Lurret Shannen G.

Bengua
11- STEM 102

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL SCIENCE Merchants and capitalists invested universities and

institutions because these are the training ground for the
SOCIAL SCIENCE future scientist, technocrats and innovators
● The field of human knowledge that deals with ● Emile Durkheim Father of Sociology - the need
all aspects of the group of life of human beings. to secularize education based on the need of the
So it is subject to change with the changes of society
human behavior.
● It attempts to explain social phenomena. The Dissolution of Feudal Society
● The subject of Social Science is society itself. ● The emerging factory system led to the
● Social scientists use empirical research dissolution of guilds and workers
methods to investigate all sorts of interpersonal ● The unprecedented growth of urban centers due
and intrapersonal behavior. to trade and commerce - (the cause of the study
● Social science is the study of human society of society)
and social relationships ● Gesellschaft replaced Gemeinschaft
● Includes fields such as economics, political ● Capitalism replaced agricultural economy
science, law, geography and history economic transaction over personal
● Use scientific methods as well as other relationship)
methods
● Students can become lawyers, linguists, Trade and Commerce
historians, writers, journalists, teachers, ● Travels of Marco Polo introduced Europeans to
accountants, etc Asia and China
● Columbus begun the exploration of America
The Historical Background of the Growth of Social ● Cross comparison (anthropology) of civilized
Sciences life of western to "savage" non-westerner.
● Harriet Martineau provided the model of the
Western Philosophies early stage of Western civilization
● The study of society, culture and politics were
based on social and political philosophy. The Birth of Social Sciences as a Response to the Social
● It was highly influenced by theological Turmoil
reasoning grounded in ● Sociology is a branch of social science that
● Revelation based on the bible. deals with the scientific study of human
● This was largely due to the dominance of interactions, social groups and institutions,
religious worldview and authority during this whole societies and the human world as such.
time. ● Sociology does not only study the existing
social forms of interactions but also pursues
The Unprecedented Growth of Science the investigation of the emergence of stable
● The Scientific Revolution refers to historical structures that sustain such interactions
changes in thought and belief, to changes in
social and institutional organization. ➔ Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
● Newton's Universal Laws of Motion, Bacon's ➔ Coined the term "sociology" but first used social
reasoning than imagination, Descartes' physics
separation of physical over spiritual ➔ Introduced positivism as the school of thought
that says science and its method is the only
The Secularization of Learning and Education valid way of knowing things
● Modern period marked the growing triumph of
scientific method (Western Reasoning) over ➔ Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
religious dogma. ➔ Founding mother of "sociology"
● Reformation led by Martin Luther challenged the ➔ Had a deep sociological insights that now called
supremacy of the Catholic Church and as ethnography
democratized the interpretation of the bible. ➔ Influenced by David Ricardo and Adam Smith
● The Age of Enlightenment emphasized the .
process of rationalization. ➔ Karl Marx (1818-1883)
● Separation between different social spheres ➔ Introduced the materialist analysis of history
which discounts religious and metaphysical
The Rise of the Universities explanation
● Education paved way to the rise of Social ➔ Advocated the use scientific to uncover the deep
Sciences structural
● Secular subjects proliferated universities
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➔ Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) Factors of social change

➔ Defended Sociology as separate from ➢ Physical environment
psychology that society possesses a reality of ➢ Population changes
its own, kind or class ➢ Isolation and contact
➔ Society exists prior and after human life. ➢ Social structure
➔ Responsible for sociology in education, religion ➢ Attitudes and values
and deviance ➢ Technological factors

➔ Max Weber (1864-1920) Processes in social change

➔ Pioneer of interpretive sociology ➢ Formulated by William Fielding Ogburn
➔ Stressed the role of rationalization in the ➢ Includes four steps
development of society ● Invention
➔ Bureaucracy efficiency is considered as the ❖ Mental ability
supreme value ❖ Demand
❖ Existence of cultural elements
➔ Anthropology as a scientific discipline from ● Accumulation
social philosophy and travelogues of Western ● Diffusion
travelers ● Adjustment
➔ A science of holistic study of man
BARRIERS OF SOCIAL CHANGE
➔ Franz Boas (1858-1942)
➔ Father of Modern American Anthropology Theories of social change
➔ Rejected historical particularism of Darwin ➢ Democratization
thus, promoted cultural relativism ➢ Industrialization
➔ Rejected biological basis of racism ➢ Globalization
➢ Modernization
➔ Branislow Malinowski (1884-1942)
➔ Contributed to Modern Anthropology Stages of Growth Model
➔ Introduced Participant Observation and ➢ Formulated by Walt Whitman Rostow
Ethnography ➢ States that society's development is composed
of five steps
➔ Alfred Radcliffe-Brown (1881-1955) ● Traditional society
➔ He saw individuals as mere products of social ● Preconditions to take-off
structures. ● Take-off
➔ He introduced the structural-functionalist ● Drive to maturity
perspective ● Age of mass consumption

SOCIAL CHANGE Neoliberal Globalization Theory

➢ Postulates that globalization is vital to
HANGING TRENDS IN THE FILIPINO CULTURE economic development and social change
➢ Argues that free trade, free market and formal
● Youth Volunteerism - Active political and social democracies are prerequisites to a progressive
engagement social change
● Social Media- Texting capital, Cybercommunity, ➢ Encourages all countries to be open for
Online Business international investment partnership in order to
● Transnational Families- OFWs, Women in the achieve growth
Workplace
● LGBT Community- Gender Equality Democratic Transition Theory
➢ Postulates the transformation of socioeconomic
Basic concepts of social change order by adopting democratic principles
➢ Three waves formulated by Samuel Huntington:
Social change ● First wave - consists of French
➢ General process of the alteration of the Revolution and American Revolution
structure of society ● Second wave - characterized by post
➢ Change in social structure World war II society; liberation of
➢ Any event or action that affects a group of colonies
individuals that have shared values or ● Third wave - collapse of Fascism and
characteristics Marxism
➢ Acts of advocacy for the cause of changing
society in a normative way
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Barriers to social change SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

➢ Group solidarity
➢ Rejection of outsiders Sociological Analysis of Culture
➢ Conformity to norms ➢ Introduction to Sociology and Culture
➢ Sectoral conflict ➢ Sociological Perspectives on Culture
➢ Lack of knowledge and skills
Introduction to Sociology and Culture
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE ON CULTURE Definition of Sociology
➢ It is a systematic study of groups and societies
Levels of Culture that people create and how these affect their
1. National/Societal behavior
2. Organizational ➢ It focuses on various social connections,
3. Identity group institutions, organizations, structures and
4. Functional processes
5. Team ➢ It gathers social inputs which are composed of
6. Individual frequent forms and manners: attitude,
viewpoints, consolidated values and norms of
Theoretical Perspectives on Culture High Culture Theory social institutions which form part of social
➢ Postulated by Matthew Arnold array
➢ Culture is the study of perfection
➢ Introduced the Three Immortal Notions Sociological Perspectives on Culture
● Beauty The Functionalist Perspective
● Intelligence ➢ Views society as a stable, orderly system with
● Knowledge interrelated parts that serve specific functions
➢ Polish Anthropologist, Bronislaw Malinowski,
Ordinary/Popular Culture Theory suggested that culture helps people meet their
➢ Postulated by Raymond Williams needs, specifically:
➢ Culture is ordinary as it is part of everyday life ● Biological needs - such as food and
➢ Argued that culture must be viewed in two procreation
aspects: ● Instrumental needs - such as law and
● The known meanings and directions education
which its members are trained to ● Integrative needs - such as religion
● The new observations and meanings and art
which are offered and tested Strengths
➔ It focuses on the needs of society and the fact
that stability is essential for a society’s
High Culture In Modern Time Popular Culture In Modern continued success
Time Weaknesses
➔ It overemphasizes harmony and cooperation
Social dances/ Ballet dance Street dancing (such as ➔ It does not acknowledge all the societal factors
break dance, rap and hip hop)
that contribute to conflict and strife
Fine Arts/ Classical music/ Loose and ragged mode of
Opera clothing The Conflict Perspective
➢ Based upon the assumption that social life is a
Conservative and formal mode Graffiti (or vandalism) continuous struggle in which members of
of clothing powerful groups seek to control scarce
resources
Cultural Diversity ➢ According to Karl Marx, ideas are cultural
➢ High culture - Cultural patterns that distinguish creations; it is therefore possible for society’s
a society’s elite leaders to use ideology, a system of ideas that
Examples: Museum, art gallery, opera, etc guides the way people think and act, in order to
➢ Popular culture - Cultural patterns that are maintain their positions of dominance in a
widespread among society’s population society
Examples: The latest trend Strengths
➢ Subculture - Cultural patterns set apart some ➔ It stresses how cultural values and norms may
segment of society’s population perpetuate social inequalities
Examples: Old car Club, Gangs, and Rave parties Weaknesses
➢ Counterculture - Cultural patterns that strongly ➔ It focuses on societal discord and the
oppose those widely accepted within a society divisiveness of culture
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The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective Positivism through his book entitled Course on Positive
➢ Examines society as the sum of all people’s Philosophy (1830– 1842) and System of Positive Polity
interactions; it suggests that people create, (1851-1854).
maintain and modify culture as they go about
their day-to-day activities Karl Marx (1818–1883), a German philosopher and
➢ Argues that our culture’s values and norms do economist. He made Communist Manifesto (1848) with
not automatically determine our behavior; Friedrich Engels (1820–1895).
rather, we reinterpret these values and norms
with each situation we come across The efforts of Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), His notable
➢ German sociologist, Georg Simmel, suggested works are The Division of Labor in Society (1893) which
that culture eventually takes on a life of its own tackles the transformation of a society from a primitive
and begins to control people instead state into a capitalist, industrial society. He also
Strengths published a work titled Suicide (1897).
➔ It examines how people maintain and change
culture through interaction with others Max Weber (1864-1920) is another pioneer in the field of
Weaknesses sociology. He emphasized the role of rationalization in the
➔ It does not provide an outline to analyze how we development of society. He introduced bureaucracy as an
shape culture and how it in turn shapes us. application of scientific way of life
➔ It fails to take into account the larger,
macro-level social structures (e.g. social class) Anthropology
that are considered in the Functionalist and Another pioneering Social Science discipline,
Conflict perspectives anthropology helps us to understand our holistic identity.
It came from a Latin word anthropos – means man and
MODULE 1 Greek word logos – means to study.

Lesson 1 – Essentials in Studying Culture, Society, and Anthropology is a branch of Social Science that deals with
Politics all aspects of human beings including their biological
evolution and social and cultural features that
Natural Science and Social Science definitively distinguish humans from other animal
The study of culture, society, and politics are parts and species.
parcel of a larger body of knowledge with the integration
of systematic processes and scientific method called, The discipline of anthropology is the fruity of scientific
Social Science. Nisbet (1974) stated that “it is a branch of developments in the Western World through the
discipline or branch of science that deals with human groundbreaking work of the Charles Darwin’s “On the
behavior in its social and cultural aspects” (para.1). Origin of Species” (1859), it boosted the passion of the all
scientists in different fields.
Social Science goes side by side with Natural Science as
both branches of Science. It is a branch of science that Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942) introduced participant
deals with the natural world: its processes, elements, and observation as a method of studying culture.
composition. However, social science is a branch of
science primarily focuses in human society and social Franz Boas (1858-1942) His works focused on rejecting the
relationships biological basis of racism or racial discrimination. He
also rejected the Western idea of social evolution thus, he
Sociology favored historical particularism. He also advocated
Individual behavior may differ when he will be included cultural relativism or the complexity of all culture
into a group thus, making this event a remarkable whether primitive or not.
beginning of one of the pioneer disciplines under Social
Sciences. Sociology is one of the disciplines that tends Culture comes from Latin word cultura, means
to answer the social and political issues in the Modern cultivation. British anthropologist Edward B. Tylor
Period. (1832-1917) from his book Primitive Culture (1871) first
gave the definition of culture which is widely quoted
Etymologically, Sociology came from the Latin word “culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge,
socius – means companion and Greek word logos – beliefs, arts, morals, law, custom, and all aspects of man
means to study. It is a systematic study of human as a member of society”. This is the most known
relationship along with human society and interaction. definition of culture and later used as a pattern in
interpreting and analyzing aspects and elements of
Auguste Comte (1798- 1857) to study these phenomena culture.
and eventually coined the term sociology in 1838. He
focused on the idea of improving the development of the
society and how it operates. He also introduced the term
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Branches of Anthropology extended as a discipline. It tries to explain the

The discipline of anthropology has diverse branches that process, composition, and organization of
studies different levels of expertise within the bounds of legislature.
human social, cultural, and physical background. 7. International Relations – It includes inquiries
into the nation-states' foreign policy in their
➢ Cultural Anthropology – The study of people mutual ties on the various forces-geographic,
with their variations and progress in terms of technological, psychological, and political that
culture. It also deals with the description and contribute to shaping such policy.
analysis of the forms and styles of social life of 8. International Law – It is a system of agreements
past and present ages. and treaties that entails responsibilities of one
➢ Linguistic Anthropology – The study of state into another.
language mainly but not exclusively among 9. Comparative Government – It is a discipline
humans. It also deals with the study of that studies and analyzes the general structure
communication’s origins, history, and of governments of all countries. It includes
contemporary variation. (executive, legislative, and judicial bodies, their
➢ Archaeology – The study of past human cultures constitutions, laws, administrative
through their material remains. It also the study organizations, foreign policies, political parties
of past human culture through the recovery and and processes, economic, social, and political
analysis of artifacts. functions, and their cultures and traditions)
➢ Biological Anthropology – The study of humans
as biological organisms, including their On Society
evolution and contemporary variation. Societies are formed through social interaction of its
➢ Applied Anthropology – They analyze social, member. These members need to understand their roles
political, and economic problems and develop and functions to propagate patterned behavior in a
solutions to respond to present problems. structured society. Thus, society is important for:
➔ human connection and interconnectedness
Political Science ➔ symbolizing identity of the members
The etymology of Political Science came from two ancient ➔ characterizing the boundaries of a territory
words. The word political came from Greek word “polis” ➔ representing political independence and
means city-state and science comes from Latin word economic interdependence
“scire” which means to know. Political Science is a
discipline in social science concerned primarily in the On Politics
state, government, and politics. It focuses widely in Each society possesses distinctive characteristics of
political theory and its practice and the analysis of political structure. Political science deals primarily in the
political systems and behavior. study of government and state processes. Understanding
deeply a political life suggests that politics can be
Areas of Political Science reduced to the question of who gets what, where, when,
In understanding the nature of political science, (Calilung and how
F., 2014, p.12) noted that it encompasses important aspect ➔ understand the theories, concepts and
of our society primarily: knowledge and principles of governance as well
as public administration and political
1. Political Theory – It deals with the accumulation dynamics.
of principles identifying with the basis, ➔ manifest the underlying principles of state
structure, conduct, and operations of the state policies and laws to be abided and respected by
2. Public Law – It pertains to laws or ordinances all
which control the framework of public ➔ prepares the student for a possible career path
governance. in the legal profession, government service and
3. Public Administration – It serves as an other professions with high respect to legal
academic discipline that studies civil service matters and procedures.
and governance.
4. Political Dynamics – It is an aspect of Political The Goals of Anthropology, Sociology, and Political
Science which are concerned with the Science
relationship of different societal forces that
dictate political opportunities and actions.
5. Government and Business – It gives importance
to the regulatory and governmental function to
corporate, or business entities concerning the
national economy.
6. Legislatures and Legislation – The term
legislation is a complex mechanism that can be
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Lesson 2 – Anthropological and Sociological Transmitted through socialization/ enculturation

Perspectives on Culture and Society Socialization is a process of learning and internalizing
rules and patterns of society (Sociological Perspective)
Perspectives on Culture while enculturation is a process of learning and adopting
Culture is a generic term yet very difficult to define. Aside ways and manners of culture. (Anthropological
from the famous definition of Tylor on culture, scholars Perspective)
and social scientists vary different perspectives on how to
properly define it. Also, because of its wider scope and it Requires language and other forms of communication
encompasses everything of man, experts from several Culture will be successfully transmitted if it uses
fields find it complicated to box culture into one universal language and other forms of communication within their
terminology. Spencer-Oatey (2012, p.2) compiled context.
perspectives from scholars about culture.
Types of Culture
Matthew Arnold in his Culture and Anarchy (1867) Material Culture
mentioned that culture or high culture as opposed to ➔ Food
popular culture (or folkways in an earlier usage) is a ➔ Clothing and Fashion
product of a special intellectual or artistic endeavor ➔ Buildings and Properties
humans had invented. ➔ Arts and Technology
Non-Material Culture
Kroeber & Kluckhohn (1952) defined that culture is ➔ Ideas and Knowledge
composed of behavior (explicit and implicit) acquired and ➔ Beliefs and Traditions
transmitted through symbols. ➔ Symbols and Language
➔ Behavior
Lastly, Schwartz (1992) stated that culture consists of ➔ Religion
experiences that are organized, learned or created by the
individuals of a population, including those images and Elements of Culture
images adding up their unique interpretations Norms - These are the standard an expected behavior
transmitted from the past generations up to the future. within a society. It is divided into two: formal norms and
informal norms
Aspects of Culture
Formal Norms
Dynamic, Flexible, & Adaptive ● Mores – they are norms that has a firm control
Culture changes constantly throughout the time. It varies to moral and ethical behavior
on the societal structure and the capacities of its Examples: Pre-marital sex, Homosexual relationships
members to respond. ● Laws – they are ordinance of reason enacted to
protect the people from the bad effects of
Shared & Contested outdated mores
Culture through its elements is enjoyed by a group of Examples: 1987 Constitution, laws promulgated by the
people who live together. It also allows its members to Philippine Government
predict the behavior of other members but it is no Informal Mores
assurance that they will think and act similarly ● Folkways or Customs – they are behaviors of
less importance yet still influence our behavior.
Learned through socialization or enculturation Examples: Doing “Mano Po” Practicing “Bayanihan”
Culture is learned with practice through continued
process. It is a lifelong process in which social interaction ➢ Symbols - These are anything that carry a
plays a vital role. meaning recognized by people who share a
culture.
Patterned social interactions ➢ Values- These are culturally defined standards
Culture creates patterned behavior and social by which people assess desirability, goodness,
interactions that can be transmitted through and beauty and that serve as broad guidelines
socialization and enculturation. for social living.
➢ Beliefs- These are specific statements that
Integrated and at times unstable people hold to be true.
Culture to be always functioning must maintain its ➢ Language- It refers to a form of communication
components integrated. Language must have all its ideas using words either spoken or gestured with the
and ideals intact for the successful transmission from hands and structured with grammar, often with
one person to another. a writing system.
➢ Taboos- These are norms that are crucial to a
society’s moral center, involving behaviors that
are always negatively sanctioned
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Theoretical Perspectives on Society Module 2: Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism

The term society also makes an impact to several experts Ethnocentrism

in the field of social science. It made them the Ethnocentrism is the view that one’s own cultural
understanding that society is a system of usages and elements such as norms, values, ideology, customs, and
procedures, of authority and mutual aid, of many traditions are dominant and superior to others (Brown,
groupings and divisions, of controls of human behavior 2007).
and of liberties. Their perspectives paved way modern
scholars to have a better understanding on society. As the William Graham Sumner (1906) coined the term
Father of Sociology Auguste Comte coined the term ethnocentrism in his work Folkways that served as the
sociology and said that society is a social organism foundation in social analysis of every culture. According
possessing a harmony of structure and function, his to his definition, ethnocentrism is a technical name to
followers were motivated to give their own perspective on see things in which one’s own cultural identity is the
this. center of everything over which all must be scaled, rated,
and referred to. This perspective led to conceited behavior
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) described the emerging and the belief of the superiority of one’s own group with
societies as societies of survival and primarily based on great prejudice to outsiders. While ethnocentrism takes
the concept of natural law universal stage, which propels cohesion and continuity at
all levels of social structure, it provides a rational
Their environment. Karl Marx (1818-1883) had a different explanation for attack made on other culture or
take on society. He postulated that societies develop subculture in its extreme forms.
through class conflicts.
Sumner mentioned some characteristics of an individual
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) said that society is composed with an ethnocentric view. Ethnocentric persons -
of harmonious elements such as individuals, ➔ have a dominant cultural element which they
organizations, and social institutions. Dysfunction may see as superior to other cultures
occur if these elements are not in the state of equilibrium. ➔ view rigidly their own socio-economic, political,
and cultural elements
George Herbert Mead (1863–1931) and other scholars who ➔ see their cultural elements as normal and
conceptualized the concept of symbolic interactionism acceptable to all
take a different point of view on society. ➔ Consider in-group norms can be universalized
➔ discard out-group ethnicities and cultures
Herbert Blumer (1969) who coined the term symbolic ➔ believe that other cultures are inferior and look
interactionism studied how humans interact to the at other culture’s elements as inferior and
meanings ascribed into a specific object under unacceptable
circumstances. Erving Goffman (1958) on the other hand
used dramaturgical analysis. It can be seen in Philippine society that ethnocentrism is
still emerging. The sense of identity seems to be a
Charles Horton-Cooley (1902) said that society and contributing reason for this. It goes deeper in our history
individuals are not separated but are simply collective that the mixture of different cultures has created several
and distributive aspects of the same thing. He theorized identity marks resulting in our diverse cultural heritage,
the concept of the looking glass self both tangible and intangible. Also, our indigenous culture
can be categorized as old, non-advanced technology with
Contemporary scholar such as Morris Ginsberg (1921) no sense of modernity. After the primitive age, we begin to
stated that society is a group of individuals bonded by be the melting pot of Western and Oriental cultures
specific relation or manner of behavior which tend to resulting in a shaky and complex identity attributed to us
differ them from individuals who have a different set of today. With this characteristic, it is very difficult to blend
patterned behavior. Also, Franklin Giddings (1922) this type of indigenous culture to the fast-changing
mentioned that society is a unified itself, the society.
organization, and the totality of formal relations in which
interacting humans are guaranteed together. Chinof (2016) made some observations on how to address
this growing concern on Filipino ethnocentrism.
1. Identify indigenous culture that truly reflects
Filipino identity.
2. Eliminate foreign influences and stick to
“home-grown" practices.
3. If we want to settle our identity, we must accept
the good part of the foreign influences that
come to us.
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Cultural Relativism
Culture, just like a story, conveys different meanings and
it can vary among the people who created it. It poses a
challenge to the idea that culture is the same for
everyone. Also, culture like a story has a life of its own.
This notion rejects the concept of cultural universality.

Cultural relativism refers to an objective analysis of one’s

own culture – seeing and understanding of one’s beliefs
and traditions from his/her own point of view. It also
entails not to judge the practices of others based on your
own culture; hence, respecting it in their own cultural
context. For example, you may find eating insects as an
unacceptable and a disgusting practice. However, in
Thailand, as well as parts of Central America like Mexico,
it is considered a delicacy. Instead of being prejudiced,
one can pose an interesting question like “Why do some
cultures eat fried insects?”.

According to James Rachels (2003), the following claims

have all been made by cultural relativists:
1. Each society has a diverse set of moral
conducts.
2. The rightfulness of an action within a society is
primarily determined by the moral standards of
that society.
3. There is no objective standard that can be used
as a basis of comparison among societies.
4. The moral code of our own society is just part of
a larger body of morality and ethical standards.
5. High tolerance among all culture must be
exercised always

However, in his critical analysis, he also posited some

observations and consequences of accepting cultural
relativism
1. It is difficult to determine if the custom of other
societies is morally inferior to others.
2. The decision whether actions are right or wrong
can be done just by consulting the standards of
our society.
3. The idea of moral progress is always
questionable.
4. The objective criticism of one’s own culture is
shallow.
5. There will be no idea of moral progress because
of acceptance of other’s culture.