Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION V
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF SORSOGON CITY

SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS
(Grade Level 11/12 Q1 / Lesson 1)

I. INTRODUCTION

This lesson provides cultural, social, and political concepts that exist in the realm of ideas and
thoughts. As such, they cannot be seen or touched and yet they influence the way we see and
experience our individual and collective lives as social beings. The lesson will introduce the
meaning of culture, society and politics and will give understanding of nature, concept and/or
phenomena.

II. OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, learners expected to:
MELCS: Discuss the nature, goals and perspectives in/of anthropology, sociology and political
science
Specific Objectives:
1. Acquire knowledge of the nature, goals and perspectives of anthropology, sociology, and
political science;
2. Compare and contrast anthropology, sociology and political science; and
3. Appreciate the importance of the goals of anthropology, sociology and political science in
human life.

III. LEARNING ACTIVITY

Nature, Goals, and Perspectives in Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science

Sociology
The discipline sociology (or the systematic study of human society) was born when pioneers such
as Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim focused on what society really is. Comte described
theological stage as a phenomenon in which people’s thinking was guided by religion. Society
was seen as an expression of God’s will, established as God empowered people to carry out His
divine plans. Sociological imagination allows an individual to realize the interplay of history and
biography. The drama that individuals experience from their social encounters has significant
impact on history in general. Meanwhile, metaphysical stage, which centered on positivism,
understood the natural world based on science.

A. Sociological Perspectives
1. Seeing the general in particular – It is possible to identify general patterns in the behavior
of particular people. The society has the power to affect our actions, thoughts and feelings.
What happens in the society in general affects the behavior of people in particular. For
example, the current worldwide pandemic has affected the lives of so many. It does not
only impact the personal lives of each individual, but most of the other aspects of life as
well.
2. Seeing the strange in the familiar – Looking at life sociologically requires giving up the
familiar idea that human behavior is simply a matter of what people decide to do in favor of
the initially strange notion that society shapes our thoughts and deeds. The action of an
individual may not be simply as what it is, but rather a product of possible conformity to
societal standards. Not everything we see is the reality of life, as there are some strange
things happening in the familiar day-to-day experiences that we have. For example, the
newly implemented distance education program of the Department of Education should not
 just be taken at face value, but rather, we should acknowledge and inspect the realities that
people have gone through to develop, implement, and evaluate the program.
3. Challenging commonly held beliefs – Thinking sociologically can help us realize that not
all ideas we take for granted are true. It encourages us to probe why people choose to
uphold philosophically inferior arguments. The third sociological perspective tells us to
examine the truth about all information, news, doctrines, and concepts presented to us.

B. Sociological Paradigms
Sociology allows an individual to examine the world scientifically. Observations must be based on
facts and supported by theories – a statement of how and why specific facts are related.
Sociologists often investigate human society, hence, continuously improving theories. The
following theoretical paradigms provide a basic image of society that guides thinking and research:
a. Structural Functional Paradigm – sees society as a complex system whose parts work
together to promote solidarity and stability. This paradigm lies in the idea that society is
guided by a social structure – relatively stable patterns of social behavior. Social structures
can be understood on their social functions – consequences for the operation of the
society. Robert K. Merton, a contemporary US sociologist, argued that the consequences
of any social pattern are likely to differ for various categories of people in a society. He
distinguishes between manifest function (the recognized and intended consequences of a
social pattern) and latent function (the largely unrecognized and unintended
consequences). However, not all effects of any social structure benefit everyone in a
society. Thus, undesirable consequences for the operation of the society, called social
dysfunctions, may occur.
b. Social Conflict Paradigm – sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict
and change. This paradigm focuses on how social factors such as social class, age, sex,
race and ethnicity are linked to unequal distribution of money, wealth, education, power and
prestige. This theory tells us that structures, instead of promoting the society, typically
benefit from depriving others.
c. Symbolic-interaction paradigm – is a framework for building theory that sees society as
the product of everyday interactions of individuals.
Both the structural-functional theory shares macro-level orientations- a focus on broad social
structures that shape society as a whole and takes the larger picture in analyzing the society. It
deals with the social institution and its impact in the individuals, while micro-level orientation
focuses on social interaction in specific situations.

Anthropology
Anthropology comes from two Greek words “anthropos” and “logos” which can be translated as
“human” and “reasons”, respectively. Anthropology accounts for the social and cultural variation in
the world, and conceptualizing and understanding similarities between social systems and human
relationships. Culture is crucial in understanding anthropology. Culture comes from the Latin word
“colore” which means “to cultivate”. Cultural anthropology thus means “knowledge about cultivating
humans”. It is about the aspects of humanity which are not natural, but which are related to that
which is acquired. Anthropology aims to focus not only in the material culture but as well as the
non-material culture formed through significant social interactions. Culture, society, and politics
are important concepts which cannot be separated in dealing with the fields of social sciences.

Political Science
Politics may be defined in different gradients of inclusiveness. It is believed that politics is the heart
of all collective social activity, formal and informal. It is a relational, purposive activity that may
occur in any arena. Political Science is the study of politics on the level of the state as the most
important and as the “pinnacle of political power”. In other words, studying politics and the affairs of
the state is studying about the people comprising the state. As we study politics, we will
understand why some are poor and others are rich. We may find solutions for various social
problems.
IV. LEARNING TASKS

Practice Task 1: DRAW ME A PICTURE

Direction: Using the following rubrics as guide, draw a symbol that best represents Sociology,
Anthropology, and Political Science in each of the boxes.

Sociology Anthropology Political Science

Category 5 4
Required The drawings include all
Elements required elements (the three
social sciences and its focus)
well as additional information
Graphics- All graphics are related to the
Relevance activity and make it easier to
understand the focus of the 3
social sciences
Attractiveness The drawings are exceptionally
attractive in terms of design,
layout, and neatness
3 2
All required elements (the All but 1 of the required Several required
three social sciences and its elements are included elements were
focus) are included on the on the poster missing
poster
All graphics are related to the Several graphics are Few graphics are
activity and most make it related to the activity. related to the
easier to understand the activity.
focus of the 3 social sciences
The drawings are attractive in The drawings are The drawings are
terms of design, layout, and acceptably attractive distractingly messy
neatness though it may be a bit or very poorly
messy designed

For Practice Tasks 2 and 3, use the rubric below.

Criteria 5 4 3 2

Quality of The answers were written in an The answers were written in The answers had little The answers had no style/very
Writing extraordinary style/very well an interesting style/somewhat style/poorly organized poorly organized
organized organized

Relevance / Highly informative and it is easy Informative and was Somewhat informative/ Was not understood/ ideas
Organization to understand/ Ideas are highly understood/ Ideas are Ideas are present, however presented are irrelevant
organized organized not organized

Mechanics Capitalization and punctuation There is 1 error in There are 2 errors in There are more than 2 errors in
are correct capitalization and punctuation capitalization and capitalization and punctuation
punctuation

Grammar There are no grammatical There is one grammatical There are two grammatical There are more than two
mistakes mistake mistakes grammatical mistakes

B. Practice Task 2: MY EXPLANATION

Give a brief explanation why you chose those objects to represent the three social sciences.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

C. Practice Task 2: MY EXPLANATION

During this time of COVID-19 pandemic, how do you think these disciplines of social sciences
become relevant in raising awareness and understanding about this global dilemma?
Anthropology
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Sociology
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Political Science
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

V. EVALUATION
For items 1-4, choose your answer from the given choices below. Write only the letter of
your answer.
A. Anthropology
B. Political Science
C. Sociology
1. ____ goal is to look for the similarities and differences among the culture of societies around the
world so we can understand more about human nature and be more tolerant on other people’s
behavior and actions
2. ____ the study of society, patterns of social interactions, and culture of everyday life
3. ____ Main concern is to learn how to use power over others to maintain social order and
harmony among citizens
4. ____ this field of social science answers why the television program Eat Bulaga’s Kalyeserye
gain millions of tweets worldwide
For items 5-7,
A. seeing the strange in a familiar
B. seeing general in a particular
C. challenging commonly held beliefs
5. ____ Being critical with everything we read and receive in social media refers to this sociological
perspective
6. ____ “Our social world guides our actions and life choices just as the seasons influence our
activities and clothing.” The statement supports this sociological perspective.
7. ____ In this perspective, sociologists critically re-evaluate taken-for-granted assumptions about
the world that people usually presume as ‘natural’, ‘normal’ or ‘the way things should be’.
For items 8-10
A. Structural-Functional Paradigm
B. Symbolic Interaction Paradigm
C. Social-Conflict Paradigm
8. ____ This paradigm identifies social situations like the rich grabbing lands from poor farmers
who are helpless and powerless.
9. ____ “We act toward people and things based on the meaning we interpret from them”. This
describes what paradigm?
10. ____ This approach tells that all parts in the society works together in order to form a
harmonious, sensible and stable society.
Sources: Understanding Culture, Society and Politics
1. Understanding Culture Society and Politics Alternative Delivery Mode, Quarter 1 – Module 1: Nature, Goals and Perspectives in Anthropology,
Sociology and Political Science [MELC1], First Edition, 2020
2. Module-1-UCSP_Navarro-Jeresano-final-edited
3. Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics, Gerry M. Lanuza and Darah S. Raymundo, First edition

Prepared by ROSARIO B. HAGOS, Teacher II

Language Critic: JEFFERSON B. MARBELLA, Teacher II
Content Editors: MA. LIEZL E. CAMBA, Master Teacher I
MARSHA N. JERESANO, Teacher II
DIVINA M. DIAZ, Ph.D., EPS-I Araling Panlipunan/HUMSS Coordinator