1.Understanding Culture, Society and Politics M1.pptx

Understanding Culture, Society and Politics Society, Disciplines of Social Sciences, The Nature and Goals of Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science  “Society”  What comes into your mind when you hear the word “society”?  Technically, society is usually d...

Understanding Culture, Society and Politics Society, Disciplines of Social Sciences, The Nature and Goals of Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science  “Society”  What comes into your mind when you hear the word “society”?  Technically, society is usually described as an organized group of individuals whose members work together or regularly meet and have a shared territory, interest, and way of living.  Likewise, it signifies companionship or association with others. According to several philosophers, society is the outcome of the  Social Science What is Social Science?  Social Science is called the “Science of Society”. It focuses on studying the following: Changes in human relationships brought about by events. Interactions between human and their social and physical environment Effects and implications of past events to the present time Social systems, processes, and institution - and how humans relate to these. Disciplines of Social Sciences Social Science is both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary. Like a tree with many branches, it carries various disciplines within it. Each discipline carries a different lens-imagine looking at one issue differently- colored eyeglasses. Disciplines of Social Sciences  Psychology Economics Geography History Demography Linguistics Disciplines of Social Sciences Anthropology Sociology Political Science  Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science What comes into your mind when you hear the word: Anthropology Sociology Political Science Lesson 1 The Nature and Goals of Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science (UCSP11/12SPUIb -5)  Anthropology Anthropology relates to sociology, it always describes human, human behavior and human societies around the world. It is a comparative science that examines all societies. The term anthropology means scientific study of man or human beings.  Anthropology is considered as the complete “science of man”, because it focuses on the integration of Social Sciences, Humanities, Physical Science, and Human Biology. Because of this nature, Anthropology derives its data from field research and cross- cultural studies. The end goal of Anthropology is to understand humans and culture across history through developing and testing  Cultural anthropology Cultural anthropology studies, human societies and elements of cultural life. An example of cultural anthropology is the Linguistic anthropology which focuses on language in a certain society. The goal of studying anthropology is to understand the origin human evolution and the diverse forms of its existence  Sociology Sociology is a social science; it belongs to the family of social sciences. As a social science, focuses its aspects on man, his social manners, social activities and social life. The goal of sociology is to help you understand how human action and consciousness both shape and are shaped by the surrounding cultural and social structures.  Sociology is the study of human social relationships and institutions. Sociology’s subject matter is diverse, ranging from crime to religion, from the family to the state, from the divisions of race and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture, and from social stability to radical change in whole societies. The purpose of sociology is to understand how human action and consciousness both  Political Science Political science is a social science, it is a discipline that deals with several aspects such as the study of state and government.  It deals with the nature and formation of the state and attempts to understand its forms and functions. The goal of Political Science is to constantly deepen the knowledge, discover progress and protect the quality of life within a group, community, country, and the world. Thus, it is the study of power relationships and competing interests among states around the world.(Hudelson, Patricia M. “Culture and quality: an anthropological perspective” International Journal for  Political science is the study of the systems of government and political behaviour of humans when faced with power. The discipline also examines the distribution of power and resources, and how this impact and affect the world. Political science draws upon the other disciplines of Social Science such as Economics, Jurisprudence, Sociology, History, Geography, and Anthropology. As of current, Political Science encompasses International Relations, the study of the relationships and Lesson 2 Perspectives of Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science (UCSPC11DCS-Ic6)  Anthropological perspectives Anthropological perspectives are culture, cultural relativism, fieldwork, human diversity, holism, bio- cultural focus. The four main perspectives of Anthropology are the cross-cultural or comparative emphasis, its evolutionary/historical emphasis, its ecological emphasis, and its holistic emphasis (Dudgeon). An example for this is the analysis and solutions of the different aspects of the society such as the environment issues of pollution, the issues on health and medicine and  Sociological perspective Sociological perspective introduces the discipline of sociology, including something about its history, questions, theory, and scientific methods, and what distinguishes it from other social science disciplines. Central features include social interaction and relationships, social contexts, social structure, social change, the significance of diversity and human variation, and the critical, questioning character of sociology. It also  Sociology includes three major theoretical perspectives: 1. the functionalist perspective; 2. the conflict perspective; and 3. the symbolic interaction perspective.  In functionalist perspective, societies are thought to function like organisms, with various social institutions working together like organs to maintain and reproduce societies.  According to the functionalist perspective of sociology, each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to society’s stability and functioning as a whole. For example, the government provides education for the children of the family which in turn pays taxes on which the state  The conflict perspective sees social life as a competition, and focuses on the distribution of resources, power, and inequality.  For example, conflict theory describes the relationship between employers and employees as one of conflict, in which the employers wish to pay as little as possible for the employees’ labor, while the employees wish to maximize their wages.  The symbolic interaction perspective is based on the notion that people make sense of their social worlds through communication and social interaction, the exchanges of meaning through symbols and language. A defined in sociology, symbolic interactionism is the study of how language and symbols create meaning for a person’s lived experience.  Example: The word DOG is just a series of letters. Through your interactions with the letters ‘DOG’, you see this as a furry, four- legged animal.  Political science perspective Political science perspective studies the tendencies and actions of people which cannot be easily quantified or examined. Political science is more focused than most social sciences. It sticks to the political arena and to the realm of politics, either dealing with situations with two competing sides or the lateral decisions that affect the group as a whole. An example is the study of democracy as a form of government and why is democracy