UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS

Course Material #1

Lesson 1: The Social Sciences and Three Faces of the Social

Learning Objectives: Culture encompasses the intangible aspects of

1. Articulate observations on human cultural human life—beliefs, values, traditions,
variations, social differences, social languages, and artistic expressions.
change, and political identities.
Society is not a physical entity but a collection of
2. Demonstrate curiosity and openness to
relationships, interactions, and organized
explore the origins and dynamics of culture structures formed by people living together. It's
and society and political identities. an idea we use to describe how individuals and
groups coexist and build systems like
Culture, Society, and Politics as Conceptual governments, economies, or social norms.
Tools
• Pierce 1998 describes a concept as the Politics deals with abstract notions of power,
core meaning or logical foundation of an governance, decision-making, and conflict
idea or belief system. resolution. It is a system of ideas that guides how
people manage resources, make decisions, and
• Culture, Society, and Politics are concepts.
organize themselves in communities.
• It influences the way we see and experience
our individual and collective lives as social
beings.

• What is interesting about concepts is that as conceptual tools, they allow us to form other concepts, or
relate concepts to each other, or even deconstruct old ones and replace them with something new.

Forming New Concepts involves creating entirely fresh ideas or frameworks,

often by innovating or combining existing knowledge.
Relating Concepts is about identifying connections or interdependencies
between existing ideas, revealing a deeper or more comprehensive
understanding.
Deconstructing Old Concepts challenges traditional or established ideas by
critically analyzing their foundations, assumptions, or relevance. It often leads
to replacing them with updated or more relevant alternatives.

The Social Sciences: Sociology, Anthropology, and Political Science

IDENTITY
• Concept that defines your distinctive characteristic over the course of your life.
• Identity is continuously shaped, reshaped, and changed over the course of your life.

For example:
As a child, your identity may center on your family roles, but as you grow, peer groups
and societal expectations begin to play a larger role.

As you mature, your priorities, beliefs, and values may change. This natural evolution
leads to a redefinition of who you are, reflecting your personal development and
aspirations.
CULTURE

• Defined as a society’s way of life, which includes experiences,

beliefs, traditions, language, knowledge, arts, etc.
• Culture allows people to understand themselves and the people who
are living in other societies and provides them a lens of how their
society “works”.

SOCIETY
• Defined as groups of people who have shared culture, who are living in a
particular geographical location, and who are interacting with one another
to meet the basic needs for survival.

Significance of Studying Culture, Society, and Significance of Culture

Politics 1. Culture makes man adapt and integrate
To understand man’s way of life, it is vital to have himself to his environment by being
wider analyses of relationship of man to his resourceful and creative for his survival.
natural environment. To achieve that, we need 2. Culture establishes norms, beliefs, and
to distinguish, recognize, and appreciate the other social behavior.
components and significance of culture, 3. Culture conveys verbal and non-verbal
society, and politics as these are essential to the communications.
total development of a person. 4. Culture produces technical evolution.
5. Culture contributes to the overall
development of human person.
Significance of Society
1. Society is an integral product of human
interaction and interconnectedness.
2. Society provides knowledge and ideas on
the importance of justice, equality, and
other widely- accepted human behavior.
3. Society is the representation of one’s
identity.
4. Society is the symbol of political
independence and an avenue for economic Significance of Politics
interdependence. 1. Politics provides knowledge and
understanding on the works of the
government and its components.
2. Politics inculcates objectives and principles
that must be abided by officials and
citizens.
3. Politics is an avenue to better understand
political concepts such as democracy,
human rights, freedom, justice, etc. and to
become aware of what is happening around
the world.
 THE THREE (3) DISCIPLINES OF STUDYING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS

ANTROPOLOGY

• “Anthropos” and “logos”, which mean

“man” and “study”
• refers to the systematic study of man, his
body, his works, his behavior and
values, in time and space (Palispis,
2007).
• This branch of social sciences is
significant in studying culture, society,
and politics as this provides us
comprehension and explanation of
human species and their practices in
their environment.
SOCIOLOGY

• Sociology came from Greek and Latin words,

“logos” and “socius”, which mean “study” and
“companionship”
• refers to the systematic study of social life of
humans, groups, and society, per se. It analyzes human
interaction, social relationships, social organizations and
structures, and social processes (Palispis, 2009).

POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Politics came from the Greek word, “Polis”,
which means “city- state”.
• refers to the systematic study of state and its
government, relationship of state and people in
the community, and relationship of state and
other states.
• This branch of social sciences is significant in
studying culture, society, and politics as this
analyzes how people attain and maintain their
political position; how people encounter
conflicts but soon provide resolutions; and how
laws, policies, rules and regulations, among
others, implement in the society.