Course Code: CORE15

Course Title: UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND

POLITICS
Course Type: CORE
Pre-requisite: NONE
Co-requisite: NONE
Quarter: 1st
Course Topic: DEFINING CULTURE AND SOCIETY FROM
PERSPECTIVE OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND
SOCIOLOGY
Module: #2 Week: 3-4
Course Subtopic: Soicety
Culture
Aspects of Culture
Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism as
Orientations in Viewing Other
Cultures
Course Description: 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.
Course Outcomes (COs) and Relationship to Student Outcomes
Course Outcomes SO
After completing the course, the student must a b c d
be able to:
1. Identify and classify the subjects of inquiry
and goals of Anthropology, Political Science, D I
and Sociology.
* Level: I- Introduced, R- Reinforced, D- Demonstrated

DEFINING CULTURE AND SOCIETY FROM PERSPECTIVE OF

ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY

SOCIETY
By: New World Encyclopedia (2020)

Emerged in the fifteenth century and is derived from the French société. The
French word, in turn, had its origin in the Latin societas, a "friendly association
with others," from socius meaning "companion, associate, comrade or business
partner." Essential in the meaning of society is that its members share some
mutual concern or interest, a common objective or common characteristics,
often a common culture.

Society and culture are similar concepts, but their scopes are different. A
society is an interdependent community, while culture is an attribute of a
community: the complex web of shifting patterns that link individuals together.
For example, Clifford Geertz suggested that "society" is the actual arrangement
of social relations while "culture" consists of beliefs and symbolic
forms. Edward Burnett Tylor wrote in 1871 that "culture or civilization, taken

Understanding Culture, Society And Politics

S.Y. 2020-2021 Page | 1
in its wide ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities
and habits acquired by man as a member of society."

In the study of social sciences "society" has been used to mean a group of
people that form a semi-closed social system, in which most interactions are
with other individuals belonging to the group. According to sociologist Richard
Jenkins, the term addresses a number of important existential issues facing
people:
1. How humans think and exchange information. The sensory world makes
up only a fraction of human experience, so in order to understand the
world, we have to conceive of human interaction in the abstract, namely
society.
2. Many phenomena cannot be reduced to individual behavior. In order to
explain certain conditions, a view of something "greater than the sum of
its parts" is needed.
3. Collectives often endure beyond the lifespan of individual members.
4. The human condition has always meant going beyond the evidence of our
senses. In other words, every aspect of our lives is tied to the collective
sense.[1]

Karl Marx, human beings are intrinsically, necessarily, and by definition social
beings who—beyond being "gregarious creatures"—cannot survive and meet
their needs other than through social co-operation and association. Their social
characteristics are therefore to a large extent an objectively given fact, stamped
on them from birth and affirmed by socialization processes; and, according to
Marx, in producing and reproducing their material life, people must necessarily
enter into relations of production which are "independent of their will." (New
World Encyclopedia, 2020)

Max Weber defined human action as "social" if, by virtue of the subjective
meanings attached to the action by individuals, it "takes account the behavior
of others, and is thereby oriented in its course." In this case, the "social"
domain really exists only in the intersubjective relations between individuals,
but by implication the life of these individuals also exists in part outside the
social domain. "Social" is thus implicitly also contrasted with "private."
(Oyedokun, Godwin, 2016)

Emile Durkheim, a social fact is an abstraction external to the individual

which constrains that individual's actions. In his 1895 work Rules of
Sociological Method, Durkheim wrote: A social fact is every way of acting, fixed
or not, capable of exercising on the individual an influence, or an external
constraint; or again, every way of acting which is general throughout a given
society, while at the same time existing in its own right independent of its
individual manifestations. (Carls, Paul, 2020)

Understanding Culture, Society And Politics

S.Y. 2020-2021 Page | 2
Characteristics of Society
 First, society consists of group of people who share some likeness such
as being rational, free and bodily.
 Another characteristic of society is its nature of being dynamic and
changeable.

Human society is organized

According to Palispis 2007 it is organized in such a way that there are rules of
conduct customs, traditions, folk ways and mores, and expectations that
ensure appropriate behavior among members.

ACTIVITY 2:
SOCIETAL POEM

Instructions: Write a poem in regards with your views of the society.

Paper Size: Short Bond Paper (Handwritten/Type Written)

Font Style: Times New Roman/ Calibri (Body)
Font Size: 11

CULTURE

Culture means of Society used in responding to nature, not to respond merely

to various forces of the physical environment that defines a person as well as
human being endowed with his inherent freedom and rationality. It is one of
the most important concepts within sociology because sociologists recognize
that it plays a crucial role in our social lives. It is important for shaping social
relationships, maintaining and challenging social order, determining how we
make sense of the world and our place in it, and in shaping our everyday
actions and experiences in society. It is composed of both non-material and
material things. (Little, William and McGivern, Ron 2013)

Understanding Culture, Society And Politics

S.Y. 2020-2021 Page | 3
Non-Material Aspects of Culture
The values and beliefs, language, communication, and practices that are
shared in common by a group of people. Expanding on these categories,
culture is made up of our knowledge, common sense, assumptions, and
expectations. It is also the rules, norms, laws, and morals that govern society;
the words we use as well as how we speak and write them (what sociologists
call "discourse"); and the symbols we use to express meaning, ideas, and
concepts (like traffic signs and emojis, for example). Culture is also what we do
and how we behave and perform (for example, theater and dance). It informs
and is encapsulated in how we walk, sit, carry our bodies, and interact with
others; how we behave depending on the place, time, and "audience;" and how
we express identities of race, class, gender, and sexuality, among others.
Culture also includes the collective practices we participate in, such as
religious ceremonies, the celebration of secular holidays, and attending
sporting events. (Cole, Nicki Lisa Ph.D., 2019)

Material Aspects of Culture

Composed of the things that humans make and use. This aspect of culture
includes a wide variety of things, from buildings, technological gadgets, and
clothing, to film, music, literature, and art, among others. Aspects of material
culture are more commonly referred to as cultural products. (Cole, Nicki Lisa
Ph.D., 2019)

Sociologists
See the two sides of culture—the material and non-material—as intimately
connected. Material culture emerges from and is shaped by the non-material
aspects of culture. In other words, what we value, believe, and know (and what
we do together in everyday life) influences the things that we make. But it is
not a one-way relationship between material and non-material culture.
Material culture can also influence the non-material aspects of culture. For
example, a powerful documentary film (an aspect of material culture) might
change people‘s attitudes and beliefs (i.e. non-material culture). This is why
cultural products tend to follow patterns. What has come before in terms of
music, film, television, and art, for example, influences the values, beliefs, and
expectations of those who interact with them, which then, in turn, influence
the creation of additional cultural products. (Cole, Nicki Lisa Ph.D., 2019)

Culture Consist
 Beliefs, behaviors, object, and other characteristics common to the
members of particular group of society.

Culture Includes
1) Language, customs, values norms, mores, rules, tools, technological
product, organizations, and institutions.

Understanding Culture, Society And Politics

S.Y. 2020-2021 Page | 4
Characteristics of Culture

ASPECTS OF CULTURE
Culture being a complex set of patterned social interactions is learned and
transmitted through socialization or enculturation.

Culture as Dynamic, Flexible and Adaptive

This basically means that cultures interact and change. It changes based on
the current situation of our society. Culture continuously restores itself so it
will remain relevant.

Culture as Shared, Contested and Challenged

As we share culture with others, we are able to act in appropriate ways as well
as predict how others will act. Despite the shared culture, that doesn't mean
that culture is HOMOGENOUS. If culture is learned and shared, it is also
contested in different ways and situation. Because of the diversity, culture is
subjected to debate and analysis. It may be challenged by the presence of
modernization, industrialization and globalization. (Nideffer, Robert F.)

Culture as Learned through socialization and enculturation

It is not biological, we do not enherit it but LEARNED. We learn, absorb and
acquire culture from families, peers, institutions and the media.
SOCIALIZATION is an ongoing process of learning language, behaviors,
customs, values and others to acquire identity. ENCULTURATION is the
process by which an individual adopts the behavioral patterns of culture in
which the person is immersed. (Pangilinan, Nicole Angelique, 2019) Agents of
Socialization:
a) Family
b) Community
c) Mass Media
d) Religion

Culture as Patterned social interactions

Culture as normative system has the capacity to define and control human
behaviors. Social interactions can help us filter the parts of our culture that we
learned so that we can define what suits us and what does not. Social

Understanding Culture, Society And Politics

S.Y. 2020-2021 Page | 5
interaction is ―THE MUTUAL INFLUENCE OF TWO OR MORE PEOPLE ON
EACH OTHER'S BEHAVIOR‖. (Pangilinan, Nicole Angelique, 2019)There are 5
patterns of social interaction:
a) Exchange
b) Cooperation
c) Competition
d) Conflict
e) Coercion

Culture as Integrated
This is known as HOLISM, or the various parts of a culture being
interconnected and interlinked. (Pangilinan, Nicole Angelique, 2019)

Culture as Transmitted through socialization or enculturation

As we share our culture with others, we were able to pass it on new members
of society or the younger generation in different ways. It can be transmitted
from one person to another and even one society to another. (Pangilinan, Nicole
Angelique, 2019)

Culture as Language
Language is much more than the external expression and communication of
internal thoughts formulated independently of their verbalization. In
demonstrating the inadequacy and inappropriateness of such a view of
language, attention has already been drawn to the ways in which one‘s native
language is intimately and in all sorts of details related to the rest of one‘s life
in a community and to smaller groups within that community. This is true of
all peoples and all languages; it is a universal fact about language.

Although the faculty of language acquisition and language use is innate and
inherited, and there is legitimate debate over the extent of this innateness,
every individual‘s language is ―acquired by man as a member of society,‖ along
with and at the same time as other aspects of that society‘s culture in which
people are brought up. Society and language are mutually indispensable.
Language can have developed only in a social setting, however this may have
been structured, and human society in any form even remotely resembling
what is known today or is recorded in history could be maintained only among
people utilizing and understanding a language in common use. (Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc., 2020)

Characteristics of Language by Ossa, M.P. M.A. (2017)

 Language is symbolic- language is a construct of sounds and symbols.
Each symbol has a meaning of their own and change depending on how
the cultural group uses the language. Moreover, the symbols are also
dependent on the context within which they are used. The most
important symbol of language is the word.
 Language is cultural- it is entirely dependent on who uses it, for what
reasons, within what context, and for what purpose. Culture is the
setting that enables the medium of language. It is also what defines it

Understanding Culture, Society And Politics

S.Y. 2020-2021 Page | 6
 and gives it uniqueness. Also, you address people depending on their
culture; when the culture is very different from yours, you use less
context and more symbols to convey understanding. When the culture is
similar to yours, you can use more context because you are more likely
to be understood verbally and non-verbally.
 Language is flexible- it can be subdivided and re-created, expanded,
and extended. The main example of these instances are idioms and
paradoxes, dialects, jargon, and street talk.
 Language has rules of usage- there is monitor language (which that we
use in specific situations and we watch over), and natural language (the
language that we use casually). Rules can be constitutive (what do words
mean?) or regulative (how do I apply language in a
sentence/conversation?)
 Language is dynamic and not static- words will continue to be added to
our daily vocabulary, whether they are culturally coined or created for
trademark purposes.

Language and its Functions by Shristi D.

1) Expressive and Communicative Functions: The most basic function of
language as we can guess, is that of the expressive function, an attempt
to express a sudden change of state, fear, delight, pain or confusion.
Whatever it is, such an expression is not a deliberate, conscious
expression, but a spontaneous, immediate response not directed towards
any other object.
2) Expressive and Communicative Functions: The most basic function of
language as we can guess, is that of the expressive function, an attempt
to express a sudden change of state, fear, delight, pain or confusion.
Whatever it is, such an expression is not a deliberate, conscious
expression, but a spontaneous, immediate response not directed towards
any other object.
3) Control Function: When one talks of the function of control, there
emerges a social dimension apart from the individual dimension.
Gradually, as associations get established between certain states of
existence and a stimulus on the one hand and certain sounds, there
results a reproducibility of a reaction. Thus, the child cries when he is
hungry or suffering from pain. This cry in turn makes the mother, or
even the animal mother to rush and help. Here is the beginning of
control.
4) The Functions of Remembering and Thinking: Imagine our being able
to think and remember without the use of words. It is almost impossible
to recall or remember or think without the use of words and therefore,
language. It is language, which helps us to encode experiences, store
them and retrieve and decode. It is language, which helps us to translate
experiences into thought and engage in processes of different types.
5) The Discovery of One’s Name: One of the important milestones in the
development of the child is the discovery that he or she has a name and,
this is the beginning of the sense of self- identity which leads to feelings
like me, mine, others, not me, etc. The discovery of one‘s name plays a

Understanding Culture, Society And Politics

S.Y. 2020-2021 Page | 7
 very crucial role in the overall psychological development of the
individual.
6) Social Functions of Language: In addition to these individual functions,
language performs a very impor-tant social function. While promoting a
sense of personal identity language also serves to develop a sense of
social identity, a sense of belongingness to a particular group, marking
out different degrees of social proximity and distance.
7) Creative Functions: Language plays a very crucial role in imaginative
and creative activity. Is it possible to think of writing a novel or poetry
without language? Language, then not only helps us to control and
regulate our cognitions but also enables us to break free and engage in
creative imagination. Here again, paradoxically, language also
contributes to the emergence of very ‗creative‘ delusions and belief
systems in the mentally ill.

ETHNOCENTRISM AND CULTURAL RELATIVISM AS ORIENTATIONS IN

VIEWING OTHER CULTURES

Cultural relativism
The practice of assessing a culture by its own standards rather than viewing it
through the lens of one‘s own culture. Practicing cultural relativism requires an
open mind and a willingness to consider, and even adapt to, new values and
norms. However, indiscriminately embracing everything about a new culture is
not always possible. Even the most culturally relativist people from egalitarian
societies—ones in which women have political rights and control over their own
bodies—would question whether the widespread practice of female genital
mutilation in countries such as Ethiopia and Sudan should be accepted as a
part of cultural tradition. Sociologists attempting to engage in cultural
relativism, then, may struggle to reconcile aspects of their own culture with
aspects of a culture they are studying. Sometimes when people attempt to
rectify feelings of ethnocentrism and to practice cultural relativism, they swing
too far to the other end of the spectrum. (Lumen Learning 2020)

Some Examples of Cultural relativism by Cole, Nicki Lisa Ph.D., (2019)

 What constitutes breakfast varies widely from place to place. What is
considered a typical breakfast in Turkey, as illustrated in the above
image, is quite different from what is considered a typical breakfast in
the U.S. or Japan. While it might seem strange to eat fish soup or stewed
vegetables for breakfast in the U.S., in other places, this is perfectly
normal. Conversely, our tendency toward sugary cereals and milk or
preference for egg sandwiches loaded with bacon and cheese would seem
quite bizarre to other cultures.
 Similarly, but perhaps of more consequence, rules that regulate nudity in
public vary widely around the world. In the U.S., we tend to frame nudity
in general as an inherently sexual thing, and so when people are nude in
public, people may interpret this as a sexual signal. But in many other
places around the world, being nude or partially nude in public is a
normal part of life, be it at swimming pools, beaches, in parks, or even

Understanding Culture, Society And Politics

S.Y. 2020-2021 Page | 8
 throughout the course of daily life (see many indigenous cultures around
the world). In these cases, being nude or partially nude is not framed as
sexual but as the appropriate bodily state for engaging in a given activity.
In other cases, like many cultures where Islam is the predominant faith,
a more thorough coverage of the body is expected than in other cultures.
Due in large part to ethnocentrism, this has become a highly politicized
and volatile practice in today's world.

Xenocentrism
The opposite of ethnocentrism, and refers to the belief that another culture is
superior to one‘s own. (The Greek root word xeno, pronounced ―ZEE-no,‖
means ―stranger‖ or ―foreign guest.‖) An exchange student who goes home after
a semester abroad or a sociologist who returns from the field may find it
difficult to associate with the values of their own culture after having
experienced what they deem a more upright or nobler way of living.

Perhaps the greatest challenge for sociologists studying different cultures is the
matter of keeping a perspective. It is impossible for anyone to keep all cultural
biases at bay; the best we can do is strive to be aware of them. Pride in one‘s
own culture doesn‘t have to lead to imposing its values on others. And an
appreciation for another culture shouldn‘t preclude individuals from studying it
with a critical eye. (Lumen Learning 2020)

Some Examples of Xenocentrism by Your Dictionary (2020)

 Americans' belief that European's produce superior automotive vehicles
 European Renaissance artists desire to emulate ancient Greek artwork
 Americans belief that French or Spanish wine is superior to what is
produced by American vineyards
 The belief that cheeses in France are far superior to those in the United
States
 The concept that the quality of Ireland's beer is far superior to that
produced domestically
 Coveting the culture of another country such as in Central America
where the work day is set up far differently than in the United States
 The belief that the way of dress by another culture is significantly
superior and that those within one's native country should adopt that
same dress
 The belief that other countries produce better children's toys
 The concept that a quality product can't be purchased in one's native
country
 The idea that cloth to make clothes is better produced by other nations

Understanding Culture, Society And Politics

S.Y. 2020-2021 Page | 9
 HOMEWORK 1:
WORD HUNT: CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Instructions: Below are words to help describe what Cultural Diversity

is all about. Find the words in the search grid!

Name: _____________________________ Grade &Section: ________________

Cultural Diversity Word Search - WordMint

Understanding Culture, Society And Politics

S.Y. 2020-2021 Page | 10
 SELF-ASSESMENT

Encircle
your
Answer

FORM
Read each statement and check ( ) the box that reflects your work today.

Name: Date:
Section:
Strongly
Disagree Agree
Agree

1. I found this work interesting.

2. I make a strong effort.
3. I am proud of the results.
4. I understood all the instructions.
5. I followed all the steps.
6. I learned something new.
7. I feel ready for the next assignment.
www.ldatschool.ca/executive-function/self-assessment/

Understanding Culture, Society And Politics

S.Y. 2020-2021 Page | 11
Reference Book:
Ederlina D. Balena, Dolores M. Lucero, Arnel M Peralta Juanito Philip V.
Bernard, Jr. Understanding Culture Society and Politics

Online References:
 New World Encyclopedia (2020), Society
Retrieved from: www.newworldencyclopedia.org › entry › Society
 Oyedokun, Godwin, (2016), Management Thoughts: The Review of Social
Action Theory
Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317995900
_Management_Thoughts_The_Review_of_Social_Action_Theory
 Carls, Paul (2020), Durkheim, Emile | Internet Encyclopedia of
Retrieved from: Philosophywww.iep.utm.edu › Durkheim
 Little, William and McGivern, Ron (2013), Chapter 4. Society and Social
Interaction – Introduction to
Retrieved from:...opentextbc.ca › introductiontosociology › chapter4-society-
and-social...
 Cole, Nicki Lisa Ph.D., (2019), Culture - Definition, Discussion and
Examples –
Retrieved from: ThoughtCowww.thoughtco.com › Science, Tech, Math › Social
Sciences
 Nideffer, Robert F., Chapter 8: The Characteristics of Culture
Retrieved from: robert f. nideffernideffer.net › classes › GCT_RPI_S14 ›
readings ›
 Pangilinan, Nicole Angelique, (2019), Characteristics of culture - UCSP -
Grade 11
Retrieved from: https://www.slideshare.net/Nicole Angelique Pangilinan/
characteristics-of-culture-ucsp-grade-11
 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., (2020), Language And Culture
Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/language/Language-
and-social-differentiation-and-assimilation
 Ossa, M.P. M.A. (2017), "What are the five fundamental characteristics of
language?" eNotes Editorial
Retrieved from: https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-are-the-five-
fundamental-characteristics-of-
 Shristi D., 7 Main Functions of Language
Retrieved from: Forms | Human Behaviour ...www.psychologydiscussion.net
› ... › Language › Psychology
 Lumen Learning (2020), Ethnocentrism and Xenocentricism | Sociology
Retrieved from: Readingcourses.lumenlearning.com › alamo-sociology ›
chapter › ethnocentri...
 Cole, Nicki Lisa Ph.D., (2019), Definition of Cultural Relativism in
Sociology
Retrieved from: https://www.thoughtco.com/cultural-relativism-definition-
3026122
 Your Dictionary (2020), Examples of Xenocentrism
Retrieved from: examples.yourdictionary.com › examples-of-xenocentrism

Understanding Culture, Society And Politics

S.Y. 2020-2021 Page | 12