Week 22

Identity, Culture, and Society

INTROSPECTION
- The self-examination, analyzing yourself, looking at your own personality and actions, and
considering your own motivations.
- Introspection is also a way to be mindful about others and to be aware of the things around
you.

Identity, Culture, and Society

IDENTITY
- It is the distinctive characteristic that defines an individual or is shared by those belonging to a
particular group.

Identity can also be influenced by other factors such as:

1. Sex - defined by genitalia
2. Gender - concept of themselves

IDENTITY
Transgender
- means your gender identity doesn't match up with the sex you were assigned at birth.

Agender
- means you don't identify with any gender.

Transsexuals
- denoting or relating to a transgender person, especially one whose bodily characteristics have
been altered through surgery or hormone treatment to bring them into alignment with their
gender identity.

Intersex
- is a general term used for a variety of situations in which a person is born with reproductive or
sexual anatomy that doesn't fit the boxes of "female" or "male."

Drag King and Drag Queen

- is derived from "drag," which means "drama in this context," and "king or queen," which
means "related to male or female," hence, "drag-king or drag-queen" literally means "a straight
person performing theatrically as the opposite gender."
3. Nationality - the status of belonging to a specific nation.
- Identity can also change over the course of a person's lifetime .
 - Identities are important because they shape both individual and group behavior.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE

- Culture is loosely defined as a society's way of life, provides a way for forging identities.
- Culture allows people to understand themselves by having the lenses of "right" and "wrong".
- Society refers to a group of people living in a community.

OBSERVATIONS ON FILIPINO SOCIETY AND CULTURE

1. FOOD TABOOS - deliberate avoidance of food item for reasons other than the simple dislike
of food preferences.
2. ISTAMBAY - is a Visayan transliteration of the English word "stand by" meaning to hang
around.

Week 24
Society and Culture
Society and Culture
- A society is characterized by the presence of the following elements:
1. Social solidarity (mutual benefit)
2. Shared identity and culture among members that serve as basis for their patterns of action
behavior.
3. Common language
4. A large population and the ability to sustain succeeding generations of members
5. Definite geographical area
6. Political, economic and social organizations

Five major types of societies according to how they developed over time:
1. Hunting and gathering
2. Horticultural and Pastoral
3. Agricultural
 New method of farming
 Inventions of more advanced tools
 Establishment of permanent settlement
4. Industrial
 Invention of machines
 Rise of cities
5. Post-Industrial
 Knowledge is a commodity and the technological innovation is key to a long-lasting
growth and development

Anthropology, Political Science, and Sociology

Natural Science
- Also known as hard science.

Social Science
- Also known as soft science.

The Historical Background of the Growth of Social Sciences

- Social sciences were the last to develop after the natural sciences.
- But, social and political philosophies were informed by the theological reasoning grounded
Revelation based on the Bible.

The unprecedented growth of Science

- The Scientific revolution begun with Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)
 Ptolemy – Geocentrism
 Copernicus - Heliocentrism
 Isaac Newton - universal laws of motion and mechanical model of the universe
 Sir Francis Bacon - Supremacy of Reason over imagination
 Rene Descartes - Father of Modern Philosophy

Anthropology
- The systematic study of the biological, cultural and social aspects of man.
- It derived from the greek words, “anthropos” which means man and “logos” which means
study or inquiry.
1. Social Anthropology - how social patterns and practices and cultural variations develop
across different societies
2. Cultural Anthropology - studies cultural variations
3. Linguistic anthropology - studies language and discourse and how they reflect and
shape different aspects of human society
4. Biological or Physical Anthropology - origins of humans as well as the interplay
between social factors and the processes of human evolution
5. Archeology - prehistoric societies
- Anthropologists have adopted two major views with regard to how cultures should be
considered in comparison with others:
a. Relativistic approach
b. Ethnocentric approach
a. Relativistic approach
- considers cultures as equal, no superior and no inferior
b. Ethnocentric approach
- one’s native culture is not equal to others.
- Ethnocentric societies tend to have a negative view of other countries and people.

Ethnocentrism
 - diminishes or invalidates “other” ways of life and creates a distorted view of one’s own.
- Ethnocentrism has led to wars or colonization.

Examples:
 Adolf Hitler, a Nazi German, decided he hated the Jewish that resulted to slaughter
 William Howard Taft referred to the Filipinos as “little brown brothers”

Xenocentrism
- tendency to consider their own culture as inferior to others

Examples:
 A Filipino thinks that imported other products are better (colonial mentality)
 Americans' belief that European's produce superior automotive vehicles

How do we solve these cultural issues?

- Majority of the modern societies place emphasis in CULTURAL RELATIVISM, which recognizes
and accepts the cultural differences between societies.
- Every culture can be justified from the context where it was formed.
- Some have advanced the concept of cultural relativism to CULTURAL SENSITIVITY. It
encourages a critical stance in dealing with issue regarding diversity.
- This view believes that NOT all cultural practices, traditions and views can be integrated.

Sociology
- The systematic study of social life, groups and society. It is an important academic discipline
because it attempts to provide a deeper assessments of both individual and group behavior and
social phenomena by considering the influence of economic, political and social factors.
- Sociologists presents new insights and perspectives on the aspects of culture, gender, race and
ethnicity, social movements, crime, class and other forms of social stratification.
- It relates culture with the overall context of social order. There are sociological perspectives that
explain this order:
1. Structural functionalism
2. Conflict theory
3. Symbolic interactionism
1. Structural functionalism
- operates an assumption that society is a stable and orderly system.
- Structural functionalists consider culture as a glue that binds society together, leading to social
order.
2. Conflict theory
- assumes that there is a constant power struggle among various social groups and institutions
within society.
3. Symbolic interactionism
- views individual and group behavior and social interactions as defining features of society.
 - Symbolic interactionist believe that culture provides shared meanings to the members of the
society.
- The more meanings are shared, the more society ensures social order.

Structural functionalism: Religion becomes the glue that unites Filipinos together.
Conflict theory: Religion could be seen as a cultural tool that is partly responsible for the exclusion of
other cultures.

Symbolic interactionism: Religion could be viewed as the major patterns of behavior and life
situations of the members of the society.

Political Science
- The systematic study of politics. Andre Heywood describes as the “activity through which
people make, preserve, and amend the rules under which they live”.
- It focuses on the fundamental values of equality, freedom and justice and its processes are
linked to the dynamics of conflict, resolution and cooperation.
- It is further divided into three areas:
1. Public administration
2. Political economy
3. Comparative politics

Week 26
Socialization and Enculturation
Understanding Culture Society and Politics
(Social Norms: Folkways, Mores, Taboos and Laws)
Social norms
- These are rules or standards of behavior shared by members of social group. Norms can be
internalized, which would make an individual conform without external rewards or
punishment.
1. Folkways
- These are the behaviors that are learned and shared by social group that we often refer as
"customs".
2. Mores
- These are norms of morality, or right and wrong, and if you break one it is often considered
offensive to most people of culture.
3. Taboos
- These goes a step farther and is very negative norm that should not get violated because
people will be upset.
4. Law
 - These are social norms that have become formally inscribed at the state. Laws are used to
enforce conformity to its norms.

Becoming a Member of Society

Socialization and Enculturation
“Human mind is nothing but a tabula rasa -John Locke”
Socialization
- These refers to the lifelong process of social interaction through which people acquire their
identities and necessary survival skills in society.
- It prepares new members of society and trains them, to think, feel and act in appropriate
ways.
- In the early years of American sociology, the process of socialization was equated with
civilization.
- Socialization then was tantamount to taming individualist so they would willingly cooperate with
others on common goals and conform socially acceptable ways of behaving.
- However, as the field of sociology developed over time, socialization was increasingly viewed
in the context of internalization.
- Talcott Parson, a functionalist, said that if you failed to play the expected roles in the society
then there is an incomplete socialization.
- On the other hand, interpretivist, see socialization as an interactive process between
individuals and other members of society. This view gives importance to the independence of
the individuals and their capacity to define their own personal views and ideas.
- Which of the two views is more adhering to the society? The functionalist or the interpretivist?
- William Wentworth, proposed a synthesized view of socialization.

There are three significant aspects of socializations:

1. Social context
2. Content and process
3. Result
1. Social context refers to the particular circumstances of a society
2. Content refers to ideas, beliefs, behavior and other information that are passed by the
members of the society while process is the method of interaction.
3. Result is an outcome of the socialization.
- A significant result of socialization is self-identity, which refers to the establishment of a
unique sense of identity and an awareness of how it relates to their society and the world.

Enculturation
- This is the gradual acquisition of the characteristics and norms of culture.
- According to Margaret Mead, one must undergo a process of learning a culture "in all its
uniqueness and particularity".
 - The main difference between socialization and enculturation is that socialization is basically
the process of leaning.

Week 28
Agent of Socialization and Enculturation
Agents or Participants
- Social groups that people come in contact and interact with throughout their lives.
- The most prominent agents of socialization include the family, school, peer groups, mass
media, religion, the state and historical events.

The family
- It is the primary agent of socialization of an individual upon birth throughout infancy and up
to childhood.
- The prevalence of single-parent families and OFWs has led to other individuals take on the
responsibility of childrearing.
- Children are first socialized at home within the family structure and they learn:
 what is and what is not permissible
 rights and privileges
- Parents and family members also have significant role in planning the future of their children .

Schools
- Schools have a critical and active role in socialization.
- Schools teach values like cooperation, competitiveness, conformity, innovation, punctuality,
orderliness and respect for authority.
- Schools are also venues for political socialization. Governments make it a point to include in the
curriculum knowledge and values that are essential for the preservation of the social, political
and economic system in society.
- Schools must encourage students taking on more mature and responsible political roles as
they grow into adulthood, and they begin to exercise their rights and responsibilities in their
respective communities by voting and becoming active supporters of certain political or social
causes.

Peer groups
- Reinforce acceptable behaviors introduced by the family and school, allow a certain degree of
independence from family and certain figures of authority.
- These are people who share same interests characteristics such as age and social background.
They develop habits and mutual support.
- There are also organized groups that are considered as your peer groups like Boy scouts, Girl
Scouts and Young liberals.
- These peer groups should foster camaraderie, sense of unity and purpose.
Mass Media
- This includes forms of communication such as books, magazines, newspapers, radio, television
and movies.
- The increases access to these forms of mass media in recent years, through the introduction of
innovations has led to unprecedented amount of information to them.
- The relationship between mass media and politics is very complex and scholars have varied
views regarding how mass media influences and shapes people's attitudes and behavior.
 Pluralist model
 Market model
 Dominant-ideology model
 Elite-values model
I. Pluralist model
- This portrays media as an ideological marketplace that enhances debate and electoral choices.
- 'Media plurality' means having a diversity of viewpoints available and consumed across the
media.
II. Market model
- Suggests that media reflects the view of the general public and that media presents what they
think the people want.
- Telenovelas and "reality shows" are dominant on air, since these types of shows are seen by
media owners and executives as the most popular for entertainment.
III. Dominant-ideology model
- Traces the bias to links between media and political and social elite. This could be seen in
instances when prominent business or political figures own, control or exert influence over
certain media outlets through their business or social connections.
IV. Elite-values model
- Recognizes media bias as a product of the personal views of media professionals such as
journalists, broadcasters and editors.

Religion and State

- Both religion and state are considered as the ultimate sources of authority, making the church
and government important agents of socialization.
- Religion exerts a great influence on the views of a person, legitimizes accepted social practices,
provides stability to society and social change.
- The Catholic Church in the Philippines has, in several instances, taken a prominent role in
bringing these changes.
 Anti-Marcos movement during the Martial Law
 First People Power in 1986

Major Social and Historical events

- These are significant socializing forces for an entire generation. These changes and
developments brought about by historical events cause transformation in values, attitudes
and views.
-
 Week 30
Conformity, Deviance, and Human Rights
Conformity
- The process of altering one’s thoughts and actions to adapt to the accepted behavior in the
society.
- This is the product of pressure.

Three types of Conformity:

1. Compliance
 This refers to the outward conformity to social pressure but privately
disagreeing to it. This action is often motivated by the desire to gain rewards
or avoid punishment.
2. Identification
 This refers to an individual adopting a certain behavior because it enables him
or her to have a satisfying relationship with the members of his/her group.
 The individual also adopt the opinions and values of the group and may strive
to emulate an authority figure.
3. Acceptance

 This involves both public compliance and internal acceptance of the norms and
standards imposed by the group.
 It is the most permanent and deeply rooted response to social influences.
 It eventually results to the integration of the group’s set of beliefs and
behavior into the individual’s own framework.

Deviance
- A behavior that elicits a strong negative reaction from group members and involves actions
that violate commonly held social norms.

Human Dignity and Human Rights

- Human Dignity refers to the idea that a person has the innate right to be valued, respected
and treated well.
- Human rights are legal, social and ethical principles that consider the human person as
deserving of liberties and protection by virtue of his or her human dignity.

Human Rights Human rights have the following characteristics:

1. Universal
 They belong to all human beings regardless of race, religion, gender and other
characteristics.
2. Fundamental
 They cannot be taken away from human being.
 3. Indivisible
 Various rights are interrelated and given equal importance. It cannot be divided.
4. Absolute
 They cannot be qualified and are considered basic necessities for living a genuine life.

Week 33
Political and Leadership Structures
Political Organizations
- A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including
political parties, non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups and special interest
groups.

Acephalous Societies
- Also known as stateless societies.
- There is no central authority, administrative power, and judicial institution.

Cephalous Societies
- Also known as state societies.
- A central governmental institution, authority, and judicial power over its people.

Political Organizations (Elman Rogers Service)

Nature of Political Structure and Authority

1. Bands
2. Tribes
3. Chiefdoms
4. States

Bands
- Simplest political system
- Typically formed by families living together (Marriage ties, Common descendants, Friendship
affiliations, Common interest, Common enemies.)
- Older or Respected (Older > More knowledge > More experience)
- Gender dictates power (ex. Woman: Gathering band, Man: Hunting band)
- Experience and ability grants leadership and power (Limited though)
- Size and Number = Instability and Conflicts (ex. less number, less conflict)
- If it survives, it turns to Tribes.

Tribes
 - Survives conflicts through organization to settle conflicts (ex. Ritual dueling for land disputes,
Courtship rituals for potential lover/s)
- Organizations are done through Pantribal Associations or Sodalities (ex. Elders, Council, etc.)
- Often headed by Village Headsman (No absolute political power)

Chiefdoms
- Chief as a leader has more defined political structure
- Formal leadership and authority is held by members of a select family
- Power is inherited (by blood or by achievements)
- Social structures are hierarchical, defined by relationship to those in power
- Class mobility exists through notable achievements
- Social status is affected by marriage, age and gender
- Highly unstable and like to destroy and rebuild themselves

State
- The most politically organized and structurally-developed among the classifications of
societies.
- Self-governing societies.
Four elements of State
1. Population
2. Territory
3. Government
4. Sovereignty

Population
- Population is the people who make the state.
- According to Plato the ideal number would be 5040.
- According to Aristotle, the number should be neither too large nor too small. It should be large
enough to be self-sufficing and small enough to be well governed.

Territory
- There can be no state without a fixed territory.
- People need territory to live and organize themselves socially and politically .
- The territory of the state includes land, water and air – space. The modern states differ in their
sizes.
- Territory is necessary for citizenship. As in the case of population, no definite size with regard to
extent of area of the state can be fixed.

Government
- There can be no state without government.
- Government is the working agency of the state. It is the political organization of the state.
 - Prof. Appadorai defined government as the agency through which the force of the State is
formulated, expressed and realized.

Sovereignty
- In political theory, it is the ultimate overseer, or authority, in the decision-making process of
the state and in the maintenance of order.
Sovereignty has two aspects:
1. Internal sovereignty
2. External sovereignty

Internal sovereignty
- means that the State is supreme over all its citizens, and associations.

External sovereignty
- means that the state is independent and free from foreign or outside control.

Difference between Government and State

- Government is often used with the ‘state’ as synonym. But both the government and the state
are two different entities (unities). There are differences between the state and the
government.

Authority and Legitimacy

Legitimacy
- From latin word legitimare which means to declare lawful
- A rational principle that is the ground on which governments may demand obedience from the
citizens.

Authority
- According to Max Weber authority is the right to rule.
 1. Traditional Authority
2. Charismatic Authority
3. Legal-rational Authority

Traditional Authority
- It is based on system that is believed to have always existed
- A position that is passed on to them.
- The legitimacy is based on established customs and traditions.

Charismatic Authority
- An authority based on the special personal qualities claimed by and for an individual in order
to make the person attractive so that he could influence a large number of people.

Legal-rational Authority
- Power made legitimate by laws, written rules, and regulations
- Power is vested in a particular rationale, system, or ideology and not necessarily in the person
who implements the specifics of that doctrine.

Week 34
Social and Political Stratification
The Concept of Social Stratification
- This refers to the division of large social groups into smaller groups based on categories
determined by economics.
- The common bases of social stratification include wealth, property, access to material, cultural
goods and access to political power.

Social Exclusion
- This refers to the process by which individuals are cut off from full involvement in the wider
circles of society.
- In the Philippines, the homeless are the most vulnerable and exploited groups in society and
often have limited social, political and economic opportunities.

Systems of Stratification
1. Closed System - limited opportunities for social mobility.
2. Open System - free opportunities for social mobility.
3. Caste-System - people are unable to change their social standing. Ex: Brahma
4. Class System - ownership of resources. Exogamous and Endogamous marriages existed.
 Exogamous - marriage between two people from different social classes.
 Endogamous - marriage between two people from the same social classes.
 5. Meritocracy System - personal effort and merit. Social standing depends on one's ability.

Social Mobility
- The ability of individuals or groups to change their positions within social stratification system.

- Two main types of social mobility:

1. Upward - from lower class to upper class.
2. Downward – from upper class to lower class.

Intragenerational Mobility
- focuses on the experience of people who belong to the same generation.
- Focuses on a one person experiences.

Intergenerational Mobility
- movement within or between social  classes  and  occupations changing from across
generations.
- Focus on many generation’s experiences.

Structural Mobility
- large-scale changes in the society that result to the improvement and decline of the
conditions.
- recession, in economics, a downward trend in the business cycle characterized by a decline in
production and employment, which in turn causes the incomes and spending of households to
decline.

Social Inequality
- Social classes are derived from the inequalities brought about by the possession, control of
resources, access of opportunities for education and employment.
Defining factors of inequality:
1. Income
2. Affluence – state of having wealth.
3. Poverty
 Absolute poverty – when a person has nothing. When we can’t afford basic
necessities.
 Relative poverty – ability to obtain basic necessities. They do have some money
but still not enough money to afford anything above the basics
 Subjective poverty – an individual define poverty based on his/her
experiences/expectations.

Ethnicity and Race Issues

Ethnicity
 - is the feeling of closeness or loyalty towards a particular population, cultural group or
territorial area.

Race
- refers to a group of people who share a common ancestry. These are the physical and genetic
differences among humankind that distinguish one group of people form another.

Global Inequality
- Global stratification is the unequal distribution of wealth, power and prestige on a global
basis.

Theories on Global Inequality

Market-oriented
- Poverty can be eliminated by overcoming or adjusting cultural values like negative attitudes
regarding work, encouraging high rates of saving and investment.

Dependency
- For example, East Asia made a successful transition from low-income to high-income
economies through increased savings and aggressive work ethic.

State-centered
- Emphasizes the role of governments in fostering economic development.

Specific Reviewers
Goal of Sociology
- understand the forces that mold individuals and shape their behavior.

- it attempts to provide a deeper assessment of both individual and group behavior and social
phenomena by considering the influence of economic, political and social factors.

- It relates culture with the overall context of social order.

Sociology
- The systematic study of social life, groups and society.

- The study of relationships among people.

Society
- refers to a group of people living in a community.
- Social solidarity (mutual benefit)
 - Shared identity and culture among members that serve as basis for their patterns of action
behavior.
- Common language
- A large population and the ability to sustain succeeding generations of members
- Definite geographical area
- Political, economic and social organizations

Anthropologist
- a person engaged in the practice of anthropology.
- systematic study of the biological, cultural and social aspects of man.

Political Science
- systematic study of politics.
- the “activity through which people make, preserve, and amend the rules under which they
live”.
- focuses on the fundamental values of equality, freedom and justice and its processes are
linked to the dynamics of conflict, resolution and cooperation

Archeology
- prehistoric societies.

Ethnocentric behavior
- judge other groups relative to their own ethnic group or culture, especially with concern for
language,  behavior, customs, and religion.
- Tendency to have a negative view of other countries and people.

Ethnocentrism
- diminishes or invalidates “other” ways of life and creates a distorted view of one’s own.

Folkways
- the behaviors that are learned and shared by social group that we often refer as "customs".
- Also known as customs, these are norms for everyday behavior that people follow for the sake
of tradition or convenience.

Value
- abstract concepts that certain kinds of behaviors are good, right, ethical, moral and therefore
desirable.
- Not part of social norms.

Social norms
- rules or standards of behavior shared by members of social group. Norms can be internalized,
which would make an individual conform without external rewards or punishment.
Laws
- social norms that have become formally inscribed at the state. Laws are used to enforce
conformity to its norms.

Mores
- norms of morality, or right and wrong, and if you break one it is often considered offensive to
most people of culture.

Taboos
- step farther and is very negative norm that should not get violated because people will be
upset.

Socialization
- the lifelong process of social interaction through which people acquire their identities and
necessary survival skills in society.
- It prepares new members of society and trains them, to think, feel and act in appropriate
ways.

Talcott Parson
- a functionalist said that if you failed to play the expected roles in the society then there is an
incomplete socialization.

Four primary agents of socialization

1. Family
2. School
3. Peer Groups
4. Mass Media

Function of enculturation in helping us adapt to a new environment

- Enculturation helps us learn and acquire the culture of our new surroundings by simply
experiencing and observing that culture.

Family
- primary agent of socialization of an individual upon birth throughout infancy and up to
childhood.

Enculturation
- the gradual acquisition of the characteristics and norms of culture.
- one must undergo a process of learning a culture "in all its uniqueness and particularity".

John Locke
- Human mind is nothing but a tabula rasa.
Interpretivist
- interpretivist, see socialization as an interactive process between individuals and other
members of society.

Self-identify
- refers to the establishment of a unique sense of identity and an awareness of how it relates to
their society and the world.

Function of mass media

- to communicate various messages through television, movies, advertising, radio, the internet,
magazines, and newspapers.

Pluralist model
- portrays media as an ideological marketplace that enhances debate and electoral choices.
- 'Media plurality' means having a diversity of viewpoints available and consumed across the
media.

Market model
- media reflects the view of the general public and that media presents what they think the
people want.

Deviance
- behavior that elicits a strong negative reaction from group members and involves actions that
violate commonly held social norms.

Conformity
- The process of altering one’s thoughts and actions to adapt to the accepted behavior in the
society.
- This is the product of pressure.

Compliance
- the outward conformity to social pressure but privately disagreeing to it.
- This action is often motivated by the desire to gain rewards or avoid punishment.

Identification
- an individual adopting a certain behavior because it enables him or her to have a satisfying
relationship with the members of his/her group.
- individual also adopt the opinions and values of the group and may strive to emulate an
authority figure.

Indivisible
- Various rights are interrelated and given equal importance. It cannot be divided.
Bands
- Simplest political system.
- formed by families living together (Marriage ties, Common descendants, Friendship affiliations,
Common interest, Common enemies.
- If it survives, it turns to Tribes.

Chiefdoms
- Chief as a leader has more defined political structure.
- Formal leadership and authority is held by members of a select family
- Power is inherited (by blood or by achievements)

Social mobility
- The ability of individuals or groups to change their positions within social stratification system.

Why is culture usually described as "the complex whole"?

- Because culture is comprised of all facets and works of humankind.

Why should people avoid ethnocentric behavior?

- To make people of the society recognize and respect differences.

Which area of Political Science is responsible for public services?

- Public Administration

In which statement is cultural relativism manifested?

- Angela observed and respected a ritual of an indigenous group that she visited.

Symbolic interactionist believe that culture provides shared meanings to the members of the
society.
- True

Structural functionalists consider culture as a glue that binds society together, leading to
social order.
- True

What are the three fundamental values in Political Science?

- Equality, freedom, and justice

William Wentworth, a philosopher, synthesized the functionalists and interpretivists’ view on

socialization. What must be the product of socialization according to the synthesis?
- Self-identity
How can a person mitigate ethnocentric behavior through cultural relativism?
- Try to understand other people even if their origin and culture are different from yours.