UCSP
1. Concepts of Culture and
Society
2. Development of social sciences
as a discipline
3. Elements of Culture and
Characteristics of Culture
4. Biological and Social Evolution
(Agricultural revolution)
5. Sociological
Theories/Perspectives
CONCEPTS OF CULTURE AND
SOCIETY
Culture in society refers to the ways of
life, or of groups within the society.
It includes how people construct their
life, customs, values, norms, religions,
ceremonies, show the way they dress,
eat, drinks, etc.
In other words, culture includes all our
behaviors and structured all our lives.
It compromises both intangible aspects
(beliefs, ideas, and values) which form
the content of culture, and tangible
aspects (objects, symbols, or
technology) which represents that
content.
Hegemony – leadership or dominance
of one group over another
Cultural Hegemony
Domination or rule maintained through
ideological or cultural means. It is
usually achieved through social
institutions, which allow those in power
to strongly influence the values,
norms, ideas, expectations, worldview,
and behavior of the rest of society.
Concept of Culture
1. SURFACE CULTURE
 Baro't Saya and Barong
Tagalog
- Baro't Saya (Blouse and Skirt)
The national costume of the
Philippines, is an elegent hybrid of
Filipino and Spanish clothing style.
- Barong Tagalog
Embroided long-sleeved formal shirt
for men and a national dress of the
Philippines
 Sinulog
- is an annual cultural and religious
festival held on the third Sunday of
January in Cebu City.
2. DEEP CULTURE
 Facial Expressions
- Filipinos commonly use their lips to
point to an object or another person
instead of lifting their finger or arm.
3. UNCONSCIOUS RULES
 Sense of Time
Filipino time
Filipinos' penchant for starting, or
arriving at, events some 15-30 minutes
later than the set time.
What makes up culture?
 Language
Is a huge part of culture. There are
roughly 6,500 spoken languages in
 the world. Inside of each language
there are many different cultures.
 Clothing
The type of clothing you wear is an
indication of you as an individual
and your culture.
 Religion
Religious beliefs often unify people
in a culture.
 Music
Music can show a culture’s origins.
For example, jazz music represents
new Orleans culture.
 Food
Different cultures cook different
foods based on their location.
Society shares the same laws, rights,
Natural Science Social Science
Branch of science that Social science is the
deals with the physical study of human society
world. and social
relationships.
Includes fields such as
biology, chemistry, Includes fields such as
physics, earth science, economics, political
and astronomy science, law,
geography and history.
Always use scientific
methods Use scientific methods
as well as other
Student can become methods.
medical doctors,
nurses, engineers, Students can become
biologists, chemists, lawyers, linguists,
astronomers, etc. historians, writers,
journalists, teachers,
accountants, etc.
and resources.
- It is a type of community.
- It is not always a small
community.
- People can live far away from
one another and still be a part
of the same community.
- For example, people in
American society can also be
very different. They can speak
different languages, but they
are all part of the same society.
- It can also be a group of people
who do the same type of work
like doctors or people who
believe in something together
like animal protection
volunteers.
- They are part of the same
society because of what they
have in common.
Society is the people around you near
and far.
Social Science
- Academic disciplines dealing
with the study of social
life/society/groups and
individuals.
- An objective study of people
and their interactions with
others.
- Study of human society and
social relationships.
- Branch of science that deals
with the institutions and
functioning of human society
and with the interpersonal
relationships of individuals as
members of society.
- Discipline that explains society,
different values different
societies
Society has many meanings because:
1. The term may be broad.
 2. It may be varied. (depends on
time/place)
3. It may be complicated.
4. It’s evolving, developing.
5. Complex, unique
6. Dynamic, always changing.
Each discipline has a specific
approach on
 Political Science – politics and
governance
 Economics – resources
 History – context
 Psychology – human behavior
 Sociology
All of these are interdisciplinary and
multi-disciplinary.
Historical Context on the Birth and
Growth of Social Science.
1. Ancient Greek Philosophers
- Socrates
- Plato
- Aristotle
2. Social & Political Philosophy
(Medieval Period) [Religion]
- Holy Bible
- Theological Reasoning
3. Growth of Science (Scientific
Revolution)
- Copernicus
- Sir Isaac Newton
- Sir Francis Bacon
- Rene Descartes
4. Modern Period (Age of Reason)
- Secularization of Literacy and
Education
5. Period of Rationalization
- Karl Marx
- C. Wright Mills
- Emile Durkheim
- Talcott Parsons
- Max Weber
Dark Ages
Considered to be an era of ignorance
wherein reasons and justifications
were grounded on faith instead of
facts.
Age of Enlightenment
A historical phase in time where
philosophers needs to cast and ignite
wisdom on society.
“The Birth of Social Science as a
response to the social turmoil of the
modern period.”
Anthropology
The study of humankind in all its
aspects: culture and development
Sociology
The study of the origin, development
and structure of human societies and
the behavior of individual people and
groups in society
Political Science
The study of political organizations and
institutions especially government
Why do we have multiple disciplines
in society?
We have multiple disciplines in
society because people are able to
provide themselves their own rules
to live their lives efficiently and
effectively. People has their own
ways of making a small sacrifice in
the present for a better life in the
future due to the discipline that they
have in their life. Because of the
discipline that they have, people
create habits which leads to making
routines and these routines become
 who they are in their daily lives.
Functionalism
- Views society as a system of
interrelated parts
- It is macro (large scale)
orientation because it studies
how social structures affect how
a society works.
- Suggests that a society’s values
and norms provide the
foundation for the rules and
laws that it creates.
- These norms regulate the
relationships between social
institutions.
Functionalist Theorists
 Auguste Comte
- Coined the term sociology.
- Felt that sociology should strive
to discover social laws
(statements of fact that are
unchanging under given
conditions and can be used as
grounds rules for any study of
society).
 Herbert Spencer
 Emile Durkheim
- Was one of the first true
sociologists in that he used data
to test theories.
- Durkheim’s work suggested that
solidarity is a vital component
that holds society together.
- Solidarity integrates, or holds
society together because
people see themselves as
unified.
- He points out that the type of
society influences the type of
solidarity.
Durkheim’s Four Types of Suicide
1. Egoistic – when people lack
solidarity [lack of unity]
Examples: mentally ill, lonely, social
outcasts
Motivation: depression
2. Altruistic – result when the
level of solidarity is
exceptionally high, suicide
bomber
Examples: kamikaze pilots, suicide
bombers, cult members
Motivation: obligation to the group
3. Fatalistic – result from too
much social control
Examples: inmates, elderly, terminally
ill
Motivation: Hopelessness
4. Anomic – occur as a result of
rapid change, usually economic
Examples: anyone who cannot deal
with chaos, such as the Stock Market
Cash of 1929
Motivation: Insecurity
 Talcott Parsons
- Was interested in creating
grand theories that attempted to
explain every aspect of the
human experience and how
social systems interconnect.
- Society was much like a bicycle
wheel, made up of independent
 spokes connected to a hub that
keeps the wheel spinning.

 Robert Merton
- Sought to create a middle-range
theory that could bridge the gap
between current theories.
- He did this by breaking society
into parts and studying them
individually to better understand
the whole.

Manifest & Latent

Criticism of Conflict Theory
Merton identified two types of
- Critics of conflict theory often
functions:
accuse it of being too radical.
a. Manifest functions are factors
- This paradigm often becomes
that lead to an excepted
synonymous with the idea that
consequence or outcome.
powerful people oppress the
b. Latent functions are factors
weak.
that lead to an unforeseen or
- A simple reading of conflict
unexpected consequence.
theory can also seem to make
the notion of conflict seem like a
Conflict Theory is a theoretical
bad thing.
framework that views society in a
- Doesn’t competition breed
struggle for a scarce resources.
excellence?
Studies issues such as race, gender,
Symbolic Interactionism
social class, criminal justice, and
- Focuses on how communication
international relations.
influences the way people’s
interactions with each create
Two main concerns for conflict
the social world in which we
theorists are economic wealth and
live.
power.
- Believe that the root of society
comes from its symbols.
- They suggest that the symbols
we use are arbitrary, meaning
that they vary from culture to
culture.
- Context and setting affects our
understanding of it.
- Social order results when the
members of society share
 common definitions of what is
appropriate.
- Symbolic interactionism is the
most micro of sociological
approaches, as it often studies
the activities of individuals and
then draws connections to
larger
Ethnocentrism and Cultural
Relativism
 Ethnocentrism
- According to Anthropologists, it
is the opinion of one person that
their certain way of life is
natural/correct rather than those
that are odd in their view.
- It is the judging or evaluation of
another culture based on how it
compares to one’s culture
norms.
- One’s culture is superior or the
correct way of living.
A sociologist William Graham Sumner
(1906) describes, it is the belief or
attitude that one’s own culture is
superior or better than all others, and
therefore should serve as the
standard.
It is okay to have pride in your culture,
however..
Cultural Imperialism
The forcing of one’s advanced cultural
ideologies and values on another
culture.
Culture Shock
A sense of confusion and uncertainty
sometimes with feelings of anxiety that
may affect people exposed to an alien
culture or environment without
adequate preparation.
Cultural Relativism
The practice of assessing a culture by
its own standards rather than viewing it
through the len’s of one’s own culture.
Absolute Cultural Relativism
Everything that is within a certain
culture must and should not be
questioned by outsides.
Critical Cultural Relativism
Creates questions about cultural
practices in terms of who is accepting
them and why.
Xenocentrism
The culture that is being practiced is
far more superior than that of one’s
culture.
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
AND THEORISTS
Functionalism, Conflict Theory and
Symbolic Interactionism
Sociology is a science guided by the
basic understanding that “the social
matters: our lives are affected, not only
by our individual characteristics, but by
our place in the social world.”
Sociological Imagination is the ability
to look beyond the individual as the
cause for success/failure and see how
one’s society influences the outcome.
ENCULTURATION, ASSIMILATION,
ACCULTURATION
Enculturation (A + A = AA)
- Process
- Observation
- Personal or direct experiences
- We learn the culture of our own
Assimilation (A – A + B = B)
 - Taking on a new culture as your
own
Acculturation (A + B = AB)
- Adopting traits and pieces of
another culture, while
maintaining your original culture
as well
Gatekeeper maintains and ensures
that culture is being transmitted.
3 THINGS THAT MAKE UP A
CULTURE
Symbols
- Anything that comes a specific,
meaning that’s recognized by
people who share a culture.
e.g. stop sign, “to wait” or “hold on”
Norms
- Refers to what we perceive as
normal
- Rules and expectations that
guide behavior within a society.
e.g. shaking hands when you meet
someone
Values
- These are the desirable, good,
and beautiful that serve as
broad guidelines for social
living.
- The cultural standards that
people use to decide what’s
good or bad, what’s right or
wrong.
- 2 sides (good or bad)
e.g. integrity, honesty, and fairness
Beliefs
- Specific ideas about what
people think is true about the
world.
e.g. superstition beliefs in Philippines
3 MAIN TYPES OF NORMS
1. Folkway
- The informal little rules that kind
of go without saying.
e.g. if you walk inside the elevator, you
face the wall instead of the door.
2. MORES
- more official than folkways and tend
to be codified, or formalized, as the
stated rules and laws of a society.
- are not universal
e.g. Wearing Hawaiian shirts in the
workplace? Probably not. No shirt?
You’re fired.
3. TABOO
- most serious
- the norms that are crucial to a
society’s moral center, involving
behaviors that are always negatively
sanctioned.
- NEVER OKAY, no matter the
circumstance, and they violate your
very sense of decency.
e.g. cannibalism, incest, and child
molestation
Norms like these and many others
help societies function well, but norms
can also be a kind of constraint, a
social control that holds people back.
Why sociologists study culture?
Culture is known for providing
people the values, beliefs, behavior,
and material objects in order to form
a way of life which influences our
behavior. Sociologists study culture
for the purpose of giving an overview
of how people’s behaviors vary from
one place to another. Establishing
reasons for social differences,
including differences in social
behavior are identified. Through this,
we are able to avoid judging or
delegating which one if inferior or
superior to which. Furthermore,
studying culture can make people
ready or able to deal with interacting
in a global society and help them
avoid culture shock as well.