UNDERSTANDING

CULTURE,
SOCIETY
AND POLITICS
CULTURE
- It is defined as the custom
beliefs, social forms, and traits
that defines a specific racial,
religious or social group.
MATERIAL CULTURE
– it is a type of culture that are created by
human person or is tangible.
Examples are food, clothing and technology
NON-MATERIAL CULTURE
– it is a type of culture that are being learned or
observed by human.
Examples are religions, folk behavior, gestures
and customs
SOCIETY
Comes from the Latin word “socius”
which means comrade, companion or
friend .
Pertains to a group of individuals
involved in social interaction or
sharing the same geographical or
social territory.
POLITICS
- Comes from the Greek word
“Politika” which means affairs of
the cities.
- Refers to achieving and exercising
positions of governance over a
human community.
ANTHROPOLOGY
- is derived from two Greek words
“anthropos” and logos, which
intensively studies human and the
respective cultures where they were
born and actively belong to.
FRANZ BOAZ
-, a physicist, strongly believed that the
same method and strategy could be applied
in measuring culture and human behavior
while conducting research among humans
including uniqueness of their cultures.
-Father of American Anthropology
SOCIOLOGY
- is the study of society, social
institutions, and social relationships.
- is interested in describing and
explaining human behavior, especially
as it occurs within a social context
AUGUST COMTE (1798-1857)
is the person who “invented” sociology in 1842, by
bringing together the Greek word socius or “
companion” and the Latin word logy or “study”.
Comte suggested that there were three stages in the
development of societies, namely the theological
stage, the metaphysical stage, and the positive stage.
- Father of Sociology
HARRIET MARTINEAU (1802-1876)
• The founding MOTHER OF SOCIOLOGY
an English writer and reformist. In her accounts
in her book How to Observe Morals and
Manners (1838)
- the deep sociological insights we call now
ethnographic narratives are fully expressed.
KARL MARX (1818-1883)
-a German philosopher and revolutionary
further contributed to the development of
sociology.
- conflict theory.
- He wrote the Communist Manifesto, a
book that is focused on the misery of the
lower class (working class)caused by the
existing social order.
EMILE DURKHEIM’S (1864-1920)
- a French sociologist who put forward the idea
that individuals are more products rather than
the creator of society .
- In his book Suicide, Durkheim proved that
social forces strongly impact on people’s lives
and that seemingly personal event is not
personal after all.
MAX WEBER (1864-1920)
- stressed the role of rationalization in the
development of society.
RATIONALIZATION
- refers essentially to the disenchantment of the
world.
- As science began to replace religion, people
also adopted a scientific or rational attitude to
the world. People refused to believe in myths
and superstitious beliefs.
 THE 6 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
BUREAUCRATIC THEORY ARE:
1. Task specialization (Specialization and Division of
Labor)
2. Hierarchical of authority
3. Formal selection
4. Rules and requirements
5. Impersonal (Impersonality and Personal
Indifference)
6. Career orientation
POLITICAL SCIENCE
- is part of the social sciences that deals with
the study of politics, power, and government.
POLITICS
- refers to the process of making collective
decisions in a community, society, or group
through application of influence and power”
- guiding rules togovern the state. 
Policy-making and government
decisions should be done through
proper research,
social investigation, analysis,
validation, planning, execution
and evaluation.
Why understanding culture, society
and politics is important?

How can we improve our

awareness on the social, cultural
and political changes through
understanding culture, society and
politics ?
 SOCIAL,
POLITICAL,
AND CULTURAL
PHENOMENA
1. ISTAMBAY – usual scene in the streets of Manila
and elsewhere in the urban areas in the country.
2. LAGAY – given in order to get someone to do
something .
3. FOOD TABOOS
- is a prohibition against consuming certain foods.
- These food taboos or prohibitions may be
associated with special events such as childbirth,
pregnancy, menstrual period or breast feeding.
4. SAME – SEX PARTNERSHIP –
about form of lifestyle associated with
a specific sexual preference and
romantic arrangement .
5. USE OF A GO – BETWEEN/
PADRINO - given in order to get
someone to do something .
SOCIAL DYNAMICS : SOCIAL ,POLITICAL
, AND CULTURAL CHANGE
1. SELFEING – behavioral pattern due to the
infiltration of technology.
2. POLITICAL DYNASTY
-refers to families whose members are engaged in
politics
-usually have a strong local support base.
3.TRANSNATIONAL FAMILIES –
represents an emerging pattern of family
relations .
4.YOUTH VOLUNTEERISM – about
volunteerism which appears to be a personal
expression of a political principle by an
increasing number of people.
5. VIDEO GAMING – fast becoming a normal
behavioral pattern among the younger members
of the Filipino society .
CULTURE
- WAYS OF LIVING
KLUCKHOHN AND KELLY
- Explicit and implicit designs for living
EXPLICIT CULTURE
- refers to similarities in words and actions
which can be directly observed
IMPLICIT CULTURE
- exists in abstract forms which are not quite
obvious.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
1.Culture is social because it is the product
of behavior.
– it is a product of society and develops
through social interaction.
2.Culture varies from society .
– every society has a culture of it’s own
that differs from other societies .
3. Culture is shared.
4.Culture is learned.
5. Culture is transmitted among
members of society.
6. Culture is continuous and
cumulative .
7.Culture is gratifying and idealistic .
FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE
1. Culture defines situations.
2. Culture defines attitudes, values ,
goals .
3. Culture defines myths , legends ,
and the supernatural.
4. Culture provides behavior pattern .
ETHNOCENTRISM
> coined by William Graham
Sumner
- comes from Greek word ethno refers
to a people, nation or cultural
grouping.
- latin word centric refers to the center.
> tendency of each society to place it’s
own culture patterns at the center of
things.
> is the practice of comparing another
cultural practices with those of one’s
own and automatically finding other
practices to be inferior.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
 all norms , beliefs and values are dependent on
their cultural context and should be treated as such.
XENOCENTRISM
Refers to a preference for the foreign.
XENOPHOBIA
Fear of what is perceived as foreign or strange.
CULTURE SHOCK
An individuals who stayed for a quite a good portion
of their lives in a foreign culture may be shocked by
their birth culture once exposed to it again.