Understanding

CULTURE,
SOCIETY,
AND POLITICS
Regina Joy R. Tiquison
Course/ subject description
This course/ subject uses insights from
Anthropology, Political Science, and Sociology
to develop students’ awareness of cultural,
social, and political dynamics, and sensitivity
to cultural diversity; provide them with an
understanding of how culture, human agency,
society and politics work; and engage them in
the examination of the country’s current
human develoment goals.
At the end of the course, students
should acquire ideas about human
cultures, human agency, society and
politics; recognize cultural relativism
and social inclusiveness to overcome
prejudices; and develop social and
cultural competence to guide their
interactions with groups, communities,
networks, and institutions.
Name
Gender
Socio-economic class
Ethnicity
Nationality
Culture
Social relationship
Life’s preferences
Nationality and ethnicity
 Nationality
- Is the identity that is tied to being part of a nation or country - a
“group of people who share the same history, traditions, and
language” and who inhabits a particular territory delineated by a
political border and controlled by a government.

• Citizenship
- is the status of a person recognized under the custom or law as being a
legal member of a sovereign state or belonging to a nation.
2 types of citizenship

1. Natural born citizen - are those who are citizens from birth without having to perform
any act to acquiror perfect their citizenship.

2. Naturalized citizen - a foreigner or alien who attains citizenship; judicial act of adopting a
foreigner and clothing him with the privileges of a native-born citizen.
2 concepts of citizenship
 Jus soli - a rule that citizenship of a child is determined by the
place of its birth.

 Jus sanguinis - citizenship of a child is determined by its parents

citizenship(blood).
Nationality and ethnicity

 Ethnic groups
 smaller cultural groups within a nation that share specific
environments, traditions, and histories that are not
necessarily subscribed to by the mainstream culture.

 180 indigenous ethnic groups in the Philippines

 100 tribal groups

tribal groups of the philippines
 Badjao - islands in Mindanao
 Igorot - Cordillera
 Ilongot - Sierra Madre
 Lumad - eastern Mindanao
 Mangyan - Mindoro
 Palawan - Palawan(Indigenous)
 Tumandok - Panay
Nationality and ethnicity
 SOCIAL DIFFERENCES
 Gender
 Socioeconomic class(Social class and Economic
status)
 Political Identity
 Religion
Gender vs. Sex
 according to WHO(2013) Gender “Refers to the
socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and
attributes that a given society considers appropriate
for men and women.”

 Sex– Biological characteristic of humans such as

male or female.
Gender categories:

 Lesbian
 Gay
 Bisexual
 Transgender
 Queer
 Intersex (LGBTQ)
Gender
 Heterosexual – most common; sexually attracted to a person of the
opposite sex.
 Homosexual – person who is sexually attracted to a person of the same
sex.

 Gay – a male who is romantically and sexually attracted to another male.

 Lesbian - a female who is romantically and sexually attracted to another
female.

 Bisexual – attracted to both sexes

 Asexual – a person who is incapable of being attracted to any sex
 Polysexual – attracted to multiple types of gender
 Pansexual - accommodates all types of gender
Socioeconomic class
 The concept of socioeconomic class varies between societies as the
ideas associated with being poor or rich differ based on the collective
experiences of individuals.(Developed vs. Developing countries)

 Upper class, middle class, lower class

PHILIPPINES

MAYAMAN(RK)

MEDYO MAYAMAN

SAKTO LANG

MAHIRAP
Religion
 An organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship
God or a group of gods.

 Monotheistic – believing in the existence of one God.

 Polytheistic – believing in the existence of multiple gods.

POLITICAL IDENTITY
 Refers to the set of attitudes and practices that an individual adheres
to in relation to the political systems and actors within his or her
society.

 An individual can acquire political identity by subscribing to a political

belief such as communism, democracy, or socialism.

 Example: Kabataan partylist, leftist;NPA, LGBTQ

Cultural variation
 ETHNOCENTRISM
 a perspective that promotes an individual’s culture as the most efficient or
superior
 the individual who exhibits ethnocentrism feels that his or her culture is the
most appropriate as compared with other cultures.

*Genocide - mass killing of a large group of people, especially those of a

particular ethnic group or nation.

 CULTURAL RELATIVISM
 Promotes the perspective that cultures must be understood in the
context of their locality.
 Culture, Society,
and Politics
as Conceptual Tools
Culture, society, and politics are
concepts
Exists in the realm of idea and
thoughts. As such they cannot be
seen or touched and yet they
influence the way we see and
experience our individual and
collective lives as social beings.
UNDERSTANDING
CULTURE,
SOCIETY,
AND POLITICS
INTRODUCTION
 Identity, Culture, and Society
IDENTITY
-distinctive characteristics that defines
an individual or is shared by those
belonging to a particular group.
-changes over the course of a person’s
lifetime.
-continously shaped and reshaped
through the passage of time
*daughter *volleyball player
*son *music enthusiast
*student council officer
*club member *rich/poor
*male/ female *tall/short
*Filipino/ Korean *complexion
Our identity is also known as…
-tags
-labels
-categories
Identities are important because
they shape both individual and
group behavior as well as people’s
views about other people and
society.
Reflecting on this enables an
individual to appreciate what
makes him or her similar or differ
from others.
Learning one’s self, culture, and
society helps a person to
understand that identities are
relational and contextual.
This helps avoid prejudices and
stereotyping.
SOCIAL REALITIES: Behavior
and Phenomenon
 Why do people do such thing?
 What makes it normal and
acceptable to some people in
some places and unacceptable to
others in other places?
 Situation Behavior and
Phenomena
1. Gary graduated a year ago. Despite
being blessed with several job offers, he istambay
chose to remain jobless and hang around
with his barkada. Together they love to
istambay in the town plaza especially at
night.
2. As a businessman, Mang Leo is
Lagay/
used to giving “padulas” to his main
palagay
suppliers in order to expedite his
business transactions with them.
 Situation Behavior and
Phenomena
3. Members of the Seventh- day
Food taboos
Adventist church are strongly
prohibited from eating pork and food
with blood, as well as from smoking
and drinking alcoholic beverages
4. Darius is openly gay. He lives with
Same-sex
his partner Garner. He and Garner
partnership
are both college professors in the
local city college
 Situation Behavior and
Phenomena
5. If grades were to be the basis of
Rusty’s standing in his economic Use of a go-
class, he would surely fail the between/
course. However, he was given a padrino
passing grade by his economics
teacher, who happened to be a
childhood friend of his mother
SOCIAL,
CULTURAL,
AND
POLITICAL
CHANGE
 The concept of individuality is related
to social, cultural, and political
change.
 People’s individual and collective
identities have oftentimes transformed
social order and paved the way for
lasting change
Examples:
Filipino women practiced their
rights of suffrage
Rapid-advancing technology
International migration
Cross-culture marriages
 Social Dynamics
Scenario Phenomenon
1. Taking “selfies” is Alyssa’s
preoccupation. It became a habit when selfieing
her parents gave her a phone on her
birthday
2. Kapitan Tim is the incumbent mayor of Political
the City of Amin-amin. His son, Timmy Jr. Dynasty
is currently running for the congressional
seat of the district, a position occupied by
his mother Cong. Valencia for about three
consecutive terms.
3. Amina, a college student, is living
alone in Manila. Both of her parents Transnational
are OFWs working in the Middle East. families
She visits them every summer break
4. As a youth volunteer, Verna finds
the rainy season a busy season due Youth
to the frequency of typhoon-related volunteerism
disasters. Sometimes she even
spends her own money to buy relief
goods for typhoon victims
5. Harry almost missed the
chance to finish high school Video
because he had been absent gaming
most of the time playing
Mobile Legends (ML)
 ANTHROPOLOGY
Systematic study of the biological,
cultural, and social aspects of
man.
Derived from two Greek words,
anthropos, which means “man”,
and logos, which means “study” or
“inquiry”
Considered as the complete “science
of man,” because it focuses on the
integration of Social Sciences,
Humanities, Physical Sciences, and
Human Biology.

The end goal of Anthropology is to

understand humans and cultures across
history.
It
seeks to answer when, where, and
why humans appear on earth.

Itintegrates elements from the

biologcal sciences and humanities to
fully comprehend the complex human
species, including their past
experiences and social patterns across
diverse cultures
As a Social Science, anthropology
focuses on human diversity around
the world.
Anthropologists look at cross-
cultural differences in social
institutions, cultural beliefs, and
communication styles.
 BRANCHES
OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Studies how
social patterns
and practices
and cultural
variations
developed
across different
societies.
 CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Studies cultural
variation across
different societies
and examines the
need to understand
each culture in its
own context.
 LINGUISTIC
ANTHROPOLOGY
Studies language
and discourse and
how they reflect
and shape different
aspects of human
society and culture
BIOLOGICAL OR PHYSICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
Studies the origin of
humans as well as the
interplay between social
actors and the processes
of human evolution,
adaptation, and variation
over time.
 Insert archaeology
 Insert applied anthropology
PROMINENT ANTHROPOLOGISTS

Margaret Mead Alfred Kroeber Franz Boas Clifford Geertz

 SOCIOLOGY
The study of human social life, groups, and
society.
An academic discipline that attempts to
provide a deeper assessment of individual
and group behavior, as well as social
phenomena, by examining the interplay
between economic, political, and social
factors
Itexamine and present new insights
and perspectives on the different
elements and aspects of society such
as culture, gender, race, and
ethnicity, social movements, class
and other forms of social
stratification, crime and other
organizations and institutions
Itseeks to explain the bases of
social order and social change
 PROMINENT SOCIOLOGISTS

Karl Marx

Auguste Comte
Emile Durkheim
Max Weber
Herbert Spencer
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Systematic study of politics
Study of the systems of government
and political behavior of humans.
Andrew Heywood describe it as “the
activity through which people make,
preserve, and amend the general
rules under which they live”
Focuses on the fundamental values
of equality, freedom, and justice
and its processes are linked to the
dynamics of conflict, resolution,
and cooperation
Political Science help us understand the
nature and characteristics of authority and
power distribution and how it shapes the
way society is organized.
It also analyzes the system of governance,
political theories, the lawmaking process,
political behavior and ethics, policies,
political organization, and electoral process.