UNDERSTANDING THE

CONCEPTS OF
ANTHROPOLOGY,
SOCIOLOGY, AND
POLITICAL SCIENCE

#UCSP
ANTHROPOLOGY
It includes topics such as human origin,
globalization, social change, and world
history.
It is the study of humankind in all times and
all places.
It is the study of humanity including our
prehistoric origins and contemporary
human diversity.
GOALS

ANTHROPOLOGY
Discover what all people have in common –
By studying commonalities (folklores,
traditions, language, etc.) in all humanity,
we could understand more about the
human’s nature.
Produce new knowledge and new theories
about humankind and human behavior –
This new knowledge is then applied in an
attempt to alleviate human challenges.
Discover what makes people different from
one another in order to understand and
preserve diversity – Anthropology attempts
to answer questions like, “What does it
mean to be a Filipino and a citizen of the
world?” It is not enough that
anthropologists find out the characteristics
that make Filipinos unique, it is also
important to emphasize the Filipino traits
that makes them “one” with the rest of the
world.
Look at one’s own culture more
objectively like an outsider – It aims to
make “the strange familiar and the
familiar strange.” Anthropology also
challenges individuals to evaluate and
criticize their own culture. This is
important so that people will be aware
of the faults in their own culture and
make necessary changes for its
betterment.
FIELDS

ANTHROPOLOGY
 CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Refers to the study of living people and

their cultures including variation and
change. It deals with the description and
analysis of the forms and styles and the
social lives of past and present ages.
Cultural anthropologists also study art,
religion, migration, marriage, and family.
LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY

Refers to the study of communication,

mainly (but not exclusively) among
humans. It includes the study of
communication’s origins, history, and
contemporary variation.
ARCHAEOLOGY

Refers to the study of past human

cultures through their material
remains. It is the study of past human
cultures through the recovery and
analysis of artifacts.
BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Also known as “physical anthropology”, this
refers to the study of humans as biological
organisms including their evolution and
contemporary variation. It seeks to describe
the distribution of hereditary variations
among contemporary populations and to
sort out and measure the relative
contributions made by heredity,
environment, and culture to human biology.
It is a systematic study of groups and
societies that people build and how these
affect their behavior.
It focuses on various social connections,
institutions, organizations, structures, and
processes.
It gathers social inputs which are
composed of frequent forms and manners
namely: attitude, viewpoints, consolidated
values, and norms of social institutions
which form part of social array.
The scientific study of
Sociology enables us to:

SOCIOLOGY
THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF
SOCIOLOGY ENABLES US TO:
Obtain possible theories and principles about
society as well as various aspects of social life;
Critically study the nature of humanity, which
also leads to examining our roles within the
society;
Appreciate that all things (in society) are
interdependent with each other. An individual’s
personal history is connected to his/her
environment’s history, which is also tied into
the nation’s history;
Broaden our familiarity on sociological facts, which
are acquired through empirical process.
Incidentally, it makes us realize our prejudices on
various social issues; and
Expose our minds to the different perspectives on
attaining the truth. For instance, some theorists
(especially social philosophers) argue that the
truth is relative. This sociological viewpoint
diminishes the theory that there is an absolute
truth. Furthermore, the determination whether an
action/behavior is good or bad depends on one’s
social norms.
BRANCHES

SOCIOLOGY
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

 This includes the study of social

institutions, social inequality, social
mobility, religious groups, and
bureaucracy.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

This area focuses on the study of

human nature and its emphasis on
social processes as they affect
individual or responses which are
called “social stimuli”.
APPLIED SOCIOLOGY
This is concerned with the specific intent of
yielding practical applications for human
behavior and organizations. The goal of
Applied Sociology is to assist in resolving
social problems through the use of
sociological research.
POPULATION STUDIES
This area includes size, growth,
demographic characteristics, composition,
migration, changes, and quality vis-à-vis
economic, political, and social systems.
HUMAN ECOLOGY
It pertains to the study of the effects of
various social organizations (religious
organizations, political institutions and etc.)
to the population’s behavior.
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY AND
RESEARCH

 It focuses on the discovery of

theoretical tools, methods, and
techniques to scientifically explain a
particular sociological issue.
SOCIAL CHANGE
It studies factors that cause social
organization and social disorganization like
calamity, drug abuse, drastic and gradual
social change, health and welfare
problems, political instability,
unemployment and underemployment,
child and women’s issue, etc.
 POLITICAL SCIENCE
It is an academic discipline that deals with the
study of government and political processes,
institutions, and behaviors.
It is a study of the complex behavior of various
political actors such as the government
administration, opposition, and subjects.
It is the systematic study of political and
government institutions and processes
 The study of Politics has something to
do with power – who wields it and how it is
used. Therefore, it is important to study
politics to understand society and to help
change it for the better. This means that
political science is not just for politicians or
for aspiring lawyers instead, it is also a give
and take relationship between the
government (as a state apparatus) and its
people (as a subject).
POLITICS

It originated from the Greek word ‘polis’,

which means ‘city’ or ‘state’.
It is the art and science of governing
city/state.
It is the social process or strategy in any
position of control which people gain, use,
or lose power.
Due to the negative connotations of politics,
the term is now applied to many different
social situations. For example, politics is
present when a teacher is bribed to include
a certain student in the honor list or when
an employee spreads rumors against
his/her officemate to get ahead in a
promotion.

Politics is often used synonymously with
government, however, the two (2) are
distinct from each another. The government
that takes shape in a country is a reflection
of the country’s political philosophy. While
government typically refers to the
established legislative and executive
departments of a nation or state, politics is
a broad term that is related to the power
sharing in any organization. In other words,
politics is an idea while government is the
concrete realization of that idea.
GOVERNMENT
It is the agency to which the will of the state
is formulated, expressed, and carried out.
It is the organized agency in a state tasked
to impose social control.
It is a group of people that governs a
community or unit. It sets and administers
public policy and exercises executive,
political, and sovereign power through
customs, institutions and laws within a
state.
The government exists for the benefit of the
governed. It is there for our benefit not for
the government officials to benefit from us.
It is not just governing the people or the
citizens but also the territory and the
sovereignty or independence of the
country. Collectively, the government,
people, territory, and sovereignty are
known as the elements of the State.
People often interchangeably use the terms state
and nation but the difference lies on how the
latter refers to an ethnic concept which means
that people are bound together by common
ethnical elements such as race, language, and
culture. On the other hand, a state is more of a
political concept. It refers to a community of
persons more or less numerous permanently
occupying a definite portion of territory, having a
government of their own to which the great body
of inhabitants render obedience and enjoying
freedom from external control.
 References:

 American Anthropological Association. (2016). What is

anthropology? Retrieved from
http://www.americananthro.org/AdvanceYourCareer/Content.asp
x?ItemNumber=2150

 American Sociological Association. (2016). What is sociology?

Retrieved from http://www.asanet.org/about-asa/asa-story/what-
sociology

 Royal Anthropological Institute. (2016). What is anthropology?

Retrieved from https://www.discoveranthropology.org.uk/about-
anthropology/what-is-anthropology.html

 Study.com. (2003-2016). What is political science? Retrieved

from http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-political-
science.html