Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

Lesson 1: UNDERSTANDING CULTURE AND

SOCIETY:AN INTRODUCTION
Introduction

Culture mirrors the innermost workings of a specific society. For example

culture helps to describe social situations so people understand how to
behave based on that society's cultural norms. For example being corrected or
correcting another person in public is not considered acceptable behavior.
Culture also defines values, influences personality development and influences
career choices. If culture did not define values, or what is considered right and
wrong within the society, then there would be social discord and the society
would fail.

Society could not function without cultural norms that assist in governing
behavior and values, and culture could not exist without societal influences to
create it. They must coexist in order for humans to exist in an organized
manner. It is important to note that culture can, and does, change over time
as societal norms change, but the members of that society govern that change
so the individual members of the society have a level of control over the
culture.

Lesson 2: CULTURE AND SOCIETY

Most people confuse society with state. "Society" and "states” are intertwined.
They depend on each other, then need one another and the growth or one
affects the growth and livelihood of the other. For example, the state can
only be conscious of all its problems if various societies in it raise an
issue, like in the Philippines, the climate change by "bantay-kalikasan,"
human trafficking by "commission on human rights," graft and
corruption by "Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government."

A state and a society are both made of people. People belonging to one
society may belong to the state, and the people of the state consist of people
from different societies. They complement each other and are dependent on
each other. The social customs, traditions, philosophies, and actions of each
society totally influence a state and its morality. For example, the group called
Gabriella' fight for equal treatment of all genders in a workplace, this reminds
us that whatever gender you have must be treated with respect because we
are all human beings with dignity.
But, no matter how complimentary the 'state and society, in society everything
happens due to voluntary actions, and there is a vast limit for flexibility and
acceptability- the suitable word is uncontrolled or unrestrained, like the
feminist group, the human rights group and more, as long as you have the
same lens to see reality you are in. In a state there are rules and regulations;
the actions are mechanical and rigid-the appropriate term is controlled or
restrained, like the Philippine as an independent state, the United States of
America consists of 50 states.

On the other hand, Sociologists as well as anthropologists define society as

“the people who inter-relate in such a way as to share a common culture.

The cultural bond or link may be ethnic or racial, based on gender, or due to
shared belief-system or worldview, values, and activities, such as political or
economic, destructive or constructive" (Henslin, 2005). For example, the
NPA or National Peoples' Army is a society of armed men in the
Philippines that embrace communistic ideology and believe that bloody
revolution is the only way to attain peace; and the environmentalists a
group of people whose advocacy is to protect the environment; the pro-
gun' society, people who like guns. The term society can also have a
geographic connotation and speak of people who share a common culture in
a particular place. For example, people living in an agricultural country
developed different cultures from those living in an industrial country. In
time, a large variety of human cultures arose around the world.

The term culture is a very complicated and intricate term, it has numerous

meanings. In the past it refers to an understanding of good literature, music,
art, and food; it refers also to a civilized man or a cultured person, that is
anyone who is highly educated or the "socialites;" however, for
anthropologists and sociologists today, "culture is the full range of learned
human behavior patterns" (Boyd & Richerson, 1985).

The term was first used in this way by the well-known English Anthropologist
Edward B. Tylor in his book, "Primitive Culture,"
published in 1871. He said that culture is "that
complex whole which includes knowledge, belief,
art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities
and habits acquired by human person as a member
of society." In other words, everything acquired by
human beings through interaction is culture. But
culture is not only acquired; we do not only get
them from other people. We also share our own
beliefs and practices to other people or influence
them in the process of human interaction. Different
societies have different cultures, however it is important not to confuse the
idea of culture with society. A culture represents the beliefs and practices of a
group (Bobick, 2002), such as the practice of using chopsticks by Chinese, by
being hospitable by the Filipinos, by being liberated by the Americans, while
society represents the people who share those beliefs and practices. For
example, a group of people who solely used chopstick, a group of people who
are hospitable to foreigners, or a group of people who are liberated on the
idea of premarital sex. Neither society nor culture could exist without the
other.

A culture often contains numerous

subcultures.
A subculture is a culture shared and
actively participated in by a minority of
people within a broader culture. In
simple words, subculture is a mingling
of two different cultures, a small
culture and bigger culture through
human interaction. Some subculture is a mingling of two different cultures, a
small culture and bigger culture through human interaction. Some subcultures
achieve such a status that they acquire a name of their own. For example
existence of hackers is perturbing in most societies today.  Even here the
in the Philippines, "Maine Mendoza's (a.k.a. Yaya Dub) facebook account
was hacked twice, the Commission on Election’s private data was also
hacked before election time of 2016, finally, last March 27, 2016, around
195 Chinese government and commercial websites were hacked by a
group by a group of Filipina Hackers (a.k.a.-Anonynous Philippines) in
response to China's encroachment of West Philippine Sea" (Philippine
Star, 2016).

As a subculture, hackers have developed a particular sense of style that has

transformed over time and has been structured as an increasingly fluid and
powerful form of resistance. As a youth culture, hackers challenge are
continually looking for ways to perturb or disrupt authority and challenge any
understanding  not the only or representation of who they are Hackers are not
the only youth culture online. In fact, youth culture seems to have found the
Internet to be the preferred medium for expression. Issues that have typically
represented youth culture-rebellion, resistance, fan culture, music, fashion,
and pop culture; all find expression in Social networks, Internet chat rooms,
World Wide Web pages, e-mail mailing lists, forums and assorted other online
elements. Hackers, however, illustrate a particular aspect of online culture that
is more properly called a subculture, a culture that is both inherently tied to a
larger, in this case, parental culture, but also resistant to it.
 In other words, subcultures bring together
like-minded individuals who feel ignored
by societal standards and allow them to
change a sense of identity, like the
hackers. It has values and norms that are
distinct from those believed by the
majority. It can be unique because of the
age, ethnicity, class, location, and/or gender of the members. The qualities
that determine a subculture as uncommon may be linguistic, aesthetic,
religious, political, sexual, geographical or a combination or factors. Members
of a subculture often signal their membership through a unique and symbolic
use of style which includes fashions, mannerisms, and terminology, for
instance in the Philippines, the LGBT community, an example of subculture,
invented their own lingo and dictionary the 'Badingtionary' which is unique
and different from the ordinary. You can hear it anywhere now; besides their
lifestyle is different too. And from it you can see their values in life and their
beliefs. It affects, is different in one way or another, the people around them.
A culture also contains a
counterculture. It is a subculture with
the addition that some of its beliefs,
values, or norms challenge or even
contradict those of the main culture of
which it is part. Examples of
countercultures in the Philippines
are: the Hukbalahap movement of
the 1950s and Davao Death Squad
are culture of violence, polygamists, feminist groups, such as the
Gabriella, and LGBTQ communities. This kind of culture opposes the main
culture. 

Sociologists and anthropologist,

describe two interrelated aspects of
human culture: the physical objects
of the culture and the ideas
associated with these objects.

Material culture refers to the physical objects, resources, and spaces that

people use to define their culture. These include homes, neighborhoods,
cities, Schools, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, offices, factories and
plants, tools, means of production, goods and products, stores, and so forth.
All of these physical aspects of a culture help to define its members' behaviors
and perceptions. For example, technology is a vital aspect of material
culture in Manila today. Filipino students must learn to use computers to
survive in college and business, in contrast to young adults in the remote
places in Isabela province who must learn to plant crops and raise poultry. 

Non-material culture refers to the nonphysical ideas that people have about

their culture, including beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, language,
organizations, and institutions. For instance, the non-material cultural concept
of religion consists of a set of ideas and beliefs about God, worship, morals,
and ethics. These beliefs, then, determine how the culture responds to its
religious topics, issues, and events.

When considering non-material culture, sociologists refer to several processes

that a culture uses to shape its members' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Five of the most important of these are symbols, language, values, norms
and artifacts.

1. Symbols are anything used to represent, express and stand for an event,

situation or ideas. Every culture is filled with symbols, or things that stand for
something else and that often evokes various reactions and emotions. Some
symbols are actually types of non-verbal communication, such as covering the
mouth with hand, moving away or leaning back, turning feet away or toward
the door, shaking hands with other person, dancing, smiling, bowing of head
and many more. They commonly convey friendship, a greeting and departure,
an expression of joy, an enthusiasm, a respect, a rejection. Probably all
societies have nonverbal symbols we call gestures. However, the same gesture
can mean one thing in one society and something quite different in another
society. Other symbols are in fact material objects, for instance, the flag, traffic
lights, jewelry, cars, cloths, and they stand for something else more than itself.
Like the flag it can mean freedom or independence or the country it represent.

2. Language is the second element present in every culture. Language is a

system of words and symbols used to communicate with other people. This
includes full languages as we usually think of them, such as Tagalog, English,
Spanish, Nihongo, French, etc. But it also includes body language, slang, and
common phrases that are unique to certain groups of people. For example,
even though English is spoken fluently in both America and Britain, we
have slang and phrases that mean different things. American French fries
are British chips; American cookies are British biscuits, and so on. In the
previous Philippine election, some Filipino, especially the conservatives,
reacted to one of the presidentiables, who's fond of cursing or bad-mouthing
or saying "putang ina" (mother fucker) during his campaign. They say that the
presidentiable is impertinent, uncouth, impolite, discourteous, rude, vulgar,
and unethical. But the presidentiable is telling that it is just his expression and
nothing serious about it. He explains that it is "slang" word or street word
which is a chunk of his mannerism and personality. Another example of how
cultural languages differ beyond vocabulary is the fact that eye contact
represents different meanings in different cultures. For us Filipinos, eye
contact suggests that you are paying attention and are interested in what a
person has to say but to some, eye contact may be considered rude and to be
a challenge of authority.

3. Values is another cultural element, which are culturally defined standards

for what is good or bad, appropriate or inappropriate, suitable or unsuitable,
correct or wrong. Members of the culture use the shared system of values to
decide what is good and what is bad. For example, in the Philippines, the
Filipinos are very hospitable when it comes to their fellowmen or
visitors. They will invite their visitors to come into their homes and offer them
treats such as snacks and drinks after a long journey. There are also instances
when the Filipinos will serve only the best to their visitors even it at times they
may not be able to afford it. They also go the extremes as to give up the
comfort of their own bedrooms for their guests and to the point of sleeping
on floor just to ensure that their guests are comfortable.

4. Another important element of culture is a collection of

norms. Norms are culturally defined expectations of behavior. They are
guidelines we use to determine how we should behave in any given situation
and what would be considered inappropriate behavior. Sociologists describe
norms as informal understandings that govern individuals' behavior in society
(Oxford Dictionary of Sociology, 1994). For example, we know that we
should stand in line to use the restroom without thinking about informal
behavior. If someone cuts in front of us, we are certainly irritated-if not angry-
that the other person has not followed the norms of our culture.

Norms can be divided into folkways and mores.

a. Mores is the Latin word and the plural form of Mos which means customs
or beliefs accordance with a group customary expectation. It is the "must"
behavior of a person.

Mores refers to "what ought to be and what ought not to be." Mores are
serious norms but are informed like folkways. They have a serious binding on
a group the violation of mores threats to social order. Punishment may be
both formal and informal for the violation of mores. Mores later on become
laws. For example, traffic laws, criminal or penal codes, and, in schools,
student behavior codes addressing such things as cheating and hate
speech. If one of these mores will be violated appropriate penalty will be
used.

b. Folkways and customs are the simple customary ways of the people. It is

the normal and habitual action of the people within a culture. Folkways and
customs are the recognized or accepted ways of behavior. These are behavior
pattern which a person uses generally in his daily life. Folkways and customs,
also called Informal norms, are considered less important but still influence
how we behave. Table manners are a common example, how we interact
with a cashier and how we ride in an elevator.

c. Rituals are significant portions of norms. Different cultures also have

different rituals, or established or established procedures and ceremonies that
often mark transitions in the life course. As such, rituals both reflect and
transmit a culture's norms and other elements from one generation to the
next. Initiation and commencement ceremonies in colleges and
universities are familiar examples of time honored rituals. In many
societies, rituals help signify one's gender identity. In the rural Philippines,
pagtutuli or circumcision is a pre-adolescent rite of passage, performed on
small groups, traditionally on Holy Saturday (Sabado de Gloria). According to
traditional beliefs, it would be less bloody than having it done on Good Friday.
God suffered and died on Good Friday and parents would not want that
experience replicated during their sons circumcision. Most boys in the
Philippines are circumcised at age nine, or when they get to the fourth grade.
It seems that the Filipinos put a lot of importance on this practice, which, for
many males is their rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. The
circumcised young man is now able to show off his cut dick, by being able to
shower with the rest of the guys in public baths or having their first taste of
sex.

5. Artifacts the last element of culture, or material objects, that constitute a

society's material culture. In the simplest society artifacts are largely limited to
a few tools, the huts people live in, and the clothing they wear. In an industrial
world today wireless artifacts help reinforce our own commitment to wireless
technology as a way of life. Sometimes people in one society may find it
difficult to understand the artifacts that are important part of another society's
culture. If a member of a tribal society who had never seen a cell phone, or
who had never even used batteries or electricity, were somehow to visit the
cities, she or he would obviously have no idea of what a cell phone was or of
its importance in almost everything we do these days. Conversely, if we were
to visit that person's society, we might not appreciate the importance of some
of its artifacts.
Lesson 3: 5 BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF
CULTURE
Chapter 2 UNDERSTANDING CULTURE AND SOCIETY