Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

Culture
- The way of life of a group of people/society
- The aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community.
- Some aspects of human behavior, social practices such as culture, expressive forms such as art,
music, dance, etc. are said to be cultural universals, found in all human societies.
- the complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, laws, morals, customs and other
capabilities acquired by man as a member of society
Society
- is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing
the same geographical or social territory
- Society is viewed as a complex web of the relationship existing out man's interactions with one
another.
- August Comte the father of sociology saw society as a social organism processing harmony of
structure and function.
Politics
- Activities associated with the governance of a country or other area and its relation
Sociology
- Study of life, change, etc.
- Association
- A systemic study of social behavior and human groups that focuses on a social relationship; how
these relationships influence people's behavior.
Anthropology
- Uncovers principles of behavior that apply to human opportunities
- “Cultural universals”
- Focuses on culture
- Study about evolution
- Studies humans past and present in order “to understand the full sweep and complexity of
cultures across all of human history”
- The scientific study of what it means to be human.
Political Science
- The systematic study of government and politics that make generalizations, and analysis of
political system and behaviors
- all about politics
- study about politics and power from a domestic, international, and comparative perspective.
- social science which deals with systems of governance analysis political activities.
- how it is created, justified, and challenged
Research Methods
 - survey method
- interview
- focus group discussion
- fieldwork
- ethnography ( cultural qualitative)
Social Imagination
- Charles Wright Mil
- ls Which foregrounds the vision and mission not just sociologist but social scientist “to enable to
grasp history and biography and the relation between them within society.
- This means as students your personal life and experience coupled with your cultural awareness
and historical rootedness enrich your
- understanding of society your past, present and future are dependent on your informed
understanding and your ability to make necessary and meaningful actions for yourself and
society.

Relationship between Culture and Society

- Culture
- refers to values, beliefs, behavior practices, norms symbolic meanings within a society.
- Society
- arises from the interaction of people which in turn create groups, associations, and
institutions.
- According to Merton (1938), both culture and society revolve around relationship arising from
such interactions

Level of Analysis
Micro-level
- Analyses immediate social units
Macro-level
- Involves looking at the entire nation, global forces, and international social trends
Types of Culture
Material Culture
- All the objects we can see or touch; all the artifacts of a group of people
- tangible things that are created by society.
Non-Material Culture
- Invisible and intangible parts of a culture
- Involves the society’s rules of behaviors, ideas, and beliefs
social norms - standard behavior of society.
ex.
➢ Folkways - kasabihan/ paulit ulit
➢ Mores - moral, ethical, ten commandments.moral standards, taboos
➢ Law
 ➢ Fashion, Fads, and Crazes - short-lived norms
➢ Social Institutions - schools, hospitals
Ideal Culture
- Consists of practices, beliefs, and values that are regarded as most desirable and consciously *idk
sunod*
Non-Material Cultures
Values
- Shared judgments about what is right or wrong
Beliefs
- Specific ideas we hold about life, society, and about where we fit into the world
Norms
Folkways
- Customs or desirable behaviors that we are not strictly informed about
Mores
- Norms that most members observe; gives moral significance in a society
Laws
- Norms that are formally encoded by those holding political power in society
Language
- Foundation of every culture
- Conveys verbal and nonverbal messages among members of a society
- Takes three primary forms
➢ Spoken
➢ Written
➢ Nonverbal
Characteristics of Culture
1. Learned
2. Adaptive/ Dynamic
3. Shared
4. Symbolic
5. Abstract
6. Integrated

Culture is learned
- Culture is not innate in a person
- It is not biological in nature
- culture is learned through families the process of learning about culture is known as
enculturation.
Culture is shared
 - the culture that is learned across different societies is not possessed by a single person alone.
- Large groups of people would usually share a similar pattern develops over time.
Culture is integrated
- different cultural practices may exist within a single society but ultimately culture remains to be
holistic in nature
- cultural parts and aspects are interconnected in that when taken together a way of life is
manifested.
Culture is adaptive and dynamic
- culture adapts to various environments and geographical as witnessed throughout the context of
the history of the world such situations would define people's way of life in a specific society.
- Throughout the course of history and different geographical landscapes, culture has been a
mechanism by which people were able to survive.
Culture is abstract
- culture is generally abstract there is no single tangible manifestation that can take the form of
culture itself,
- in fact, it only exists in the minds of individuals interacting with one another within a particular
society or even across societies.
Culture Diversity
High Culture
- refers to cultural patterns that distinguish a society is elite.

Popular Culture
- refers to culture patterns that are widespread among a society 's population.

Subculture
- cultural patterns that set apart some segment of society population.

Multiculturalism
- an educational program recognizing the cultural diversity and promoting the equality of all
cultural traditions.

Eurocentrism
- the dominance of Europeans ( especially English ) cultural pattern.

Afrocentrism
- the dominance of African cultural patterns.

Counter Culture
- cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society.
Cultural Integration
- the close relationship among various elements of a cultural system.
- ex. women are not allowed to work
Cultural Lag
- the fact that some cultural elements change more quickly than others disrupting a cultural system.
Ethnocentrism
- the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture superiority of one's
culture.

Cultural Relativism
- the practice of evaluating a culture by its own standards.
- ex. equality of culture

Cultural Universal
- traits that are part of every known culture.
Cultural Preconception
Ethnocentrism
- The practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture
❖ Positives
➢ Comparison
➢ Patriotism
❖ Negatives
➢ You think your own culture is superior
➢ Genocides - Hitler believed that they are the superior race, therefore, they wanted
to eradicate the lesser ones
Cultural Relativism
- Practice of judging a culture by its own standards
Society
- Group of people that share beliefs
- Interacts with each other on a daily basis
- People who interact in a defined territory and share a way of life
Sociocultural Evolution
- Changes that occur as a society gains new technology
Hunting and Gathering Societies
- Characterized as the use of simple tools to hunt animals and gather vegetation
- Moves from place to place; hunting
Horticultural and Pastoral Societies
- Characterized by the use of hand tools to raise crops and domestication of animals
- Can own their own land
- No more hunting
- Start of trading
Agrarian Societies
 - Characterized by large scale cultivation using plows harnessed from animals or more powerful
energy sources
- They use animals for labored transportation
- They can use different energy sources
- Start of cities
Industrial Societies
- Production of goods is done through the use of advanced sources of energy
- Start of the use of machinery for goods
- Majority of the people are part of the society
Post-Industrial Societies
- Characterized by an information-based economy supported by technology
Different Theoretical Perspectives
Symbolic Interactionism
- Sees society as a product of the everyday interactions of individuals
- The perspective relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process
of social interaction
❖ Signs - a stimulus having a fixed meaning; means of communication through
representation
➢ Natural Signs - natural connection; meaning does not change
➢ Conventional Signs - do not occur in nature; has an obituary relationship to what
it presents
Structural-Functional Theory
- A framework that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote
solidarity and stability
❖ Structure - any relatively stable pattern
❖ Idk
Conflict Theory
- Framework that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change
- Modern conflict theory has its origins in the works of Karl Marx
➢ He believed that the working class will overthrow capitalism forming a new,
classless society
Conflict and Change
Gender Conflict
- Study of society that focuses on inequality conflict between men and women
 Race Conflict
- Focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different social and ethnic category.
Becoming a Member of Society
Socialization
● Process by which individuals acquire knowledge, skills, and values to conform to the norms and
roles required for integration into the society
● Takes place through the interaction with different social and institutional affiliations
○ Family
○ School
○ Peers
○ Religion
○ Government
○ Media
Goals of Socialization
1. Socialization teaches impulse control and helps individuals develop conscience.
2. Socialization teaches individuals how to prepare for and perform social roles.
3. Socialization cultivates shared sources of meaning and value
Enculturation
● Process by which one becomes part of one's culture
● Evident in the way of life of an individual
● Evidence of socialization
Acculturation
● Process whereby one adapts with another trait or modifies and accept new culture
Resocialization
● Process of learning values, norms, and practices to transition into a new social role
● Reforming one's socially-constructed social self
Agents of Socialization
● Family
● School
● Church
● Peer group
○ A social group whose members have interests, social position, and age in common
● Mass Media
○ The means of delivering impersonal communications to a vast audience
Deviance
Deviance
● Recognized violation of cultural norms
○ Crime (formal deviant acts)
■ A category of deviance that violates a society's formally enacted criminal law.
Social Foundations of Deviance
1. Deviance varies according to cultural norms
2. People become deviant as others define them that way
3. Both norms and the way people define rule-breaking involve social power
Functional Perspective on Deviance
● Deviance promotes unity, serves as a moral compass, and provides opportunities where there are
none
● Deviance performs important functions in the overall operations of society. Its ubiquity and
persistence through time are testaments to its relevance.
○ Emile Durkheim's Essential Nature of Deviance
■ Durkheim believed that deviance is a necessary part of a successful society and
performs four (4) essential functions:
1. Deviance affirms cultural values and norms
2. Responding to deviance clarifies boundaries
3. Responding to deviance brings people together
4. Deviance encourages social change
○ Robert Merton's Strain Theory
■ Merton noted that access to socially accepted goals plays a part in determining
whether a person conforms or deviates. He described five ways people respond to
the gap of having a socially accepted goal and having no socially accepted way to
pursue it
1. Conformity
2. Innovation
3. Ritualism
4. Retreatism
5. Rebellion
○ Social Disorganization Theory & Cultural Deviance Theory
■ Formal and informal deviance is most likely to occur in communities with weak
social ties and the absence of social control
 ■ A person isn't a born deviant or a criminal but becomes one over time based on
factors present in their social environment
Conflict Perspective on Deviance
● Deviance is a result of unequal distribution of social desirables and life chances. Historically
speaking, deviant individuals and their unique insights are responsible for the development of
society in its modern forms
● Deviance, in the form of conflicts, is a form of civic action. It aims to rectify the unfair and unjust
syndromes of social inequality. It is justified by the virtue of change it desires to achieve.
○ Karl Marx's Unequal System and C.W. Mills' Power Elite
■ Marx argued that all norms and especially the laws of any society generally
reflects the interest of the rich and powerful.
■ The widespread belief that norms and laws are natural and good masks their
political character.
■ Deviant label is attributed to people who threaten the wealthy either by taking
their property or advocating a more egalitarian society. The rich and powerful
have the resources to resist deviant labels.
Interpretivist Perspective on Deviance
● Deviance is part of a socially constructed reality that emerges in interaction. Deviance comes into
being as individuals label something deviant.
● Deviance is a result of the exercise of power. Symbols and ideas are manipulated by powerful
people in society to protect the economic and political interests
○ Edwin Lemert's Labelling Theory
■ Deviance and conformity result not so much from what people do as forms of
how others respond to those actions. Lemert identified two types that affect
identity formation
1. Primary Deviance
■ A violation of norms that do not result in any long term effects
of the individual's self-image or self-concept
2. Secondary Deviance
■ Occurs when a person's self-concept and behavior begin to
change after his or her actions are labeled as deviant by members
of society
○ Edwin Sutherland's Differential Association Theory
 ■ Deviance is less of a personal choice and more a result of differential
socialization processes.
1. Association with others who share deviant values and commit crimes
result in learning how to carry out deviant or criminal acts
2. Social learning also results in reinforcement of deviant or criminal
behavior
○ Travis Hirschi's Control Theory
■ Social control is directly affected by the strength of social bonds and the
deviance results from a feeling of disconnection from society.
1. Attachment
2. Commitment
3. Involvement
4. Belief
Deviance and Sanctions
● Sanctions reinforce norms through rewards and penalties.
○ Formal Sanctions
■ implemented by official action
○ Informal Sanctions
■ unofficial rewards or punishments
Social Stratification
Social Stratification
● A system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy and is based on four
important principles
○ A trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences
○ Social stratification carries over from generation to generation
○ Universal but variable
○ Involves not just inequality but beliefs as well
Systems of Social Inequality
Closed System
● Allows for little change in social position
○ Caste System
■ Social stratification on ascription, or birth
Open System
● Permits social mobility
 ○ Class System
■ Social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement
Theoretical Interpretation of Social Stratification
Structural-Functional
● Social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of society
Conflict
● Social stratification benefits some people and disadvantages others
Symbolic Interactionism
● People's social standing affects their everyday exchanges