Chapter 1

1. Introduction

Anthropology has humanity as its object of research-Claude Levi-Strausss

Unlike other human sciences anthropology tries to grasp its object through its most diverse
manifestations.

Anthropology is about how different people can be, but it also tries to find out in what sense it can
be said that all humans have something in common.

Anthropology is two compound Greek words, anthropos and logos which means human and reason.
So anthropology means reason about humans.

Social anthropology would mean knowledge about humans in societies.

Culture originates from the Latin “Colere” which means to cultivate.

Cultural anthropology thus means knowledge about cultivated humans that is knowledge about
those aspects of humanity which are not natural but which are related to that which is acquired.

Culture refers to both to basic similarities and to systematic differences between humans.

Culture refers to the acquired, cognitive and symbolic aspects of existence, whereas society refers to
the social organization of human life , patterns of interaction and power relationships.

In studying culture, a research method is called participant observation.

One of the ways anthropology is different from sociology is it does not concentrate its attention on
the industrialized world.

Ethnocentrism, ethnos means “people”, evaluating people from one‘s own vantage point and
describing them in one own terms.

People from the mountain are less educated; they seem not to enjoy life as in the life in the city with
different malls is an example of Ethocentrism.

Such point of view expresses an ethnocentric attitude which fails to allow other peoples to be
different from ourselves on their own terms.

Cultural relativism is the doctrine that societies or cultures are qualitatively different and have their
own unique inner logic

This study source was downloaded by 100000839104976 from CourseHero.com on 01-19-2022 21:31:07 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/63709648/Share-UCSP-module-1doc/
 Lesson 2

Sociology is the systematic study of human society focusing particularly on the dynamic interplay
between individual and society.

Social Perspective is the heart of sociology .

Sociological Imagination requires Global perspective, a study of the larger world and our society‘s place
in it.

2 kinds of situations that find themselves in: Private troubles (personal problems) and Public issues
( social Problems) There are indeed private troubles , but some of them also affect many other people
since they have large scale causes.

Examples: lack of access to education, noise pollution, and bullying, single parenthood and so on.

People viewing personal problems as public issues will look for solutions to social problems not at the
level of the individual but instead people act together to create a needed change by organizing
themselves and through their social institution.

Lesson 3-5.Politics, You and Democracy,

According to one of the great Greek Philosopher, Aristotle, a human being is a political animal;
he is not human but a beast or God if he could live outside the state. A state of everyone has an
easy way to participate in politics.
David Easton –Politics is the authoritative allocation of values in a society.
Robert Dahl-refers to any activity involving human beings associated together in relationship of
power and authority where conflict occurs.
Bernard Crick- Politics is a way of ruling in divided societies without violence.
Michael Oakeshott- Politics is reserved for statesmen and stateswomen.

There are aspects of life that are political even though they may not seem to be like birth
registration, Birth control, School calendar approved by the DepEd, Senior and students enjoy
discounts in theater , museum and other establishment ,etc.

Relationships of Person to Culture, Society and Politics.

1. Each person interacts meaningfully with one another as a member of society.

2. Culture encompasses the meaningful processes and products of these social interactions.
3. People interact in society as individuals and as groups with duties and privileges. In exercising
these duties and privileges, a person as a member of a society engages in political activities.

This study source was downloaded by 100000839104976 from CourseHero.com on 01-19-2022 21:31:07 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/63709648/Share-UCSP-module-1doc/
 Aspects of Culture
Anthropology regards culture as :

1. It is learned because culture is acquired by being born into a particular society in the process
of enculturation.
.2. Culture is symbolic in the sense that it renders meanings to what people do in music , arts,
religion, beliefs rituals, myths and so on are meaningful human expressions of what people do
and how they act.
3. All facets of culture such as religion, economic activities, political process don’t function in
isolation but as an integrated whole.
4. It is shared, societies do not always exist independently from each other.
5. All encompassing nature of culture as it covers every feature of humanity.

Sociological approaches to the study of Society

Theoretical approach is a basic image of society that guides thinking and research.
Sociologist use 3 theoretical approaches:
1. Structural –Functional Approach- ( Auguste Comte),view society as a complex system whose
parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.
Manifest functions- recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern.
Latent functions-unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern.
2. Social-Confict Approach- sees society as an “arena of inequality that generates conflict and
change.”
3. Symbolic – Interaction Approach-The symbolic –interaction approach views society as the
product of the everyday interactions of individuals. Human beings live in the world of symbols. In
the process of interaction attaches meaning to everything.

Macro and Micro levels of analysis

S-F and S-C approach have macro –level orientation.
S-I uses micro –level orientation

Politics-
Heywood introduces the notion of Politics and how it can be best understood.
1. The art of government or what concerns the affairs of the state.
2. The conduct and management of public affairs.
3. Managing conflict through compromise and consensus.
4. Power as basis for understanding how resources are produced, distributed, and used.

Democracy is from the Greek work demo kratos, which means rule of the people.

Skeptics- Rejection –rejected participation in the state.

This study source was downloaded by 100000839104976 from CourseHero.com on 01-19-2022 21:31:07 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/63709648/Share-UCSP-module-1doc/
 Cynics-believed so much on the rationality and morality of individuals as individuals that they
rejected the need for the state.

Stoics-indifferent towards the state. Can be Submissive or Rebellious.

Social System-is a set of social relations which are regularly actualized and thus reproduced as a
system through interaction.

Networks
Social network refers to an ego-centered set of relationships.
Scale of society is the total number of statuses necessary for the society to reproduce itself.
Scale may also be regarded as a measure of relative anonymity: the larger the scale , the fewer
the actors of the system one knows personally.

Chapter 2

Two methods Anthropology uses in studying and understanding the processes of becoming human in
looking back to the past:

1. Close examination of the material remains that early humans left behind.

2. The genetic codes that were passed on across several generations.

Hominadae superfamilyof hominids of which all primates including extinct and modern species of apes
and human beings belong.

Agriculture was established in the early settlements of humans.

Definition of terms: Define the below words.

Creationism/catastrophism

transformism

zoonomia/Erasmus Darwin

uniformitarianism

Taxonomy

This study source was downloaded by 100000839104976 from CourseHero.com on 01-19-2022 21:31:07 GMT -06:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/63709648/Share-UCSP-module-1doc/
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)