Understanding Culture, Society and Politics PDF

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS In our modern world, it is important to pay attention to the interplay of culture, politics, and society. These elements are essential in understanding human behavior and social groups against the backdrop of globalization and industrialization. ...

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS In our modern world, it is important to pay attention to the interplay of culture, politics, and society. These elements are essential in understanding human behavior and social groups against the backdrop of globalization and industrialization.  Defining Culture, Society, and Politics Lesson 1 Social, Political, and Cultural CHAPTER 1: Behavior and Phenomena Understanding Culture, Lesson 2 Society and the Politics Social, Political, and Cultural Change Lesson 3 The Essence of Anthropology, Political Science, and Sociology Lesson 4 Lesson 1 DEFINING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS Culture It is defined as the sum of an individual’s way of life, ranging from the food he or she eats, the clothes he or she wears, and the house where he or she lives. Culture Non-material culture – it is a type of culture that are being learned or observed by human. Examples are religion, folk behaviors, gestures and customs. Material culture – it is a type of culture that are created by human person or is tangible. Examples are food, clothing and technology. Society An organized group or groups of interdependent people who share a common territory, language, and culture, and who act together for collective survival and well-being. Society Comes from the Latin word “socius” which means comrade, companion or friend. The ways that people depend on one another can be seen in different social features, such as their economic, communication, and defense systems. They are also bound together by a general sense of common identity and pride of place. Politics Refers to the “theory, art, and practice of government.” Politics Comes from the Greek word “politika” which means affairs of the cities. Refers to achieving and exercising positions of governance over a human community. The Philippine government has three branches: the executive, legislative, and judiciary. Culture, Society, and Politics They are interrelated and to some extent reflective of each other. Though similarities exist among them, they are not identical. Such interrelatedness can be best understood by using your own experience. Gender Gender is the socially-constructed characteristics of being male or female. In short, it refers to society’s division of humanity into two distinctive categories based on sex.  Gender While sex chiefly centers on biological differences, gender is the culturally-learned difference between men and women. The level of masculinity and femininity varies from one culture to another on how society dictates one’s productive and reproductive roles or gender roles. Gender operates as a dimension of inequality. Socioeconomic Status Refers to the category of persons who have more or less the same socioeconomic privileges in a society.  Socioeconomic Status In the Philippines, three types of social classes are identified: upper, middle, and the lower classes. ✓ Upper class – elite families: the new rich (nouveau riche) and traditional upper class ✓ Middle class – small business and industry operators, managers, professionals, office workers, farm owners with sufficient income ✓ Lower class – unskilled artisans, service workers, unemployed/underemployed, indigent families. Socioeconomic Status Other categorization is classes A, B, C, D, and E. % share in number of Average annual income Class families (in pesos) A and B 1% 1, 857, 000 C 9% 603, 000 D 60% 191, 000 E 30% 62, 000 Source: Social Weather Stations, 2011 Ethnicity As the most potent cultural concept, ethnicity is the expression of the set of cultural ideas held by a distinct ethnic or indigenous group.  Ethnicity An ethnic group refers to people who collectively and publicly identify themselves as distinct and unique based on distinguishable cultural features that set them apart from other, such as language, ancestry, common origin, customs, and tradition. Religion An organized system of ideas about the spiritual sphere or the supernatural, along with associated ceremonial or ritualistic practices by which people try to interpret. Exceptionality Refers to the state of being intellectually gifted and/or having physically or mentally challenged conditions concerning personality/behavior, communication, intellect, physical appearance, or a combination. Nationality The legal relationship that binds a person and a country. This gives people a sense of identity and belongingness.  SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND Lesson 2 CULTURAL BEHAVIOR AND PHENOMENA Social, Political, and Cultural Behavior and Phenomena Every society has its own norms to follow. These norms serves as guides or models of behavior that influence how people behave. Norms are often in the form of rules, standards, or prescriptions that are strictly followed by people who adhere on certain conventions and perform specific roles. Norms of Decency and Conventionality Norm of appropriateness or decency Norms of conventionality are beliefs is commonly exhibited on: and practices that are acceptable to o The type of clothing a person wears a certain culture but can be inimical in a specific occasion. to other cultures. o Manners and behaviors that show a person’s refinement and civility. o Use of appropriate words and gestures that convey politeness. Conformity and Deviance CONFORMITY Every society has a form of social control, a set of means that ensure people behave in expected and approved ways. All norms, whether codified or not, are supported by sanctions: rewards for conformity and punishments for non-conformity. Conformity is defined as the state of having internalized norms as part of the social expectation. As individuals conform to an established norm, the norm becomes a convention. Conventional norms exert more sanctions in society as it is tantamount to public approval and recognition. Conformity and Deviance DEVIANCE Despite the tendency of social control to enforce conformity as a potent mechanism in socialization, there are forms of behavior that are distinctly set away from a norm. This is referred to as deviant behavior or nonconformity. Two types: FORMAL (robbery, theft, rape, graft, other forms of criminality) and INFORMAL (not codified into law – spitting on the street, belching loudly, pricking one’s nose). Deviance is also seen as a form of power struggle. Favoring the interests of the rich, political dynasties and monopolies, rampant electioneering activities during polls. Taboos Taboos related to food are also manifestations of deviancy. Hindus are prohibited to eat beef, Muslims and Jews abstain from eating pork, blood and alcohol are taboo for Muslims. Eating dog or cat is deviant in Western countries but directly opposite to Africa and Asia as these were used as food/food offerings in rituals. Rodents and insects are disease carriers in many Western Cultures but are popular staples in Africa and Asia. Taboos It is also interesting to cite to use of folklore as form of taboo. In the Philippines, the belief of dangerous zones, discourages entry into the deep forest and fishing ground. It defines the people’s norms and taboos on the use of resources, when to use, what to use, and how to use them. Lesson 3 SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND CULTURAL CHANGE Change is generally pervasive and takes place in culture, society, and politics. These changes are overlapping and interdependent affecting social mobility, such as migration, urbanization, and globalization. Social change Social change refers Three causes: to variations or o Invention – new use of existing knowledge and produces modifications in the new objects, ideas, and social pattern. patterns of social a. Material inventions – bow and arrow, mobile phone, organization, of sub- airplane groups within a b. Social inventions – alphabet, texting, jejemon society. o Discovery – when people reorganized existing elements of the world they had not noticed before. o Diffusion – the spread of culture traits from one group to another. Culture spreads through the processes of enculturation, socialization, association, and integration. Social change o Enculturation takes place when one culture spreads to another through learning. Education is the most popular form of enculturation. o Socialization refers to learning through constant exposure and experience to culture, which ultimately imbibes the latter to the system, values, beliefs and practices of an individual or groups. o Association is establishing a connection with the culture thereby bridging areas of convergence and cultural symbiosis. o Integration is the total assimilation of culture as manifested by change of worldviews, attitudes, behavior, and perspectives of looking things. Political change Include all categories o Youth awareness and active participation during of change in the elections. direction of open, o Emergence of civil society groups as “pressure groups” participatory, and during crises in Philippine politics. accountable politics. Cultural change All alterations Factors: affecting new traits or o Physical environment trait complexes and changes in a culture’s o Population content and structure. o War and conquest o Random events o Technology  THE ESSENCE OF Lesson 4 ANTHROPOLOGY, POLITICAL SCIENCE, AND SOCIOLOGY  Numerous changes and transformations in social, political, and cultural aspects of individuals and societies are better understood using the disciplines of anthropology, political science, and sociology as tools. Anthropology The study of human beings and their ancestors. Produces knowledge about what makes people different from one another and what they all share in common. Political science The study of the state and the government. In the Philippine setting, political power is divided into two: central power and local power. Sociology The science of society and social behavior. It deals with social development in general and describes and analyzes social life in all its phases and complexities.  REFERENCE: SANTARITA, J. B., & MADRID, R. M. End (2016). IN UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS. ESSAY, VIBAL GROUP, INC.