LESSON 1: ANTHROPOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY AND

POLITICAL SCIENCE What is Sociology?

- It is the systematic study of human society. It
What is Anthropology? comes from the Latin word socius meaning
- Anthropology is the study of ancient societies “friend” or “companion” and the Greek work
and their cultural traditions. Anthropology came logos meaning “study”. Sociology studies how
from the Greek word Anthropos meaning people relate to each other and how they work
“humankind” and logos meaning “the study of” as a whole in the larger society. The sociological
(Bonstingl 1996 as cited by De la Cruz et al. perspective sees the general in the particular.
2018). In studying culture, anthropologists “We begin to think sociologically [when we
investigate the people’s language, their values, realize] how the general categories into which
technologies, and even how they group we fall shape our particular life experiences”
themselves. (Macionis 2006 as cited by Dela Cruz et al.
- Anthropologists study the way the cultural 2018).
traditions of different groups of people have
changed over the years. Sociological perspective: a conceptual framework or
paradigm for looking into the intricate relationships
Fields of Anthropology among individuals in the society and how they react to
1. Physical Anthropology - also called biological their environment.
anthropology, studies the biological evolution of
man. It also provides explanations on the reason Types of Sociological perspectives:
behind the biological variations among
contemporary human population. 1. Structural Functionalism is a “framework for
building a theory that sees society as a complex
2. Cultural Anthropology - investigates and seeks to system whose parts work together to promote
understand the cultural features of the societies solidarity and stability” (Macionis 2007 as cited by
under study. It is further divided into 3 Dela Cruz,et al 2018).
subbranches:

a. Archaeology - study of cultural heritage of the past

through examination of the physical remains and
ruins of past cultures; it seeks to reconstruct the
past life of ancient societies, trace cultural changes
that took place and the reason behind the changes.
While it may appear that archaeology is similar with
history, it is different in the sense that history can
only study societies that have left written records.
Archeologists reconstruct the past using the fossil
2. Symbolic interactionism is a sociological framework
remains of human culture.
that focuses on the different meanings of
individuals attach to objects, peoples, and
b. Anthropological Linguistics - involves the study of
interactions as well as the corresponding behaviors
language in societies or communities where
that reflect those meanings or interpretations.
language may or may not be written.
(Example: Pig ritual, Benat, Moon superstition)
c. Ethnology - involves study of marriage customs,
kinship patterns, economic systems, and religious
rites of cultural groups, and compare it with the
way of life of contemporary societies. Ethnology
uses data gathered through observations and
interviews with living people (Dela Cruz et al. 2018).
3. Social Conflict Perspective - it views the society as
composed of different people of different social
classes, struggling and clashing for power and
wealth.
 LESSON 2: THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE

Umbrella culture:

What is Political Science?

- The study of politics, power, and government.
The word politics comes from the Greek word
politea, or a person who participates in the What is Culture?
polis. Engagement in the polis means taking - beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics
part in its decision-making, which normally common to the members of a particular group or
takes place in the agora, or the market place, society. Through culture, people and groups define
where new laws are passed or disseminated themselves, conform to society’s shared values, and
under the scrutiny of the entire community. contribute to society.
Engagement in the decision making in the polis - includes societal elements: language, customs,
is only limited to Greek men. values, norms, mores, rules, tools, technologies,
- Politics is the process of using the power in the products, organizations, and institutions.
government, while power is the means for the
government to rule the people. Government is Features of Culture:
the authority or the bureaucracy that provides  Culture being a complex set of patterned social
the system of rule over its territory and for its interactions is learned and transmitted through
people. socialization or enculturation.
 Cultural elements are learned rather than acquired
Fields in Political Science through inheritance or through any biological
- Political Philosophy - deals with the study of processes.
concepts such as politics, government, liberty  Most people adopt the complexities of culture from
and justice. the environment they are in because cultural
- Comparative Government and Politics - behavior and actions can only be learned through
incorporates topics such as the different forms observation, experience and education.
of the government found in different countries  Culture requires language and other forms of
around the world with their accompanying communications. Language is a key factor in the
advantages and disadvantages. success of the human race in creating and
- Public Administration - deals with the study of preserving culture. Without language, the ability to
the bureaucracy behind the government and convey traditions/beliefs or ideas is impossible to
the proper way to administer the needs of the be done.
general public.  Culture is dynamic, flexible and adaptive. It is
- International Relations - study of diplomatic constantly changing through time.
relations and practices among the states in the
worldview setting and how power is being Types of Culture:
balanced in the international level.  Material Culture: Physical objects, resources,
and spaces that people use to define their
culture. (Homes, neighborhoods, cities, schools,
churches, synagogues, temples, mosques,
offices, factories and plants, tools, means of
production and etc.) All of these physical
 aspects of a culture help define its members’ sometimes, are received and taught by parents
behaviors and perceptions. to children. Some values are explained by
society, in this way values of a particular society
 Non-Material Culture: Non-physical ideas that gets accumulated and move forward from
people have about their culture, including generations to generations.
beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, language,
organizations, and institutions (Set of ideas and LESSON 2B:
beliefs about God, worship, morals, and ethics)
These beliefs, determine how the culture
responds to its religious topics, issues, and
events.

 Ideal Culture: Cultural guidelines publicly

embraced by members of the society. Also
defined as the social patterns mandated by
norms and values. (Ex: People say that young
Filipinos are respectful by using po/opo when
speaking with older persons.) LESSON 3: HUMAN BIO CULTURAL AND
SOCIOPOLITICAL EVOLUTION
 Real Culture: Actual behavior patterns exhibited
by members of the society. The example that
was given in the ideal culture is considered to
be ideal because that’s the way the Filipinos are
expected to act, but in reality, not all young
Filipinos use po/opo when speaking with older
persons.

Elements of culture:
 Language: Language is the basic and most
important element in a culture. It is a system of Cultural and Sociopolitical Evolution
symbols that individuals use to communicate, Type of Society Characteristics
interact, and share their views, thus, creating an Hunting and These are small, simple societies
understanding among individuals. Gathering in which people hunt and gather
food. Because all people in these
 Norms: It refers to the standards of acceptable societies have few possessions,
behavior; it is through this that people are able the societies are fairly egalitarian,
to distinguish good from bad behavior. and the degree of inequality is
very low.
 Beliefs: means by which people make sense of Horticultural/ Horticultural and pastoral
their experiences, or ideas, that people hold to Pastoral societies are larger than hunting-
be true, factual, and real. Society decides their and- gathering societies.
source of motivation, which they considered as Horticultural societies grow crops
appropriate. with simple tools, while pastoral
societies raise livestock. Both
 Symbols: anything that is used to represent, types of societies are wealthier
express, and/or stand for an event, situation, than hunting-and-gathering
person, or idea. Importance of symbols may societies, and they also have more
differ for different people, belonging to a inequality and greater conflict
different culture. than hunting-and-gathering
societies.
 Values: refers to trans situational goals that Agricultural These societies grow great
vary in importance and serve as guiding numbers of crops, thanks to the
principle in people’s lives. Value of materials, use of plows, oxen, and other
 devices. Compared to horticultural status with the role of playing at your best for the
and pastoral societies, they are school.
wealthier and have a higher
degree of conflict and of Status may also appear in pair and it has 2 types:
inequality. a. Complementary Status Pair - pairs are expected to
Industrial Industrial societies feature behave in different but compatible ways.
factories and machines. They are Example: A teacher can only be a teacher if he/she has
wealthier than agricultural students. Being a teacher has a different role from
societies and have a greater sense being a student.
of individualism and a somewhat b. Symmetrical Status Pair - each pair plays similar
lower degree of inequality that roles.
still remains substantial. Example: Being friends. One cannot be a friend of the
Post-industrial These societies feature other if they don’t have a mutual feeling and behavior
information technology and towards each other.
service jobs. Higher education is
especially important in these Agents of Socialization
societies for economic success.  Family: The major agent of socialization. Family is
where a person gets most of his/her significant
LESSON 4: WHAT IS SOCIALIZATION? traits. Through the family, one first recognizes
- It is the process of interacting with other members his/her roles and status in the society.
of the society.  School: the hidden curriculum; the informal and
- It is based on the communication of meaning and unofficial aspects of culture that children are taught
value. in school. Ex; discipline, cooperation, conformity,
- A person understands the meanings of words, etc.
objects, and events that correspond from  Peer groups: Help a person to experience things
perceptions. beyond what his/her family allows. A person may
- It is a process by which individual learns, be comfortable in showing his true personality with
internalizes, and practices culture. friends than family.
 Media: means of communication designed to reach
Statuses and Roles general population.
- Relative to socialization is the learning patterns
of behavior that represent a person’s social Social Processes
status and roles. - Socialization is impossible to happen without
 Social Roles refer to the responsibilities that we social processes, or the repetitive patterns of
need to play as a member of the society. interaction commonly found in a social life.
 Social Status refer to our position in the society. 1. Enculturation - this happens when our parents,
school, friends, and media teach us about our
Types of Status culture.
a. Ascribed - status that is given to us by birth and has Example: Your mother teaches you to say po/opo
no choice of choosing it. because that is how they show respect to elders
Example: If your parents are poor then by birth your 2. Acculturation - this happens when we
status would also be poor being adapt/barrow some parts of culture from other
their child. societies.
b. Achieved - status that can be obtained by choice if Example: Filipinos eat burger which we adapted
the society practices an open-caste system. from the American food
Example: Aiming to become an honor student can be 3. Assimilation - this is a total adaptation of another
attained if you will study hard. culture from another society. Usually happens when
a person is born from other society where they
Although status and roles are 2 different concepts, they migrated.
are interrelated. Our role in the society is based in our Example: My cousin was born and raised in
status. Example, if you have a status of being a student, Australia and he does not know how to speak
then you have a role of studying. While being a student, Filipino language.
you are also an athlete of your school which is another
4. Cooperation - happens when members of society
help each other for a common good.
Example: The value of Bayanihan among the
Filipinos.
5. Differentiation - happens when members of the
society are designated into a particular function in
the society.
Example: Teachers are in the educational
institutions while nurses are under medical
institutions
6. Amalgamation - happens when 2 families become 1
because of marriage.
Example: The parents of your mother also serve as
parents of your father vice versa.
7. Stratification - happens when members of the
society are grouped or classified based from their
wealth.
Example: The rich, the middle class, and the poor
8. Conflict - struggle over values and claims of scarce
status.
Example: A party fails to communicate effectively its
message to the other group creating
misunderstanding.
9. Competition - struggle between two or more
persons that can be translated to innovation in the
long run.
Example: If there is a tough competition in internet
connections then companies would improve their
customer service.