on systemic Disorganization interruption of its process
method.] through delinquency, deviance,
and conflicts.
In 1959, Charles Wright Mills coined the
4 Human Ecology Studies that relate human
phrase “Sociological Imagination” to refer to behavior to existing social
the ability of sociologist to understand institutions.
society systematically through scientific 5 Population or Inquires on the interrelationship
methods (has a step-by-step solution and is Demography between population
the systematic way to solve a problem). This characteristics and dynamics
ability involves the process of detaching with that of a political,
oneself from the common understanding of economic, and social system.
society and creates an alternative approach. 6 Applied Uses sociological research and
Sociology methods to solve contemporary
Scientific Revolution (16th -17th century) – problems.
Encourage the use of evidence to prove a
theory.
Methods in Sociology
Democratic Revolution (18th century) –
Encourage the view of human action cause Positivist Orientation is introduced by
changes in society. They trying to change the Auguste Comte, saying that society is like an
society’s way of following the government organism that could be measure through
and learning to do something for the society logic and mathematics. This perceives
themselves. society as a quantifiable subject from which
objective conclusions can be made. This
Industrial Revolution (19th century) - Gives allows for a macro-level analysis of society.
subject matter that sociologist could use or
study. Anti-Positivist Orientation promotes a
subjective approach that requires
Subdisciplines of Sociology qualitative methods in gathering data such
as interviews and participant-observations.
1 Social Studies that
Organizations involve social Anti-Positivist works within the micro level
structures (e.g. analysis of society.
institutions, social
groups, social
stratification,
social mobility,
and ethnic
groups)
2 Social Study of the
Psychology impact of group
life to a person’s
nature and
personality.

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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
Political Science politicians, and general
political environment.
Comes from the Greek word polis (city-state 5 Public Policy Inquires on the types of
in ancient Greece) and scire (to know). governmental policies
The American Political Science Association and the underlying
defines its discipline as the “The study of motivations for their
enactment and
governments, public policies and political
implementation.
processes, systems, and political behavior.”
6 Public Examines the various
(2013)
Administration administrative schemes
Aims to know the activities within the state implemented by the
such as; human interaction and conflict, government officials.
human and state relations, and power
distribution. Political Science Concepts
The “how and why” of collective decision- 1. Politics
making decision. Are activities associated with the
1 Political Examines the government of a country or other
Theory contemporary area.
application of political 2. Power
concepts such as human The capacity to direct and influence
right, equality, peace, the decision of others (different from
and justice. This authority)
subdiscipline also 3. State
searches for a better It’s independent from external
political world. control and it may consist of many
2 Comparative It is a branch of political nations.
Politics science that aims to
a. Government – Set of personnel
provide context to the
who manages the affairs of the
differences in
government and political states in its act of allocating
systems and compares source values.
them to one another. Its b. Sovereignty – Capacity of the
purpose is to make a political system to make
systematic comparison. independent decisions with its
3 International It is the study of state-to- territory (internal/external).
Relations state relations and wider c. Territory – Geographic space in
margin of the impacts of which the sovereignty of a state is
globalization and climate exercised.
change. d. People – “Nation”. Through its
4 Political Covers the attitudes, existence that concepts on
Behavior knowledge, and actions
government, state, territory, and
of an individual in
sovereignty take shape.
response to political
variables such as policies
created by the
government, behavior of

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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
Concept, Aspects, and Changes Society
in/of Culture and Society A product of human interactions.

It is an organization that caters to human’s

Culture is everything that a person need for belongingness in a group.
learns and shares as a member of
Social interaction is a compilation of ways
society.
and means by which humans interact with
each other within of the confines of a society.
Characteristics of Culture
1. Culture is everything Important points of Social Interaction
a. Material Culture – Tangible
1. Space is not an issue
parts of culture.
2. There could be multiple and
b. Non-Material Culture –
simultaneous interactions.
Intangible parts of culture like
3. A dialogue could have an active and
values, religion, language,
inactive end, which means whether
and respectfulness.
the other party will respond or not.
2. Culture is learned
4. The meaning we ascribe to the
a. Enculturation is the process of
actions of others are informed by the
learning your own culture.
values and norms that are upheld in
b. Acculturation is the process
our society.
of learning culture of other
society. Social Organization is a concept refers to the
c. Deculturation happens when interrelationship of parts of society. The
the reason for the culture has positions created within a society constitute
been lost. the category of status.
3. Culture is shared
Role is each status prescribe a set of
accepted behavior that define that
Culture of
Cult
ure Culture of individual’s response and inclinations.
Parents' of an
indiv
interacting Group is a basic unit of an organization.
Society idual society
Institutions are established when roles,
statues, and groups are perpetuated within
4. Culture affects biology the context of society.
5. Culture is adaptive
e.g. family, education, religion, economics,
We use this as a response to the
and government
pressure of the environment.
6. Culture is maladaptive Social Structure is the foundation of every
Wherein culture causes problems society from which emanates the possible
to the environment. roles, statuses, institutions, and
7. Culture changes organizations.

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Agency, exercising agency, humans can be ethnocentrism is helpful in countering or
either the catalyst of change or the controlling it when interacting with different
instruments by which such change is played cultures.
in society.
Ethnocentrism is expressed in 3 increasingly
Ethnocentrism and Cultural ethnocentric and difficult ways.
Relativism09/06/21 1. Stereotypes – in social psychology, a
stereotype is a fixed, over
Ethnocentrism is a perspective that generalized belief about a particular
promotes an individual’s culture as the most group or class of people.
efficient and superior; hence, the individual 2. Prejudice – a preconceived
who exhibits ethnocentrism feel that his or judgement, opinion or attitude
her culture is the most appropriate as directed toward a certain people
compared with other cultures. based on their membership in a
We evaluate other cultures with our own particular group.
understanding, we become bias believing 3. Discrimination - treating a person
our own culture is better than the other. unfairly because of who they are or
because they possess certain
We become subjective based on our own characteristics.
perspective.
To overcome ethnocentric attitudes
This term was coined by William Graham there are seven actions that help to
Sumner in his Folkways (1906) and has long minimize or eliminate ethnocentric
served as a cornerstone in the social attitudes (Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2005)
analysis of culture.
1. Be Self-Aware
Using this perspective as a lens in Acknowledge the dis/advantages you
understanding society is problematic on the have. Recognize your ethnocentric
basis that each culture is efficient and attitude and how strong they are.
appropriate for the environment where it This awareness opens the way for
finds its practice. you to modify actions and attitudes
There is no right or wrong culture, because as needed and understanding the
we come from different environments and need for change.
grew up practicing different cultures. 2. Educate
Read, attend lectures, presentations,
Characteristics of Ethnocentric Person and training sessions designed to
help interaction between different
- A sense of belonging to an ethnic
ethnic groups. Interact with
group.
members of a different ethnic group
- Patriotism and national awareness
and ask questions to gain
- A feeling of superiority towards other
understanding.
social groups
3. Listen
- Xenophobia
Seek to understand before trying to
- Cultural traditionalism
make yourself understood. If need be
All people are ethnocentric to one degree or restate or reframe questions and
another. Knowing the degree of your comments from the other person’s

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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS
point of view to gain a greater Refers to not judging a culture to our own
understanding. standards of what is right or wrong, strange
4. Speak Up or normal. Instead, we should try to
Using appropriate methods, identify understand cultural practices of another
stereotypes, prejudices and group in its own cultural context.
discrimination when they occur.
Categories:
5. Review Team Norms
Periodically review you team’s - Absolute, everything that happens
norms, goals, and expectations to within a culture must and should not
determine if subgroup has formed be questioned by outsiders.
that tends to dominate other - Critical, creates questions about
members in the group. Make cultural practices in terms of who is
adjustments as needed. accepting them and why.
6. Avoid Giving or Taking Offense
Change will take time and effort.
Everyone makes mistakes and may
need multiple times to alter their
behavior. If you are aware that the
comment you are about to make
may be offensive, take a moment to
determine another way to say it or
frame the comment or question in
terms of better understanding and
intent not to give offense.
7. Be Forgiving

Cultural Relativism
Which promotes the perspective that
cultures must be understood in the context
of their locality.

You are understanding others with an open

mind.

Ferraro and Andretta advocate a more

culturally relative approach to
understanding other human groups. They
said that one can build emotional resilience
by understanding that others do not
necessarily mean to offend, but that their
actions are guided by their own cultural
norms.

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