2. Lesson 1
Starting points for the
Understanding of Culture,
Society, and Politics

3. Starting points for the Understanding
of Culture, Society, and Politics
Topics:
1. Sharing of social and cultural backgrounds of
students as acting subjects or social actors, agents,
persons
2. Observations about social, political, and cultural
behavior and phenomena
3. Observations on social, political, and cultural
change
4. Definition of anthropology, political science, and
sociology

4. Objectives:
1. Articulate observations on human
cultural variation, social differences,
social change, and political identities;
2. Demonstrate curiosity and an
openness to explore the origins and
dynamics of culture, society, and political
identities;
3. Analyze social, political and cultural
change.

5. What makes us human?
What are our similarities and
differences?
How do our society, culture and
politics shape our identities?

6. Sharing time:
Your social and cultural backgrounds
• Gender
• Socio-economic class
• Ethnicity
• Religion
• Exceptionality/non-exceptionality
(rare)
• Nationality

7. The categories that we possess as
individuals are labels that are
ascribed or given to us individually
and collectively are a testament to
the operation of these forces which
leave us unsuspecting of their
intrusive and punitive implications in
our lives.
Students as Social Beings

8. Our categories as male or female,
rich or poor, tall or short, and
even the problematic effect of
the color of our skin are
evidences of the operation of
these social forces.

9. These “LABELS” function as tags
with which our society read our
worth and value. These categories
that we possess are not natural,
they are socially constructed.

10. Our world is already being
organized by society.
Boys and girls are assigned
appropriate colors, toys, clothes,
mannerisms, etiquette, careers
to pursue, and choice of mate
(husband/wife).

11. In short, our society has already
been constructed for us.

12. Social Realities: Behavior and
Phenomenon
We personally encounter different ways
of doing things, behaving, and making
sense of events.
Question:
“What makes it normal and acceptable
to some people in some placed and
unacceptable to other places?”

13. Manifestations of Human Variations through
Cultural Diversity, Social Differences, and
Political Identities.
The creation of the global society plus humans
into one plots where almost everything is
interlinked and where change in one aspect
will affect the other. However, despite the
emergence of the idea of “one global
society,” there remain visible manifestations of
human variations in society.

14. Cultural Diversity.
Culture plays a major role in our day-to-day
living. It refers to “that complex whole which
encompasses beliefs, practices, values,
attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols,
knowledge, and everything that a person
learns and shares as a member of society

15. Social Differences.
The society has various manifestations of
social differences based on unique social
characteristics or qualities like social class,
gender, age, educational attainment,
occupation, and the like. In sociology, social
differences is usually equated with social
stratification, this describes the relative
social position of persons in a given social
group, category, geographical region, or
other social unit.

16. The Major Types of Social Stratification are:
1. Caste. Hereditary endogamous social
group on which a person’s rank and his/her
rights and obligations are ascribed or on the
basis of his/her birth into a particular group.
2. Class. A person’s position is based upon
achievement.
3. Estate. Gives emphasis to birth as well as
wealth and possessions.
4. Slavery. Had economic basis wherein the
master shows power over slave.

17. Political Identities.
The world is visibly divided into different
countries. Each country has its own political
system to run its government. A government
is the system by which a state or community
is controlled so as to put order.

18. Significance of Studying Culture, Society, and
Politics.
Social Science is a very complex study. It is
divided into different areas according to focus
or subject. In this subject, a special focus on
the interplay of Anthropology (culture),
Sociology (society), and Political Science
(political identities and government) will be
given focus with the use of trans-disciplinary
perspective to understand and explain social
issues in the human society.

19. What is Sociology, Anthropology
and Political Science?

20. Is the holistic “science of man”, a science of
the totality of human existence.
Anthropology
The scientific study of humans and human
behavior and societies in the past and
present.

21. 1. Physical Anthropology. Physical anthropology
or sometimes called biological anthropology mainly
concerns about how humans emerged and evolved
through time. This is under the study of human
paleontology. The second concern of physical
anthropology is how human beings differ
biologically. This is under the study of human
variation.
2. Cultural Anthropology. Cultural anthropology is
basically concerned with the differenced of cultures
from time to time.
Two broad fields of Anthropology:

22. A. Archeology. This studies past cultures
through tangible or material remains.
Archeologists help reconstruct the life and
culture of the humans in the prehistoric time.
B. Anthropological linguistics. This is the
anthropological study of languages where
experts explain the difference of languages by
culture and how it is constructed.
3 main branches of Cultural Anthropology:

23. C. Ethnology. This is the study of recent or
present cultures. These disciplines try to explain
the difference of culture before and the recent
through vigorous research, example: concept of
beauty, marriage practices, etc.
3 main branches of Cultural Anthropology:

24. This is the study of relationships among people.
It is the study of the society and the behavior of
people in the society.
Sociology.
Is the study of society, patterns of social
relationships, social interaction and culture of
everyday life.

25. 2 major approaches to examine human society:
1. Macro level perspective
- Macrosociology examined the social structure,
the social institutions, social organizations, and
social groups.
- Uses the structural functionalist perspective and the
conflict perspective in examining the larger social
structure.
2. Micro level perspective
- Microsociology places more emphasis on the role of
the individuals in society.
- Uses the symbolic interactionist perspective to look
into the interactions between or among individuals in
society.

27. Deals with systems of government and the
analysis of political activity and political
behavior. It deals extensively with the theory
and practice of politics which is commonly
thought of as the determining of the
distribution of power and resources.
Political Science
A branch of Social Science dealing with political
institutions and with the principles and conduct
of government.

28. Subfields of Political Science:
1. Comparative Politics
It is a subfield which studies the politics
within other nations. This subfield tries to
compare theories on a specific nation
to other nations.
2. International Relation
It is a subfield which studies politics among
nations. In this subfield conflict, diplomatic
affairs, and international law is being studied.

29. Subfields of Political Science:
3. Political Theory
It is a subfield which studies classical and
modern politics. This subfield aims to discover
what theory suits the characteristics of good
politics.
4. Public Administration
It is a subfield which studies bureaucracies on
how it is functional and how to improve it by
certain theories.

30. Subfields of Political Science:
5. Constitutional Law
It is a subfield which studies how laws are
made and being applied on a certain nation or
state. Its major aims are to study legal
systems.
6. Public Policy
It is a subfield which studies the interface of
politics and economic. It aims to create a plan
to develop programs that would be sufficient
and adequate to societies.

31. The Social Sciences and the Three
Facets of the Social
Society:
a. Social – actions and interactions
b. Cultural – practices and traditions
c. and Political – power relations

32. SOCIOLOGY
ANTHROPOLOGY POLITICAL
SCIENCE
Facets of
the Social
Cultural
practices
Social
forces
Power
relations
Merging point of the sociological, anthropological
and political relations

33. SOCIOLOGY
CONCENTRATES ON SOCIETY
FOCUSES ON CULTURE
ANTHROPOLOGY