Unit 1: Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics PDF

UNIT 1 Understanding Culture, Society and Politics LESSON 1 Sharing of Social and Cultural Background  Sharing of Social and Cultural Backgrounds CULTURAL IDENTITY ⮚ It refers to the identity or feeling of belonging to a group. It is con...

UNIT 1 Understanding Culture, Society and Politics LESSON 1 Sharing of Social and Cultural Background  Sharing of Social and Cultural Backgrounds CULTURAL IDENTITY ⮚ It refers to the identity or feeling of belonging to a group. It is considered as part of a person’s self-conception and self- perception. ⮚ It is pertains to one’s nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture.  CULTURAL BACKGROUND The term culture was first used by British anthropologist Edward Tylor (1870). He described it as It consists of the ethnic, religious, racial, gender, linguistic or “ that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, other socioeconomic factors and values that shape an customs and any other capabilities and individual’s upbringing. It can be shaped at the family, societal, habits acquired by man as a member of or organizational level. society.” In the Philippines society, it is necessary to work effectively with people from different regions or with those who speak a different language to promote economic development and other primary socio-cultural undertakings. Concrete understanding of one’s culture starts with recognition of the values, customs and traditions passed down to us by our forebears or those acquired from personal experiences while interacting in a given society.  GENDER SEX It refers to the personal traits Is the state of being and social roles either masculine or of the male and feminine. female member of society.  GENDER AND SEXUALITY 1. A person’s masculinity or manhood consists of a set attributes, behaviours and roles generally associated with men. 2. A person’s femininity or womanhood refers to a set of attributes, behaviors and roles generally associated with women. 3. A person may experience identity crisis when he/she does not accept or understand his/her sexuality is unable his/her status.  SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLASS It refers to the status of every individual from the sociological and A personal or family’s financial economic points of view. and social esteem on the basis of Social Status means a person’s income, education and standing or ranking in the social ladder occupation. based on prestige, power, popularity, etc. It is totality of a person’s social Economic Status means a person’s position and wealth combined. place in the society economic stratification based on wealth, property and total assets. Ethnicity Is a condition in which a social group belongs to a common national or cultural tradition. Ethnic relates to large groups of people have certain racial, cultural, religious, or other traits in common. The Philippines are inhabited by different ethno-linguistic groups, the majority of whose own languages are Polynesian in origin. Many of these groups converted to Christianity, particularly the lowland-coastal groups and adopted many foreign elements of culture. Ethno-linguistic groups include the Ivatans, Ilocanos, Pangasinenses, Kapampangans, Tagalogs, Bicolanos, Visayans (Masbatenos, Hiligaynon, Maranaos, Subanons and Zamboanguenos).  Lesson 2 observations about social, political behavior and phenomena FOOD TABOOS Food taboos is a prohibition against consuming certain food Food taboo or prohibition is also associated with special events like pregnancy or being religious people like priest they are prohibited in eating certain foods even though it is permitted FOOD TABOOS A. Religion B. R.A 8485- illegal slaughters of dogs and cats. C. Any food which consider endangered species. D. Any food which against human dignity.  FOOD TABOO IN PHILIPPINES The Filipino cuisine came from or influenced by other country like Japan, America, China, India etc. Usually we have three meals a day but we have afternoon snack called "merienda" and we have so much choices like pork beef chicken seafood etc. There are many unique cuisine here in the Philippines we have papaitan it is made out of goat or beef innards stew flavored with bile. Some dishes that filipinos considered as taboo 1. Any dish that have a dog or cat meet it is not allowed by the law under the Republic Act no. 8485. It is illegal to slaughter a dog or cat for personal or for commercial trade consumption. 2. Any meat of animals that are endangered like monkey, tortoise (pawikan) ,monitor lizards (bayawak) or rare birds are an acceptable to it either by public or law standards. 3. Any food that violates human dignity like "double-dead meat" or "botcha" pork beef and chicken meat coming from previously already dead animals still butchered to be sold. Another one is "pagpag" it is a food that are left over chicken or pork from restaurant salvage and remade into another dish There are some dishes in the philippines that are popular for the majority but prohibited for other because of their religious beliefs. The pork is regular dish for many Christians Catholic or protestants but not for the Muslims who are not allowed to eat pork, and also among protest on the 7th day adventist also do not eat pork. The member of Iglesia ni cristo may eat pork but not it's blood they are not allowed to eat "dinuguan" and on the other hand Hinduism does not condone the eating of beef. This difference among the members of society are recognized and respected as mandated to the law under the 1987 Philippine constitution article 3 section 5 declaring freedom of religion and the exercise thereof.  Standby (Istambay) Istambay is derived from the english idiom "or stand by" One of the definitions of Istambay is a person who does not have work and who usually hangs out on the street corners. An act of spending/ wasting of one's time. POLITICAL DYNASTY It refers to families whose members are engaged in politics have been in the philippine political structure since time past political dynasties therefore usually have strong local support base in fact dynasties are also active in socio-economic ventures and not just limited in politics. Political dynasties emerged after the philippine revolution upon the establishment of the first republic of the philippines since then more dynasties have evolved while the original ones became inactive Many people believe that political dynasties are associated with corruption and poverty.  Article II Section 26 of 1987 Philippine Constituition “the state shall guarantee equal access and opportunities public services and prohibited political dynasty as provided by law.” Philippine Elections The President, Vice president and the senators are elected on a national or popular elections service for a six-year term. The members of the House of Representatives in the local government officials namely: governors, vice- governors,members of the provincial board, mayor, vice mayor, and the city/municipal councilors are elected for a term of three years and are eligible for reelection. Party System: Multi-Party System which allows the emergence of various political affiliations in the political arena and each of the party advocate and adheres with their respective platform and political agendas. Branches of Government Executive Department President, Vice President, Cabinet Secretary(alter ego) the law- enforcing body. The President of the Philippines is elected by people direct vote by the people for a single one term of six years. He may only serve for one term and is ineligible for re-election. The term of the President of the Philippines starts at noon of the 30th day of June after the election. Branches of Government Legislative Department - the law-making body. The philippine congress has two chambers: the senate or the upper house has 24 senators which are elected on a nationwide at large basis and they do not represent any geographical district in the other half of the senator's term is renewed every 3 years. the house of representatives or the lower house has 250 members which composed of 80% congressional district and 20% for partylist representing the marginalized groups and other civic oriented sectors of the country. Branches of Government Judiciary Department the law-interpreting body. composed of the sumpreme court justices and judges of lower courts The primary function of this branch is to interpret and construe the laws, to decide wheather a laws is constitutional or not. Sumpreme Court is the highest court. 15 Members: 1 Chief Justice and 14 Associate Justice.  The Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections are scheduled to be held on Monday, May 9 ,as part of that year's general election. Each candidate or political party resorts to every possible means to win in the electoral fray-be it legal or illegal. Every election is marred with reports of fraud, vote-buying, vote padding and vote shaving. Even with the use of Automated Elections System some candidates have filed election protests for suspected tampering of election results.  LESSON 3 OBSERVATION ON SOCIAL POLITICAL AND CULTURAL CHANGE  Global economic and social changes are often the cause of despair and lead to the emergence of illegal labor. The situation is exacerbated by the widespread poverty of high demand labor in the market and compared to only inexperienced workers available. Social change is way human interactions and relationships transform cultural and social institutions over time, having a profound impact of society. MAJOR SOCIAL CHANGES IN THE 21ST CENTURY The 21st century has been characterized by the dynamic interaction between the advancing technology and the improvement of economy and society. Consider the enormous transition from agrarian society to industrial society reflecting the most intertwined description of undeniably profound implications.  Social change comes from a variety of sources but interpersonal interaction changes the ecosystem (which can result in the spread of certain diseases) advances in technology (characterized by the industrial revolution) and reflects the population and other demographic variables of social change may be caused by ideological economic and political activities. In the human arena where family structures make work relationships in the settlement patterns of economic and political power adjustments as well as in behavioral patterns. The influx and diffusions of new technologies in the human arena made family structures, work relations, settlement patterns, economic and political power configurations, and also on behavior patterns and value systems stronger and comfortably cnvenient  These are increasingly coping with the new organizational and instituitional designs required for the full and most effective use of new technology, thus boosting now to the momentum of greater technological progress. The gradual development and diffusion that took place after the first quarter of the century is believed to have been stimulated by information technology which is of the verge of a new take-off. TECHNOLOGY It can be most broadly defined as the entities, both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value. Any change in technology results to a change in the culture and transforming every aspect of our lives.  GLOBALIZATION It refers to the phenomenological transformation of organizations that provides technological advancement, innovation and development in the social, political economic, and cultural areas. It also entails adaption and acceptance of modern knowledge. It is an overarching international system shaping the domestic politics, economy and foreign relations virtually every country has enabled freedom of movement for goods and people in the international market. At this juncture, let us consider some of the trending technologies. TE TEXTING TECHNOLOGY ❑Text messaging or simply textingportable devices over a phone network. ❑Technically, the term refers to messages sent via the Short Message Service (SMS). ❑Nowadays, that technology has expaned to invlude multi- media messages (MMS) including images, videos and sound content, as well as ideograms, commonly known as emoji.  Advantages of Texting Technology It can be used to interact with other using automated systems. It can be used to communicate with others using the automated system for the purpose of ordering any product or requiring any service to apply for a loan to pay your bills to inquire about a possible job etc. Text messaging is used instead of mail, email or voicemail. Similarly, cellphones turning to be modern day necessity.  SELFIE PHENOMENON A selfie has been defined as a self-portait photograph normally shot with a digital camera or camara phone held in the hand or braced by a selfie stick. These selfies are often posted on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Most selfies are taken with a camera that touches the length of the arm or directed at a mirror rather than by using a self timer. As an improvisation a selfie stick can be used to expand the view perspective. "Selfie" has been named as word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries. □ Self-esteem is important and not always in a proud way. One of the ways we define ourselves and present ourselves for others to see. □ Even the selfie we often rely on in others ’perspectives and appraisals to develop our social self. Nowadays selfies are extended to "groufie" or "wefie" Family and friends taking pictures of themselves for generations. □ Selfie technology has undoubtedly taken human society by storm. LESSON 4 DEFINITION OF ANTHROPOLOGY, POLITICAL SCIENCE AND SOCIOLOGY NATURE AND SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE SOCIOLOGY ❑ It refers to the study of society and social interactions taking place. ❑ It deals with the origin, evolution, and development of human society. ❑ It focused on all kinds of social interactions, social relationships, social organization, structure and process. AUGUSTE COMTE ⮚ He is French philosopher and the founder of the said discipline, was the first thinker of the modern world. ⮚ He underpinned that all aspects of social life are bound in unity.  lester f. ward ⮚ He is American sociologist and the first president of the American Sociological Association. ⮚ He defined Sociology as “the science of society or of social phenomena”. Max weber (1978) ⮚ He explained Sociology's role in understanding social action. ⮚ He stated “Sociology is the science which attempts the interpretive understanding of social action. MICROSOCIOLOGY (micro-level perspective) □ Underscores the important role individuals perform in societies. □ Individual interactions MARCOSOCIOLOGY (macro-level perspective) □ In macrosociology, the sociological perspectives utilized by social scientist are functionalist, conflict and interactionist.  ANTHROPOLOGY ❑ Anthropology came from the Greek word anthropos which means “human” and logos which refers to “knowledge”. ❑ Its goal is to describe and explain human variation or the observed similarities and differences in people through time and across the space. ❑ Draws and builds upon knowledge from social and biological sciences as well as the humanities and physical sciences to understand the full sweep and complexity of cultures across of all human history.  THOMAS H. ERIKSEN ❑ In his book entitled Introduction: Comparison and Context, defined anthropology as “knowledge about humans”. ❑ For him, anthropology studies the diversity and similarity of the way a person lives and makes connections as social and cultural being. alfred kroeber ❑ He is an A merican cultural anthropologist and defines it as “the most humanistic of the sciences and the most scientific to the humanities.” POLITICAL SCIENCE ❑ The field of Political Science deals with systems of government and political activities in societies. ❑ This disciplines studies theories and practices related to politics, which address pertinent issues on the distribution of power and resources. ❑ It deals comprehensively with the theory and practice of politics aristotle (Father of Political Science) ❑ Ancient Greek political philosopher Aristotle was the first thinker to use term “politics”. ❑ Such term is derived from the Greek word “polis” which means “city-state”.  Relationship Between Sociology, Anthropology, and Political Science ❑ Sociology and Anthropology studies human society. ❑ Political Science is concerned with the political life of the man which is one part of his entire life in Sociology. ❑ Political Science comes with the field of Sociology dealing with the principles of organization and government human society. ❑ Two major concerns are commonly experienced in the fields of Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science. The first is the problem of understanding intituitional concerns based on (1) empirical details and (2) casual issues that produce such concerns  Areas of Sociology ⮚ Social Organization Study of social groups, social institutions, social stratification, mobility, ethnic relations, and bureaucracy. ⮚ Social Psychology It tackles human behavior or nature as a result of group life, personality formation, social attitude and collective behavior. ⮚ Social Change Study of changes in the society and culture, and the factors resulting from such range. ⮚ Social Organization and Disorganization It refers to studies the emergence of societies, their structural formation and the ways they are strengthened. They also deals with crime, delinquency, family conflict, poverty, subversion, unemployment, and a wide range of current social issues and problems. ⮚ Human Ecology It studies the behavior of a given population and its relationship to present social institutions. ⮚ Population It concerned with population size, composition, change and quality and on how they influence the economic, political and social systems. ⮚ Sociological Theory and Method It concerned with the application of the results of sociological studies to solve various human problems  Major Branches of Anthropology ⮚ Cultural Anthropology It deals with the study of human cultures, beliefs, ideals, technologies, economies, practices, values, and other spheres of social and rational organization. Primarily based on cultural understanding gained through actual experiences, or part. ⮚ Physical Anthropology It deals with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings. Focuses on their relationships to non-human primates and their extinct hominid ancestors. ⮚ Archeology It refers to the study of both the ancient and recent past of the humans through the material remains such as artifacts, fossils and bone fragments.  Major Branches of Anthropology ⮚ Linguistic Anthropology It refers to study of the relations between language and culture in relation to human reasoning and human language. ⮚ Applied Anthropology It deals with the application of anthropological facts, perspectives, theories, perspectives, and procedures in identifying, assessing, and solving social problems.  Major Subdivision of Political Science ⮚ Political Theory It focuses on the ideas of classical thinkers. ⮚ Comparative Politics It deals with the incisive evaluation and comparison of the doctrines of various constitutions, of political actors, legislature and other allied fields. ⮚ Public Administration It focuses on the implementation of government policies, and the academic disciplines, involved and the principles governing civil servants working in the government. International Relations It delve on nation-state’s interactions including intergovernmental and transnational organizations Law Governs and relationships of individuals among themselves directly affecting the society. Political Methodology It focuses on the quantitative methods used in the study of politics combining Statistics, Mathematics, and formal theory. Often used in positive research, unlike normative research. Related to econometric. Interactions of Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science A. Relationship Between Sociology and Anthropology ❑ They contribute to the growth of each other. ❑ Anthropology aids the development of Sociology. ❑ Sociology needs the help of Anthropology to have a comprehensive understanding of present society. ❑ Sociology provides rich contributions towards the expansion of Anthropology, while Anthropology receives substantial concepts from Sociology. ❑ Anthropologists greatly benefited from the ideas and conclusions of sociological researchers. Interactions of Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science b. Relationship Between aNTHROPOLOGY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE ❑ Anthropology enriches the study of Political Science. ❑ A vast knowledge of early societies, their law, customs, manners and modes of government enable us to understand accurately the modern institutions and the political behavior of the people today.