Understanding Culture,

Society and Politics

Nation-State
Is a sovereign state whose citizens or subjects
have a common culture. A major component of
personal identity.
Personal Identity
The concept you develop about yourself over the
course of life
 Society
-people who interact in a
defined territory and share a
culture
-society is the combination of
people with different cultures.
The word society comes from the latin
root socius, meaning “companion” or
“being with others.”
The society in which we live determines
everything from the food we eat to the
choices we make.
 Culture
the system of knowledge, norms and values, more
or less shared by members of a particular
society
- Like the guide or road map of living that each
member of a certain society follows
 Politics
may be defined as: (1) the art of
government, (2) public affairs,
(3) compromise and consensus,
and (4) power
Culture:
- territory
-language
- beliefs
- tradition/practices
- religion, etc.
NATION-STATE
SOCIETY 1 SOCIETY 2 SOCIETY 3

Culture Culture Culture

Each society is unique in terms of culture.

Society
PERSON
Politics

Culture
SOCIOLOGY
The systematic study of society. Sociology
is the study of human society, its origins,
functions, and problems. It focuses on
relations among people, groups, classes,
organizations, and cultures.
ANTHROPOLOGY
The etymology or origin of the term anthropology
can be traced back to two Greek words,
‘anthropos’ and ‘logos’. When translated into
English, ‘anthropos’ means ‘human’ while ‘logos’
refers to ‘knowledge’ (Eriksen 2001: 2). In this
sense, anthropology can be understood as the
‘knowledge about humans’ (Ibid.).
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Is the systematic study of politics.
May be defined as: (1) the art of
government, (2) public affairs, (3)
compromise and consensus, and (4) power
Why do we need to study
Society, Culture and
Politics?
Culture- essential for researching about our
past. Studying culture, allows us to have
knowledge of our own lifeblood tradition, the
things that made us who we are today. To know
how valuable it is to have one, and to preserve its
existence. Culture is also an identity, the
difference between us and other people from
other countries.
Society-there are many things that are to be
studied in the society, but most important is the
significance of the people. Knowing how the
society functions as a whole and as a part of our
lives, helps us come up of a better way of
improving it or sustaining its brilliance. The
country’s’ well-being can also be seen in its
societies.
Politics- it is best to be a wise citizen in a world
full of deceptions and empty promises. We are in
a democratic country, the people has all the
power to make a country rise from the ground.
But if someone isn’t aware of how politics work
or how it should work, leaves people’s ignorance
uncured. Knowing this is important for we need
to be wise on which we want to lead us.
Defining Society
and Culture
Types of Culture
Material Culture
- Consists of tangible things.
Ex. Technological tools, food, fashion and accessories.
Non-Material Culture
- Consists of intangible things.
Ex. Religion, ideas, behaviors/habits/gestures, language and
symbols
 Elements of Culture
Culture composes of:
Knowledge- refers to any information received and
perceived to be true

Beliefs- the perception of reality (refers to the existence of

things whether material or non-material

Social Norms- established expectations of society as to

how a person is supposed to act
NORMS
-govern our lives by giving us implicit
and explicit guidance on what to think
and believe, how to behave, and how to
interact with others.
-social guidelines
Different forms of Social Norms:

Folkways- the pattern of repetitive behavior which

becomes habitual and conventional part of living
-norms that are not strictly enforced
Examples: Manners, Etiquette
Mores- The set of ethical standards and moral obligations as
dictates of reason that distinguishes human acts as right or
wrong or good from bad
-norms that when broken, go against a society’s basic core
Ex. Crimes, Murder, Abuse
Values- anything held to be relatively worthy, important,
desirable or valuable
-ideas of what is desirable in life
Technology- practical application of
knowledge in converting raw materials into
finished products.
Social Differences/Individual
Differences
Differences among the individuals on the basis of
social characteristics and qualities.
(physical appearance, intelligence, attitude, ability,
gender/sex, socio-economic class, exceptionality)
Gender/Sex
Gender- It is the socially-constructed characteristics of
being male of female. - Serve as guide on how males and
females think and act about themselves.
-One's sense of self as masculine or feminine regardless of
external genitalia. Ex. LGBTQi
Sex- It is biological - It refers to a person based on their
anatomy
Lesbian - A woman who is emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to
other women.
Gay - Men attracted emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually to men. •
Bisexual - A person who is attracted to two sexes or two genders, but not
necessarily simultaneously or equally.
Transgender - Transgender (sometimes shortened to trans or TG)
people are those whose psychological self ("gender identity") differs
from the social expectations for the physical sex they were born with.
Queer/Questioning - a person who is attracted to multiple genders
Intersex - Intersexuality is a set of medical conditions that feature
congenital anomaly of the reproductive and sexual system.
Socio-Economic Class
It refers to the category of persons who have more
or less the same socio-economic privileges.

•Upper class •Middle class •Lower class

Exceptionality
It refers to the state of being intellectually gifted
and/or having physically or mentally challenged
conditions
Personality/ behavior • Communication (learning disability, speech impairment, and
hearing problems) • Intellect (mild intellectual & mental development disabilities) •
Physical appearance (blind-low vision) • Or combination of more than one specific
exceptionality/disability.
Cultural Variation
- It refers to the differences in social
behaviors that different cultures exhibit
around the world. What may be considered
good etiquette in one culture may be
considered bad etiquette in another.
(Religion, Ethnicity, Nationality, Belief, Tradition, Language,
Food)
Example: EYE CONTACT
• Americans look directly in each other’s eyes when talking.
• Most Western people think that if people are afraid to look others in
the eye, means they are hiding something or lying.
• In China, long eye contact makes people weird and people frequently
avoid direct eye contact with others.
• In Japan and Africa, prolonged eye contact is offensive and
disrespectful.
• In Arabic cultures, prolonged eye contact shows interest and helps
them understand the other person..
• People from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean avoid eye
contact to show respect.
GESTURES
• In the Middle East, nodding the head down indicates agreement
and nodding it up is a sign of disagreement.
• In Japan, an up-and-down nod might just be a signal that
someone is listening .
• Americans and Chinese; nodding or moving the head up and
down means “Yes” and shaking the head from one side to the
other means “No”.
In India, nodding the head means “No” while shaking it means
“Yes”
• The thumbs-up signal is vulgar in Iran and Latin America.
• “Ok” signal, refers to money while in others, it is an
extremely offensive referring to a private body part.
• Americans use index finger; Germans use their little finger,
Japanese and Thais use their entire hand to point.
• To start counting, the Germans use their thumb; the
Japanese use their little finger ; the Indonesians use their
middle finger
Religion-‘religare’ a Latin word – ‘to bind together’ • is a
system of beliefs and practices as well as systems of
actions directed toward entities which are above men • is
an organized system of ideas about the spiritual sphere or
the supernatural
Ethnicity- It is the expression of the set of cultural ideas
held by a distinct ethics or indigenous group.
NATIONALITY - It is the legal relationship that binds a
person and a country. - It allows the state to protect and
have jurisdiction over a person.
Cultural Relativism
the ethical insistence that other cultures can only
be evaluated and understood in terms of their
own standards and values
Ethnocentrism
Viewing other peoples and ways of life in
terms of one’s own cultural assumptions
An ethnocentric attitude can be an obstacle to understanding each
other culture and foster tensions within or between societies.