Valencia Colleges (Bukidnon) Incorporated MODULE WEEK NO.

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Hagkol, Valencia City, Bukidnon
Contact Information

Department of Social Science

COURSE CODE: SOC101: Social Institutions
Semester of A.Y. 2021-2022

Introduction

What is Sociology?

Sociology is the study of human social relationships and institutions. Sociology’s

subject matter is diverse, ranging from crime to religion, from the family to the
state, from the divisions of race and social stability to radical change in whole
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societies. Unifying the study of these diverse subjects of study is sociology’s

purpose of understanding how human action and consciousness both shape and
are shaped by surrounding cultural and social structures.

The word sociology or (“sociologie”) derives part of its name from the Latin words
socius (“companion”). The suffix -logy (“the study of”) come from that of
the Greek -λογία, derived from λόγος (lógos, "word" or "knowledge").

Other definitions

Sociology as the systematic study of society and social interaction, the word
“sociology” is derived from the Latin word “socius” (companion) and the Greek
word logos (speech or reason), which together mean “reasoned speech about
companionship”.

According to Dorothy Smith (1926) a sociologist, defines the social as the

“ongoing concerting and coordinating of individual’s activities” (Smith 1999(.
Sociology is the systematic study of all those aspects of life designated by the
adjectives “social.”

Rationale

This chapter formulates a set of propositions about how a cultural theory of people

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organizes individuals’ knowledge of society and how individuals utilize the theory. First we
consider how characterizations of people, or identities, imply other characterizations and
how a specific individual is related to a set of identities. Then we consider how meanings of
identities interrelate and thereby create awareness of large-scale social structures. Finally
we consider how individuals learn their culture’s theory of people and in the process
become aware of some of their own potentials.

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of the chapter, the students are expected to:

A. Explain the concept and principles about the meaning, components,
characteristic and functions of culture
B. Discuss the meaning and principles of culture changes and cultural
diversity.

Activity
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A. Definition of Sociology

Culture is…

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Discussion

Berger and Luckmann (1966) propose that knowledge—including knowledge

about kinds of people—is constructed during a dialectical process of
externalizing, objectifying, and internalizing in which language is crucial.
“Language builds up semantic fields or zones of meaning that are linguistically
circumscribed. Vocabulary, grammar, and syntax are geared to the
organization of these semantic fields” (Berger and Luckmann 1966) for
example, the set of linguistic objectifications surrounding work, family, religion,
and so on define semantic fields that order and provide meaning to routine
activities in each of these areas of everyday life. Both the history of the society
and the biographical experience of its members are “objectified, retained, and
accumulated” (1966) within such semantic fields of meaning, thereby becoming

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institutionalized in the cultural knowledge of a society.
Cultures vary from one another and it shares four major components, these are
the communication, cognitive, material and behavioral aspects communication
components include language and symbols. Through having a language, a
group of people interact with one another, socially sharing their thoughts,
feelings or ideas to the people with same language. Language forms the core of
all cultures throughout society. The symbols are considered as the backbone of
symbolic interactions. A symbol might be considered as anything that holds a
particular meaning and are recognized by the people that share the same
culture. Different cultures have different symbols, it is cross-culturally and it
might be change over a period of time.
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The second major component of culture is the cognitive component. It includes

Ideas, Knowledge and Belief, Values and Accounts. Ideas, Knowledge and
Belief are basic units of knowledge construction. Ideas are considered as
mental representation and are used to organize stimulus. When Ideas are link
together it will organize into larger systems of information which will become
knowledge. Knowledge now is considered as storage of information fact or
assumption, and this knowledge can be passed down from one generation to
another. Belief on the other hand assumes that propositions, statement,
description of fact are true in nature. These acceptances were influenced by the
external authorities such as government, religion, or science rather than
proven true from the individual’s direct experiences. Values serve as guidelines
for social living. Culturally, it can be defined as the standards of desirability,
goodness and beauty
The third major component of culture is the behavioral components. Behavioral
component is the major component of culture that is concerned about on how
we act. It includes norms which further categorizes into Mores, Laws, Folkway,
and Rituals. Norms are considered as rules and expectations eventually set by
a particular society that serves as guides to the behavior of its members. It
varies in the terms of the degrees of importance and might be change over a

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period of time. It is reinforced by sanctions in the forms or rewards and
punishments. These are standards accepted by society culturally and serve as
obligatory and expected behaviors of the people in different situations in life.
Mores are kinds of norms that are considered to be as a customary behavior
patterns which have taken from a moralistic value.
Laws serve as the formal and important norms that translated into legal
formalizations. Folkways are considered as behavioral patterns of a particular
society that is repetitive and organize. Rituals on the other hand are those
highly scripted ceremonies of interactions which follows a sequence of actions.
Examples are baptism, holidays and more. The fourth major component of
culture is the Material component. This includes materials or objects created by
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humans for practical use or for artistic reasons. These objects are called as
“material culture”. Material components serve as an expression of an individual
culture.
Exercise

B. Components

Symbols
Definitions: _______________________________________
Examples: __________ __________ ____________

Language
Definitions: _______________________________________
Examples: __________ __________ ____________

Values
Definitions: _______________________________________
Examples: __________ __________ ____________

Beliefs

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Definitions: _______________________________________
Examples: __________ __________ ____________

Norms- Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior

of its members

Proscriptive Prescriptive

VS
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Folkways Mores Laws

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Assessment

Example of Material Culture Example of Nonmaterial culture

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Reflection

Certainly, there is significant difference between a social problem and a personal problem.
A personal problem arises due to a person’s own choices and the effects those decisions
have for that individual alone. An example of this is a person who is consistently late for
work because they take it upon themselves stay out late every night.

Resources and Additional Resources

 Article: What are personal problems and social issues? summary - Bing
 https://www.quora.com/What-are-personal-problems-and-social-issues

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