Sociology Theories and Key Figures Quiz

UCSP - Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

• UCSP is the study of culture, society, and politics.
• It is part of a larger body of knowledge known as Social Science.
• Social Science uses systematic processes and scientific methods to study culture, society, and politics.
• It borrows from various disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, psychology, and geography.
• Social science is concerned with human society and human behavior, unlike natural science, which studies the natural world.
• Sociology is a pioneer discipline in social sciences.
• Sociology is the systematic study of human relationships, human society, and human interaction.
• Sociology addresses social and political issues in modern times.
• Key figures in the field such as Auguste Comte, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber have contributed immensely to the field.

Defining Culture, Society, and Culture

• Culture encompasses the ways of life for people including food, clothing, houses, possessions and acquired items.
• Culture includes intangible and material aspects like music, dance, poetry, fashions, manners, and scientific knowledge.
• Culture evolves with society and social interactions.
• Societies are groups of people who share a common territory, culture, and language, and work together for survival.
• Societies are unified by a sense of identity and pride of place.
• Culture cannot exist without society, and no known society does not exhibit culture.
• People's behavior can change when they are part of a group.

Defining Culture

• Culture is the sum of an individual's way of life, encompassing food, clothing, and living spaces, as well as possessions and learned aspects.
• Culture consists of norms and values, along with intangible aspects of human experience like music and dance.
• Culture also includes fads, fashions, manners, and scientific and technological advances.
• This also contains tangible artifacts like architecture and breakthroughs in transportation and communication.
• Culture is a combination of material and non-material aspects.

Sociology

• Auguste Comte (1798-1857) focused on societal improvement and introduced Positivism through his works "Course on Positive Philosophy" and "Systems of Positive Polity."
• Comte believed that scientific analyses of evidence, experiments, and statistics can offer clear insights into societal operations.
• Karl Marx (1818-1883), who disagreed with Comte's positivism, argued that societal development and progress stem from class struggles regarding the means of production.
• Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) separated sociology from psychology and investigated societal transformations and the impact on individuals; a key work is "The Division of Labor in Society."
• Max Weber (1864-1920) highlighted the role of rationalization and its effect on societal development, which involves the disenchantment of the world and the modern emphasis on science.

Areas of Sociology

• Social Organization
• Social Psychology
• Human Ecology
• Applied Sociology
• Population Studies
• Social Change
• Sociological Theory and Research

Culture

• Students need to appreciate the importance of culture, society, and politics.
• Society, defined as an organized group of individuals, interacts for survival and well-being.
• Society includes economic, communication, and defense systems.
• Society is characterized by shared identity and pride of place.

Politics

• Politics encompasses theory, art, and practice, mainly concerning the acquisition, exercise, and maintenance of power.
• The political institution is a combination of statuses, norms, role behavior, power acquisition and decision-making.
• Governments, serving as a political institution, employ power in relation to policy-making and decision-making.
• Presidents and prime ministers head governments, leading executive functions and military forces during war and cabinet functions during peace.

Areas of Political Science

• Political Theory
• Public Law
• Public Administrator
• Public Dynamics
• Government and Business
• Legislatures and Legislation
• International Relations
• International Law
• Comparative Government

Gender

• Society divides humanity into categories based on sex.
• Gender serves as a guideline for how men and women think, act, and interact in society.
• Biological sex differences are different from culturally-learned gender differences.
• Gender roles vary across cultures.
• Gender is related to masculinity and feminity.

Socioeconomic Status

• Socioeconomic status refers to the grouping of people who have similar socioeconomic privileges within a society based on inherited wealth or their occupation.
• Social class/statuses vary and combine differently in societies.
• The types of class structure differ between countries — the Philippine examples are: upper, middle and lower classes.

Ethnicity

• Ethnicity is a cultural expression of a group of people identified as unique.
• An ethnic group is a group of people who are identified by factors like language, shared ancestry, origin, customs, and traditions.
• Ethnicity is based on the shared characteristics of a group of people.
• The eight predominant ethnic-linguistic groups in the Philippines, based on 2000 census figures: Tagalog (28.1%), Cebuano (13%), Ilocano (9%), Bisaya/Binisaya (7.6%), Ilonggo/Hiligaynon(7.5%), Bicol (6%), Waray (3.4%), and other (25.3%).

Religion

• Religion is an organized system of beliefs and practices concerning the spiritual sphere or supernatural.
• Religion in the Philippines is predominantly Roman Catholic (82.9% in 2000 census); other religions like Aglipayan, Islam/Muslims, Evangelical, Iglesia Ni Cristo, and other Christian denominations are also present, along with other unspecified religions.

Exceptionality

• Exceptionality refers to being intellectually gifted or having challenges in different aspects such as behavior, communication, appearance, intelligence, and conditions(e.g. disabilities).
• It also includes physical or mental challenges related to conditions, personality or behavior, communication, intellect and appearance.

Nationality

• Nationality is a legal relationship between a person and a country.
• The law grants rights to people born to Filipino parents or those naturalized Filipino citizens based on meeting specific requirements.
• People who are born to Filipinos or naturalized Filipinos gain Filipino nationality.

Anthropology

• Anthropology, a branch of social science, studies all aspects of human beings including biological evolution and cultural features differentiating humans from other species.
• It focuses on the study of physical evolution, social and cultural interactions of groups.
• Branches of anthropology include physical anthropology, social/cultural anthropology, psychological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology.

Branches of Anthropology

• The discipline involves different areas of expertise with regards to the human, social, cultural and physical background.

Cultural Anthropology

• Cultural anthropology studies human cultures, variations, and progress.
• It analyzes social life from the past until the present.

Linguistic Anthropology

• Linguistic anthropology studies language, including its origin, history, and contemporary variations.
• It studies language across cultures.

Archaeology

• Archaeology studies past human cultures through their material artifacts.
• It involves recovering and analyzing artifacts to gain insights to past cultures.

Biological Anthropology

• Biological anthropology studies human beings as biological organisms, including their evolution and contemporary variations.
• It studies human biology throughout evolution.

Applied Anthropology

• Applied anthropology examines and solves social, political, and economic problems through analysis of existing situations.
• Anthropologists develop solutions for current issues.

Political Science

• Political Science is primarily concerned with the state, government, and politics.
• It focuses widely on political theory and its practice, plus the analysis of political systems and behavior.
• Political Science studies ancient Greek words like "Polis" for "city state" and "Scire" for "to know."

Areas of Political Science

• Political Theory
• Public Law
• Public Administration
• Public Dynamics
• Government and Business
• Legislatures and Legislation
• International Relations
• International Law
• Comparative Government.

Importance of Studying Culture, Society, and Politics

• Understanding culture/society/politics aids understanding of human interactions with the environment, and enables appreciation for how culture affects human creativity.
• Understanding culture aids in adapting and integrating with the surrounding environment.
• Understanding cultures allows someone to discern appropriate forms of social behavior, etiquette and applicable laws.