MODULE 2

LESSON 1: CULTURE AND SOCIETY: THE PERSPECTIVES OF

ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY

MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCIES

 Analyze the concept, aspect and changes in/of culture and
society.

LD LESSON DISCUSSION

SOCIETY (sociology)
– Constitution of social actors in constant interaction.

CULTURE (anthropologic)
- a set of practices and traditions that define a specific society. The ‘inclusive’ approach
to understand the utility of culture and society as explanatory tools is hoped to provide
an appreciation of their usefulness that transgresses the traditional barriers known as
disciplinal boundaries.

FILLING IN THE CIRCLE WEEK 2 SUBJECT:

Fill in the circles with the appropriate words.

suicide diet/food national flag language

house design marriage ceremony contractualization crime

type of government inheritance table manners weaving designs

respect for old people sports women in labor force religion

value of children clothing women as government officials accent

CULTURE SOCIETY

POLITICS

NAME: _______________________ 1
 THE INTERPRETATIVE DYNAMIC OF SOCIETY
SOCIETY AS CONCEPT
‘SOCIETY’ was coined by social scientists to facilitate their exploration of social
phenomena.

Society represents an ideal type, which more or less depicts the form, process,
and dynamics of the social reality it embodies.

SOCIETY AS A FACTILITY
SOCIETY is formally defined as constituting a fairly large number of people who
are living in the same territory, are relatively independent of people outside their
area, and participate in a common culture.

SOCIETY is seen as an outcome of multiple interactions of people upon which

succeeding interactions are made meaningful and possible.

WHAT MAKES SOCIETY POSSIBLE:

THREE THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

1. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONAL
2. CONFLICT THEORY
3. SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

Q: What makes Society Possible?

1. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM AND SOCIAL ORDER

Argues that society is made possible by cooperation and independence.

This view sees society as a system with parts, and these parts have their respective
function to perform.
The health and condition of the entire system is dependent on these two processes of
functions and interdependence.

2. CONFLICT THEORY AND CONFLICT

Instead of putting importance to social order, the
conflict perspective sees society as an arena.
(Social actors are gladiators fighting for their very
lives. The winner takes the rewards and is assured
of freedom.)

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 Conflict approach do not take the usual assumptions about nature and ethos of conflict.
Rather than emphasizing competition, this view sees conflict as something positive
and advantageous.
Conflict makes change and dynamism – features of society that have not been clearly
conceived by the structural functional theory.
Conflict brings a new set of relations and interactions, which produces new dynamism in
society.

A: The Conflict theory invokes the social processes rather than functions and
Interdependence.

3. SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM AND MEANING MAKING

Unlike the previous two theories, symbolic interactionism does not deal with either order
or conflict. Instead, it explores the issue of meaning - making and why this is crucial in
understanding order or conflict as processes that brought about society.

A: The symbolic interactionist perspective would say symbols and

meanings.
NAME: _______________________ WEEK 2

Subject:

Assess whether the statements in column A are true or false. In column B, write T if
the statement is true and F if the statement is false.

COLUMN A COLUMN B
1. Society is a historical formed entity.
2. Conflict over limited resources may spark cooperation more than conflict.
3. Symbols are something that represent something else.
4. When parts of a system perform their assigned functions, social order is
assured.
5. Unwritten and invisible rules are more powerful than written ones.
6. Meaning is objectively derived from symbols.
7. The function of a part in the overall operations of the whole.
8. Society is a concept that can be used to grasp complex social
phenomena.
9. Society is made possible by social interactions.
10. Most of our day-to-day actions and interactions are governed by
unwritten and invisible rules.

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 LESSON 2: ASPECT OF CULTURE

THE COMPLEXITY OF CULTURE

CULTURE is people’s way of life.
(E.B. TAYLOR) “THAT COMPLES WHOLE, WHICH ENCOMPASSES BELIEFS,
PRECTICES, VALUES, ATTITUDES, LAWS, NORMS, ARTIFACTS, SYMBOLS,
KNOWLEDGE, AND EVERYTHING THAT A PERSON LEARNS AND SHARES AS A
MEMBER OF SOCIETY”
The “COMPLEX WHOLE” in the above paragraph suggests that culture cannot be
simply broken down into a set of attributes.
It means that an understanding of a part can only be achieved (or is only possible) in
relation to the other parts of the system.

THE WHAT, HOW, AND WHY OF CULTURE

 WHAT – Actions, artifacts, language and behavior that characterize a given culture.
 HOW – identifies the processes that guarantee the transmission and dissemination of
the contents.
 WHY - Pinpoints the reasons why individuals comply and the mechanisms that
facilitate the performance of expected behaviour.

ENCULTURATION AND THIRD CULTURE SHOCK

ENCULTURATION
 Refers to the gradual acquisition of the characteristics
and norms of a culture or group by a person, another
culture, etc.
 Starts with actual exposure to another culture and the
duration and extent of exposure account for the quality
of the resulting enculturation. (Ex. THIRD CULTURE
SHOCK)

ASPECTS OF CULTURE
E.B. TAYLOR
– English Anthropologist
– Was the first to coin the term ‘CULTURE’ in the eighteenth
century.
– The study of society is incomplete w/o proper
understanding of the culture of the society because culture
and society go together.

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 DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE
B. Malinowski
– “The handwork of man and the medium through which he achieves his
ends.”

V. de Robert
– “the body of thought and knowledge, both theoretical and practical, which only man an
possess.”

R. Redfield
-“an organized body of conventional understandings manifest in art which persisting
through tradition, characterizes a human group”

CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
 “way of life” “design for living”

Kluckhorhn & Kelly

– “ A culture is a historically derived system of explicit and implicit designs for living,
which tends to be shared by all or specially designed members of a group”

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.

ESSENCES OF CULTURE AS A SYSTEM

1. Super-Organic – the same physical objects may constitute a variety of quite different
cultural objects and cultural characteristics.
2. Integrated – its various parts are integrated with each other and any new element
introduced is also integrated.
3. Pervasive – it spreads throughout different social activities and institutions.

7 CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
1. Culture is social because it is the product of behavior
– Culture does not exist in isolation, but it is a product of society, and develops through
social interaction.

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 – Culture learnings are the product of behavior

2. Culture varies from society to society.

– Every society has a culture of its own that differs from other societies.
– Cultures and cultural elements like customs, traditions, morals, values and beliefs are
not uniform.
– Culture varies from time to time as well.
– Culture is a human product; it is not independently endowed with life.

3. Culture is shared.
– Culture is not something that an individual alone can possess
– Customs, traditions, beliefs, ideas, values, morals, etc. are all shared by people of a
group or society.
– Persons may share some part of a culture unequally.
– Sometimes people share different aspects of a culture.

4. Culture is learned.
– Culture is often called “learned ways of behaviour”
– However, not all behaviour is learned, but most of it is learned
– Sometimes the terms “conscious learning” and “unconscious learning” are used to
distinguish the learning.
– Obvious behaviours are called “overt” behaviors while less visible ones are called
“covert” behaviors.

5. Culture is transmitted among members of society.

– The cultural ways are learned by persons from persons.
– Culture is transmitted from one generation to another.
– Transmission of culture is made possible by the main vehicle of culture: Language.
– Transmission of culture may take place by imitation as well as by instruction.

6. Culture is continuous and cumulative.

– Culture exists as a continuous process, and in its historical growth, it tends to become
cumulative.
– There are subcultures within a culture

■ Subcultures – clusters of patterns which are both related to the general culture and yet
are distinguishable from it.
– There is one fundamental and inescapable attribute of culture: the fact of unending
change.

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 7. Culture is gratifying and idealistic.
– Culture provides proper opportunities for the satisfaction of our needs and desires.
– Culture determines and guides various activities of man.
– It is the sum-total of the ideal patterns and norms of behavior of a group.
– Culture consists of intellectual, artistic and social ideals and institutions which the
members of the society profess and to which they strive to confirm.

FUNCTIONS OF CULTURES
1. Culture defines situations
 Each culture has many subtle cues which define each situation. It reveals whether one
should prepare to fight, run, laugh, or make love.
 One does not know what to do in a situation until he has defined the situation.

2. Culture defines attitudes, values, and goals.

 Each person learns from his\her culture what is good, true, and beautiful.
 Attitudes, values, and goals are defined by culture, and the individual normally learns
them as unconsciously as he or she learns language.

3. Culture defines myths. Legends, and the supernatural.

 Myths and legends are important parts of every culture.
 Culture also provides the individual with a ready-made view of the universe.
 The nature of the divine power and the important moral issues are defined by the culture

4. Culture provides behavior patterns.

 Culture lets people find a ready-made set of patterns awaiting them which they need only
to learn and follow
 If people use culture to advance their purposes, it is clear that a culture imposes limits on
human and their activities

ETHNOCENTRISM
 Ethnocentrism is a term coined by William Graham Sumner
 It is the belief that your native culture is the most natural and superior way of
understanding the world.
 This is a typical situation due to lack of information about other cultures.
 Ethnocentrism is a universal human reaction found in all known societies, in all groups,
and in practically all individuals.

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FUNCTIONS OF ETHNOCENTRISM

1. Ethnocentrism encourages the solidarity of a group.

2. Ethnocentrism hinders the understanding or the cooperation between groups.
3. Ethnocentrism becomes a vehicle for the promotion of social change.

WHEN DO WE BECOME ETHNOCENTRIC AND WHAT IS OUR WAY OUT?

1. When you judge the behavior and beliefs of people who are different from you
– Way out: you must stop judging others who are different from you
2. When you believe that there are primitive cultures, especially if their way of life is different
from yours
– Way out: Ethnocentrism is taught. You have to unlearn that your culture is superior and all
other cultures are inferior.
3. When you believe that some cultures are backward if they lack the technology and
consumerism of your own culture.
– Way out: Remember that there are no primitive or backward cultures. All cultures provide
their members with the means for meeting all human needs.

CULTURAL RELATIVISM

 Cultural relativism is the idea that all norms, beliefs, and values are dependent on their
cultural context and should be treated as such.

 Cultural relativism promotes greater appreciation of the cultures one encountered along
the way.

 It is a good way to rehearse the norms and values of society – a requirement that one
must subscribe to regardless of his/her cultural origin

 The concept of cultural relativism does not mean that all customs are equally valuable,
nor does it imply that no customs are harmful.

 The central point in cultural relativism is that in a particular cultural setting certain trait
are right because they work well in that setting while other traits are wrong because they
would clash painfully with parts of that culture.

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Appreciation of other cultures may be for two complementary reasons:

1. Acquisition of sufficient knowledge about the culture in question

2. Direct exposure to other cultures.

XENOCENTRISM AND XENOPHOBIA

Xenocentrism - refers to a preference for the foreign.

 It is characterized by a strong belief that one’s own

products, styles, or ideas are inferior to those

which originate elsewhere.

Xenophobia - is the fear of what is perceived as foreign or strange.

 It may include fear of losing identity, suspicion of the other group’s activities, aggression,

and the desire to eliminate the presence of the other group’s activities

CULTURE AS HERITAGE

 Culture have tangible and intangible components.

 Tangible ones are those that are produced and created based on specific and
practical purposes and aesthetic value.

 Intangible heritage may be associated with events, our national anthem, and
literary creations such as music, dances, and others.

 Preservation of heritage is tantamount to protecting them from external threats

such as destruction, mutilation, and desecration through frivolous
use/representation.

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 REFERENCE:
Understanding Culture, Society and Politics, 2016, Phoenix Publishing House Inc, Antonio P. Contreras, Arleigh Ross D. Dela Cruz,
Dennis S. Erasga and Cecilia C. Fadrigon

NAME: _______________________ WEEK 3

I. KNOWLEDGE
Assess whether the statements in column A are true or false. In column B, write T if the
statement is true and F if the statement is false.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
1. It is the habit of each group to take for granted the superiority of its
culture.
2. Cultural relativism does not mean that all customs are equally valuable,
nor does not it imply that no customs are harmful.
3. Equality and similarity do not necessarily translate to real or imagined
inferiority/superiority of cultures out there.
4. As an attitude, ethnocentrism promotes greater appreciation of the
cultures that one encounters along the way.
5. Ethnocentrism is a sense of value and community among people who
share a cultural tradition.
6. As a behavior, cultural relativism as a good way to rehearse the norms
and values of society.
7. People everywhere think that their own expectations, opinions, and
customs, are right, true, proper, natural, and moral.
8. Cultural relativism is a research method as well.
9. Ethnocentrism hinders the understanding or cooperation between
groups.
10. Ethnocentrism encourages the solidarity of a group.

II. CRITICAL THINKING

ESSAY
Write a two paragraphs essay
describing AETA family depicted in the
photo.

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