UCSP.pdf

Definition of Terms: a. Culture – that complex whole which encompasses beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a person learns and shares as a member of society.  Material Culture –tangible, created by hum...

Definition of Terms: a. Culture – that complex whole which encompasses beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a person learns and shares as a member of society.  Material Culture –tangible, created by human person  Non-material Culture – culture that is being learned or observed by human  Anthropology regards culture as the “acquired cognitive and symbolic aspects of human existence” b. Society - refers to the social organization of human life, patterns of interaction and power relationships - A group of people, wherein its members share similar lifestyles, culture and beliefs c. Social differences – which describes the relative social position of persons in a given social group, category, geographical region or other social unit. d. Social Stratification - a term used to refer to the large divide between the lower and upper classes in the hierarchical structure present in a society on the basis of wealth, status or power. FOUR (4) Major Types of Stratification: a.) Caste - hereditary endogamous social group in which a person’s rank and his/her rights and obligations are ascribed or on the basis of his/her birth into a particular group b.) Class – a person’s position is based upon achievement c.) Estate- gives emphasis to birth as well as wealth and possessions d.) Slavery – had economic basis wherein the master shows power over a slave e. Political Identities – the characteristics of a political group f. Government – is the system by which a state or community is controlled so as to put an order. II. Significance of Studying Culture, Society and Politics Social Science is a very complex study. It is divided in many areas: a. Anthropology (culture) b. Sociology (society) c. Political Science (political identities and government) Definition of Terms: a. Anthropology - is the holistic “science of man”, a science of the totality of human existence. Etymological Definition  “Anthropos” (Greek) = “man”  “logos” (Greek) = “study” Two (2) broad fields of Anthropology:   Physical Anthropology sometimes called biological anthropology is mainly concerned about how humans emerged and evolved through time (subfield: Human Paleontology and Human Variation)  Cultural Anthropology is basically concerned with the differences of cultures from time to time Subfield of cultural anthropology: 1.) Archeology – studies past cultures through tangible or material remains 2.) Anthropological Linguistics – study of languages where experts explain the differences of languages by culture and how it is constructed 3.) Ethnology – study of recent or present cultures b. Social Evolution - It is characterized by a number of morphological, developmental, psychological, and behavioral changes that have taken place since the split between the common ancestor of humans and apes. c. Sociology – the study of relationships among people. It is the study of the society and the behavior of people in the society.  “Sociology” – coined by August Comte (French Philosopher 1798-1857) - From Latin word “socius” meaning group or partners and the Greek word “logos” meaning study d. Political Science – a discipline that deals with systems of government and the analysis of political activity and political behavior. e. Social Science – disciplines that are focused on the study of the behaviors of humans. Some studies include Economics, Psychology, Anthropology and Sociology. f. Social Change – refers to the transformations in social institutions Disciplinary: Epistemologies, Multidisciplinary: Using the assumptions, knowledge, skills, knowledge/understanding of more methods within the boundary of a than one discipline. E.g. Physics discipline e.g. Physics; History; and History; Biology and Psychology Architecture  Interdisciplinary: Using the Transdisciplinary: Focus on an epistemologies/methods of one issue such as pollution, poverty or discipline within another. e.g. hunger both within and beyond Biochemistry; Eco-philosophy; discipline boundaries with the Astrophysics possibility of new perspectives Ethnocentrism, or evaluating and judging another culture based on how it compares to one’s own cultural norms. KEY POINTS Ethnocentrism: often entails the belief that one’s own race or ethnic group is the most important or that some or all aspects of its culture are superior to those of other groups. A term coined by William Graham Sumner, is the tendency to see and evaluate other cultures in terms of one’s own race, nation, or culture. Xenocentrism: one’s exposure to cultural practices of others may make one to give preferences to the ideas, lifestyle and products of other cultures. Cultural relativism: is the belief that the concepts and values of a culture cannot be fully translated into, or fully understood in, other languages; that a specific cultural artifact has to be understood in terms of the larger symbolic system of which it is a part. It is the principle that an individual person’s beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that individual’s own culture. THREE (3) IDEAS OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM: a. moral relativism b. situational relativism c. cognitive relativism TWO CATEGORIES: a. Absolute: Everything that happens within a culture must and should not be questioned by outsiders b. Critical: Creates questions about cultural practices in terms of who is accepting them and why Culture Shock: an experience of personal disorientation when confronted with an unfamiliar way of life. Anthropologist Kalervo Oberg (1960) is credited with first coining the term “culture shock.” Cultural Imperialism: the deliberate imposition of one’s own cultural values on another culture. Learning to take the role of the other person gives one the ability to see the perspective of the other people articulating or giving judgment. To do this, it is important: (1) Study the cultural context in which the action occurs, (2) Determine the circumstances of place, time and condition surrounding it, and (3) Look into the reasoning behind any cultural element.  Human Biocultural Evolution Species Characteristics Hominids “Manlike The development of the different species of primates which were Primates” able to evolve in 40 million years ago. They are Ramapithecus, Lucy and Australopithecus. Homo Habilis “Handy The apelike men who first to used stone tools as weapons and Man” protection of their enemies. They are recognized as the first true human. Lived about 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago. Homo Erectus “The It was believed to be the first man like creature that lived about Upright Man” 500,000 years ago in Asia, Africa and Europe. This manlike specie could walk straight with almost the same brain with modern man. He made refined stone stools for hunting and weapons for protection of the enemies. The following are the major discovered fossils: a. Pithecanthropus Erectus “Java Man” –Discovered by Eugene Dubois at Trinil, Java, Indonesia in 1891. b. Sinanthropus Pekinensis “Peking Man” –Discovered at Choukoutien village, Beijing, China in 1929. Homo Sapiens “The It was believed that this was the direct descendant of modern man Thinking Man” who lived about 250,000 years ago. They had similar physical descriptions with modern man. They originated as the primitive men whose activities were largely dependent on hunting, fishing and agriculture. They buried their dead, used had tools and had religion. The following are Homo Sapiens subspecies: a. Neanderthal Man –Discovered in Neanderthal valley near Dusseldorf, Germany in 1856 who lived in cave and dependent in hunting and fishing. b. Cro-Magnon Man – Discovered by a French archaeologist Louis Lartet in the Cro Magnon Cave in Southern France. It was believed to live in Europe, Asia and Africa. As a prehistoric man, they were the first to produce art in cave paintings and crafting decorated tools and accessories. FOUR BIOLOGICAL CAPACITY OF HUMAN TO DEVELOP CULTURE: 1. Our Thinking The primary biological component of humans that allowed Capacity for culture is the developed brain. It has the necessary parts for facilitating pertinent skills such as speaking, touching, feeling, seeing, and smelling. Compared with other primates, humans have a larger brain, weighing 1.4 kg. Due to the size of brain and the complexity of its parts, humans were able to create survival skills that helped them adapt to their environment and outlive their less adaptive biological relatives. 2. Our Gripping Look at your hands. Notice how your thumb relates with Capacity your other fingers. This capacity to directly oppose your thumb with your other fingers is an exclusive trait of humans. It allowed us to have a finger grip. The hand of human has digits (fingers) that are straights, as compared with the curved ones of the other primates. Notice  that the thumb of the human is proportionately longer than those of other primates. These characteristics of the human hand allowed for two types of grip” power and precision. a) Power grip enabled humans to wrap the thumb and fingers on an object; it became the cornerstone of our capacity to hold tool firmly for hunting and other activities. b) Precision grip enabled humans to hold and pick objects steadily using fingers. This capacity was crucial for toolmaking activities 3. Our Speaking As the brain is the capacity source of humans’ capacity to Capacity comprehend sound and provide meaning to it, the vocal tract acts as the mechanism by which sounds are produced and reproduced to transmit ideas and values. Humans have longer vocal tract compared with chimpanzee. A longer vocal tract means that there is a longer vibration surface, allowing human to produce a wider array of sounds than chimpanzees. The tongue of human is also more flexible than of a chimpanzee, allowing for more control in making sounds. 4. Our Primates have two forms of locomotion: bipedalism and Walking/Standing quadropedalism. Bipedalism is the capacity to walk and stand Capacity on two feet, whereas quadropedalism uses all four limbs. Although apes are semi-bipedal, humans are the only fully bipedal primates. Being bipedal, humans gained more capacity to move while carrying objects with their free hands. It gave humans more capacity or productivity with their hands like hunting and foraging. CULTURAL AND SOCIOPOLITICAL DEVELOPMENT Cultural Period Cultural and Socio-political Development Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Use of simple pebble tools. Age) Learned to live in caves. 3 million years to 8,000 B.C. Discovered the use of fires. Developed small sculptures; and monumental painting, incised designs, and reliefs on the wall of caves. “Food-collecting cultures” Neolithic Age (New Stone Stone tools were shaped by polishing or grinding. Age) Settlement in permanent villages. Occurred sometime about Dependence on domesticated plants or animals. 10,000 BCE Appearance of such crafts as pottery and weaving. “Food-producing cultures” Age of Metals The used of metal such as bronze, copper, and iron 4,000 B.C. – 1,500 B.C produced a new historical development form cradles civilization of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, including India and China which later on spread throughout Asia. The civilization which defines to a more developed social,  cultural, political and economic system. It had already direct contacts through tribes, kingdoms, empire and later on state which the constant political activities were through conquest, wars and trade. THE EARLY TYPES OF SOCIETIES: Type of Technology Economy Settlements Social Society Organizations A. Hunting and Very simple – Bare necessities Nomadic 25-40 All resting within Gathering fire, arrow, – no surplus people family. Society baskets B. Horticultural Society Digging Simple crop Semi-permanent – Family-centered; And Pastoral sticks, cultivation, some some cities Religious system occasionally surplus and occasionally begins to develop, blade tools. exchange. kingdoms. moderate specialization; Presence of social inequality C. Agrarian Irrigation, Largely Permanent Family loses Society Fertilization, agricultural but urbanization significance as Metallurgy, much surplus; becoming distinctive religious, Animal-drawn increased important empires political, and plow. market exchange covering economic system and substantial continent. emerged. Increased trade. presence of social inequality. D. Industrial Advance Industrial – few Permanent – Complex set of Society sources of engage in urban living interdependent energy; agriculture or predominating. institutions. Mechanized direct Cities now contain production. production; most of the Much surplus; population. The Fully developed rise of state. market economy COMPONENTS OF CULTURE 1. Material Culture –It is the physical objects a society produces, things people create and use. These are tools, furniture, clothing, automobiles, and computer systems, to name a few. - Technology. A Society’s culture consists of not only physical objects but also rules for using those objects. 2. Non-material Culture –It is consists of elements termed norms, values, beliefs, and language shared by the members of a society. Non-material culture is considered as the carriers of culture. - Language. Perhaps, the most defining characteristics of human being is the ability to develop and use highly complex systems of symbols like language. - Beliefs. These are ideas that people hold about the universe or any part of the total reality surrounding them. These are the things how people perceive reality. - Values. They are shared ideas about desirable goals. - Norms. These are shared rules of conduct that specify how people ought to think  and act. - Mores. These are norms associated with strong ideas of right and wrong. - Folkways. These are norms that are simply the customary, normal, habitual ways a group does things. - Laws. These are often referred to as formal norms. THE LEGACY OF EARLY HUMANS TO CONTEMPORARY POPULATION: This definition us with a two-part meaning of cultural heritage. On one end, there is heritage being tangible in the form of structures, monuments, historical sites, and other artifacts. On the other hand, there is heritage being intangible in the form of literature, oral, traditions, concepts, and values. Tangible heritage could be divided into two categories: movable and immovable. The primary difference in these categories is the size of the heritage. For example, the Stonehenge is an immovable tangible heritage, whereas the sarcophagus of the pharaoh Tutankhamun is a movable tangible heritage.