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Department of Education
Bureau of Learning Delivery
Teaching and Learning Division

Grade Levels:
Grade 11/12

Specialized Subject:

Understanding Culture,
Society and Politics
Semester:
SECOND (Week 2)

LEARNING COMPETENCY:
Analyze the concept, aspect, and in/of culture
and society.
Code: UCSP 11/12SPU-1b-3
UCSP 11/12SPU-1b-4
UCSP 11/12SPU-1b-5
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Defining Culture and Society from the Perspectives of
Anthropology and Sociology

We are now in the Second Week of Quarter 1 of your subject.

So, how are you today?

I hope you are all in good health.

OBJECTIVE: At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
1. Define Culture and Society
2. Identify the aspect of culture and society.
3. Recognize the value of Anthropology and Sociology

Direction: Read each item carefully and use your notebook to write your answers. If the
statement is true write the word AGREE. If the statement is false, write the word
DISAGREE. If you are not sure of the truth or falsity of the statement, write the word
UNCERTAIN.

1. Society and culture is a complex whole.

_2. Cultural relativism mitigates ethnocentrism.
_3. There are risks to culture heritage.
_4. Man’s behavior is greatly shaped by the society and culture where he belongs.
_5. People live together always in a large scale grouping.
_6. Tribe is an example of culture.
_7. Religion is an example of culture.
_8. Every person shares his or her culture to others.
_9. Culture is an organized body of conventional understanding manifested in art only.
_10. Tylor’s theory was attacked primarily because he did not attribute the origin of
religion to the interference of supernatural powers.
 ` Before we will start our lesson let’s have first a memory exercise.
1
This activity is called “Repeat it Out Loud”

In order to remember anything you have just read, heard or done, repeat it out loud.

For example, repeat out loud the name of someone new you’ve just met and you will
nail the name down in your mind.

2 Task No. 2 Sharpen your mind. In a Catholic Church wedding ceremony, the bride wears a
white bridal dress. What is the meaning or significance of this color? Do you think that in
2050 or even earlier, the same color will no longer be worn, and instead green, pink, yellow,
red, or even black colors? What do you think?

You’re Welcome!
Thank you Sir! I hope you enjoyed a little bit. 4
Are you ready for our next topic?

Yes Sir! We are

ready!

The Society

Society is a group of people living together in a definite territory, having a

5 sense of belongingness, mutually interdependent of each other, and follows a
certain way of life.
➢ It is a group of people sharing a common culture. See the figure
below.

6
The focal point in the of society is man’s social; behavior since his
behavior is greatly shape by society and culture where he belongs

7
Thank you sir!
how about the
Culture?

Sample Figure of the Society

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People live together in a large scale grouping such as community, state which is
international in nature, or in a small number of people like the family, clan, tribe and
neighborhood. Each social group exhibits a shared common traits, beliefs, values and
way of life which we call Culture.
Culture – is a dynamic medium through which societies create a collective way of life
reflected in such a things such as beliefs, values, music, literature, art, dance, science,
8 religion, ritual technology and others.

➢ CULTURE- is that”a complex whole which encompasses beliefs, practices,

values, attitudes laws, norms, artifacts, symbols knowledge, and everything
that a person learns and share as a member of society” (Edward B Taylor, 18 th
Century English anthropologist).

According to Allan G. Johnson, Culture is the sum of symbols, ideas, forms of expressions and material
products associated with social system.

Robert Redfield states that Culture is an organized body of conventional understanding manifested in art and
artifacts, which persisting through tradition.
9

Thus, Culture is a very powerful force that affects the lives of the members of the society. It shapes and
guides people’s perception of reality.
10

Sir! Can we consider society as a complex

11 whole?

Yes!
Society is a complex whole because it is a social system. As a complex
whole; it is made up of individuals and groups that interact in a relatively
stable and patterned manner.
12
13
Sir? Why is it called a system?

14
Yes!
As a System, it consist of sub-parts. A change in one segment will affect all
the other parts of the systems. Society is regarded as the largest and most
inclusive social unit that exist.
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Additional Notes … Things to Ponder 15

Anthropological perspectives on cultures and Society.

1. The Evolutionist-Intellectual Perspective

➢ Proponent are: Edward Burnett Tylor, Johann Jakob Bachofen and James G. Frazer
➢ According to them Death and the belief in the soul and the spirits play important roles in this
perspective.
2. The French Sociology School
➢ Proponents are: Emile Durkheim and his followers(including Robert Hertzand Marcell Mauss
➢ They investigated the mechanisms by societies sustain and reproduce themselves.
3. The British Functionalist School
➢ Proponents are: Bronislaw Malinowski
➢ He considered the anxiety caused by the rationally uncontrollable happenings as the basic motivation
for the emergence of religious faith.
➢ He suggested that religion was not born of speculation and illusion, but rather out of the real tragedies
of human lifer, out of the conflict between human plans and realities….The existence of strong
personal attachments and the fact death, which all of human events id the most upsetting and
disorganizing to man’s calculations, are perhaps the main sources of religious belief.
➢ Arnold Radcliffe-Brown according to him in the case of certain rights, it would be easy to
maintain… that they give men fears and anxieties from which they would otherwise be free-“ The fear
of black magic or of spirits, fear of God, of the devil, of Hell”

Sociological Perspectives on Culture and Society

Sociological Perspective Level of Analysis Focus

Micro Use of Symbols; Face –to-face
Symbolic Interactionism interactions
Macro Relationships between the parts
Functionalism of the society : How aspects nof
society are functional (adaptive)
Macro Competition for scarce
resources; How the elite control
Conflict Theory the poor and weak

1. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective.

➢ -people attach meanings to symbols, and then they act according to their subjective interpretation of
the symbols.
2. Functionalist Perspective.
➢ also called Functionalism, each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to society’s
functioning as a whole.
3. The Conflict Perspective.( Karl Marx’s writing on class struggles,

Dear students I already explained to you the Anthropological and sociological perspectives
of culture and society.
And now… we will identify the aspects of culture and society.
16 Do you have any idea?
 17 Don’t worry. I will provide you below
` the important terminologies.

While reading try to identify the aspects

of culture and society.

18 Definitions of Terms:

• Culture defined as ‘’that complex whole which encompasses beliefs, practices, values,
attitudes, law, norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge and everything that a person learns
and shares as a member of society.
• Culture Is Everything- It is what a peson has, does and thinks as part of society. This
implies all of persons belief system, set of behaviors and material possesions.
• Material Culture- includes all tangible and visible parts of culture, which includes
clothes, foods and even buildings.
• Nonmaterial Culture -includes all intangible parts of culture, which consist of values,
ideas and knowledge
• Culture Is Learned- culture is set of beliefs, attitudes and practices that an individual
learns through his or her family, school, church and other social institutions
• Enculturation- is a process of learning your own culture.
• Acculturation- is a process of accommodating desirable traits from other culture.
• Deculturation- culture has been lost and even cultural trait itself is in the process of
being forgotten.
• Culture Is Shared- This implies that a particular behavior cannot be considered as a
culture if there is only one person practicing it. Culture is shared intergenerational
• Culture Affects Biology - Humans are born into cultures that have values on beauty and
body. As such, they alter their bodies to fit physiological norms that are dictated by
their culture.
• Culture Is Adaptive - Culture is a tool for survival that humans use in response to the
pressures of their environment.
• Culture Is Maladaptive - Culture can also cause problems for the people who subscribe
to it. These problems arise when environment is change and culture has remained the
same.
• Culture Changes - The final characteristic of culture it is never static. This dynamism
of culture is due to changing needs of humans as they interpret and survive in their
environment

I hope you learned from the different terminologies.

Can you identify now the aspects of Culture?

19
How about the aspect of Society?
20
Yes Sir. I learned and
enjoyed reading.
 Yes Sir. The aspects of culture are:
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➢ Culture Is Everything
21
➢ Culture Is Learned
➢ Culture Is Shared
➢ Culture Is Shared

Yes Sir. The aspects of Society are:

22
➢ Culture Affects Biology
➢ Culture Is Adaptive
➢ Culture Is Maladaptive
➢ Culture Changes

Great! You have both got 24

the correct answers. And last…

23 How important Anthropology and Sociology in

the study of Culture and society?

Sir! The Importance of Anthropology to

the study of culture is that… 25
Anthropology provides a basis for
understanding both our own and other

Sociology will enable us to gain a better 26

understanding of the social forces that shape
your own life.

Very Good!

Remember always that without anthropology we cannot understand our

own culture as well the others.

And, Sociology will enable us to gain a better understanding of

the social forces that shape your own life.

And now let’s have an activity.

27
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LOOK! LOOK!

Activity #1
Give an example in each culture that shows the characteristics of the said culture. Use the answer
sheet provided at the next pages of this module. Copy and Answer.

CULTURE IS EVERYTHING -

CULTURE IS LEARNED –

CULTURE IS SHARED -

CULTURE AFFECTS BIOLOGY -

CULTURE IS ADAPTIVE –

CULTURE IS MALADAPTIVE-

CULTURE CHANGES-
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Activity #2: Extend your Knowledge

Answer the entire question below to enhance and extend your knowledge in Culture and
Society. . Use the answer sheet provided at the next pages of this module. Copy and Answer.

1. What are the subdisciplines of anthropology

2. Explain each subdisciplines of anthropology

Direction: Answer the question below using your critical thinking skills. Write your answer
on the activity/answer sheet provided hereof.

1. As a student, how do you adapt to your environment? Give one example on how you
adapt to your environment.
2. Culture was not designed by man to become what it has become. What does this
statement mean? What characteristics of culture is this.

I have learned that _ .

I have realized that .

I will apply _.
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References

Online References:
➢ www.google.com- July 18, 2020
➢ https://www.studocu.com/ph- July 18, 2020
➢ https://www.google.com/search?q=cartoon+picture =- July 18, 2020
https://image.slidesharecdn.com/0m12societyandculture-121015110115-
phpapp01/95/society-and-culture-1-638.jpg?cb=1350299928
https://www.lifehack.org/804141/brain-exercises-for-memory- July 18, 2020
➢ https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/pontifical-and-royal-university-of-santo-tomas-the-
catholic-university-of-the-philippines- July 18, 2020

Book:

• Understanding Culture, Society and Politics authored by: MARIANO M.

ARIOLA, LL.B;Ed.D.
• Copyright 2016.pages 73-88