UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS

UNIT IL:THE ORIGIN AND NATURE OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES: ANTHROPOLOGY,

SOCIOLOGY, AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

Bird’s Eye View of the Unit

 You have always been fascinated by the lives of great scientists who contributed to the knowledge
of the natural world. These giants include
 GALILEO GALILEI (1564 – 1642), who invented the telescope;
 NICOLAUS COPERNICUS (1473 – 1543), who popularized the view that the sun is the center of
the solar system;
 ISAAC NEWTON (1643 – 1727), who discovered gravity;
 CHARLES DARWIN (1809 – 1882), who proposed the controversial theory of evolution; and
 ALBERT EINSTEIN (1879 – 1955), who developed the theory of “big bang” to account for the
beginning of our universe.
 But you have not yet encountered the eminent “social scientists” who immensely contributed to
our knowledge of how society, culture, and politics work.
 They were the first to ask fascinating questions such as: “What makes social sciences similar to
natural sciences?”, “Does society exist or only the individuals who compose it?", “Do societies
share the same culture and pattern of cultural development?”, “What is the best form of
government?”. “How do you distinguish common sense from scientific way of studying society,
culture, and politics?”

The Historical background of the Growth of Social Science

 In the development and progress of human knowledge, the social science were the last to develop
after the natural sciences. And while the origin of the social science can be traced back to the
ancient Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, their development as separate fields of
knowledge only begun in the modern period (Collins 1994, p. 7).
 Before the birth of modern social sciences in the West, the study of society, culture and politics
were based on social and political philosophy (Scott 2006, p. 9).
 In return, social and political philosophies were informed by theological reasoning grounded in
Revelation based on the Bible.
 This was largely due to the dominance of religious worldview and authority during this time.
 While pre-modern social thinkers employed experiences and personal observation, just like
modern scientists, they fit them within the overall framework of their philosophy and the overall
religious scheme of the Church.

Philosophy is distinct from Science.

SCIENCE

 would have not developed if it remained under the wings of philosophy and theology.
 are based on empirical data, tested theories, and carefully contrived observations.
 It does not ask about the question about the nature of nature of truth.
 Seeks to discover the truth about specific causes of events and happenings in the natural world.
 It is inductive
 It proceeds from observing particular cases and moves toward generalizing the properties of
common to these cases to other similar cases under the same specified condition.

PHILOSOPHY

 is based on analytic understanding of the nature of truth asserted about specific topics of issues.
 It asks the questions: “What is the nature of truth?”, “How do we know what we know?”

 This definition of Science is very modern description.

 Before the modern period, the growth of the sciences was slowed down because of the
dominance of religious authority and tradition.
 However, with the breakdown of the Church and its religious power after the French revolution,
the science grew steadily and rapidly to become the most widely accepted way of explaining the
world, nature, and human beings (Harrington 2006)

 The development of the social sciences during the modern period was made possible by several
large scale social upheavals and pivotal events. They can be summarized below.

The Birth of Social Sciences as a Response to the Social Turmoil of the Modern Period
 SOCIOLOGY is a branch of the social sciences that deals with scientific study of human
interactions, social groups and institution, whole socialites, and the human world as such.
 Of course, sociology also addresses the problem of the constitution of the self and the individual,
but it only does so in relation to larger social structures and processes.
 SOCIOLOGY, therefore, is a science that studies the relationship between the individual and the
society as they develop and change in history.
 Sociology does not only study the existing social forms of interactions but also pursues the
investigation of the emergence of stable structures that sustain such interactions.

Anthropology

 Anthropology as a scientific discipline originated from social philosophy and travelogues of

Western travelers.
 It grew out of the encounter of social scientist with the non-Western world.
 According to Allan Barnard (2004), “anthropology emerged as a distinct branch of scholarship
around the middle of the nineteenth century, when public interest in human evolution took hold.
Anthropology as an academic discipline began a bit later, with the first appointments of
professional anthropologists in universities, museums, and government offices” (p. 15).
 Many pioneers in anthropology built a universal model of cultural development patterned
according to Darwin’s evolutionary theory that locates all societies in the linear evolutionary
process.
 Like sociology, anthropology developed during the years of two World Wars (Barnard 2004, p.
37).
 Four great anthropologist helped to formalize and advance anthropology as a discipline, namely
 Franz boas (1858 – 1942),
 Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski (1884 – 1942),
 Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown (1881 – 1955), and
 Marcel Mauss (1872 – 1950)

Political Science

 Political science is part of the social sciences that deals with the study of politics, power, and
government.
 In turn, politics refers to “the process of making collective decisions in a community, society, or
group through the application of influence and power” (Ethridge and Handelman 2010, p. 8).
 Political science studies how even the most private and personal decisions of individuals are
influenced by collective decisions of a community.
 Divorce, for instance, may be very personal matter among couples, but the decision and the rules
on divorce are shaped by collective decisions arrived at through conflict and antagonism of
different interest groups within society, especially religious groups.
 As women’s rights advocates often claim, “The personal is political.”
 Whereas other social sciences have a quite clear history, political science has a complex history.
 Its earlier can be traced back to the ancient Greek political philosophy of Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle.
 Later it developed into a religious-oriented tradition beginning with Augustine, and later
secularized by Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau.
 The preoccupation of these modern political philosophers is to explain the transition of Western
societies from savagery toward democratic commonwealth.
 Their works, highlighting the social contract theory, became the foundation of modern democratic
theory.
 Some scholars argue that political science is a unique American invention. Hence, its focus has
always been the narrative of democracy.
 The science of political during the 19th century was organized around the concept of the state as
elaborated by German émigré Francis Lieber, who taught at Columbia University.
 In the 20th century, the discipline of social science shifted from state-centered to pluralism as
evidenced in the works of Lawrence Lowell (Public Opinion and Popular Government, 1913) and,
later, Walter Lippmann (The Phantom Public, 1925).
 Pluralism led to the emphasis on analyzing group interests rather than the state.
 In this view, society is viewed as being composed of several competing groups with different
interests that generate conflicts.

 Later, political science will be dominated by behavioral orientation that define the discipline as
empirical science.
 This shift was advanced by David Easton in his work The Political System: An Inquiry in the State
of Political Science (1953).
 This was also the beginning of liberal tradition in political science.
 Liberal tradition champions individual freedom as best embodied in democracy. Like in sociology,
critical tradition in political science was not marginal to the discipline.
 The works of Herbert Marcuse and the members of the Frankfurt School became a loud critique
within political science itself.
 In the 20th century, political science has moved from behavioral approach that emphasizes
scientific, method towards doing research on more pressing social problems. Today, political
science is composed of diverse paradigms and interpretations.
What is Anthropology?

Anthropology is the study of what makes us human. Anthropologists take a broad approach to
understanding the many different aspects of the human experience, which we call holism. They
consider the past, through archaeology, to see how human groups lived hundreds or thousands of
years ago and what was important to them. They consider what makes up our biological bodies and
genetics, as well as our bones, diet, and health. Anthropologists also compare humans with other
animals (most often, other primates like monkeys and chimpanzees) to see what we have in common
with them and what makes us unique. Even though nearly all humans need the same things to survive,
like food, water, and companionship, the ways people meet these needs can be very different. For
example, everyone needs to eat, but people eat different foods and get food in different ways. So
anthropologists look at how different groups of people get food, prepare it, and share it. World hunger
is not a problem of production but social barriers to distribution, and that Amartya Sen won a Nobel
Prize for showing this was the case for all of the 20th century’s famines. Anthropologists also try to
understand how people interact in social relationships (for example with families and friends). They
look at the different ways people dress and communicate in different societies. Anthropologists
sometimes use these comparisons to understand their own society. Many anthropologists work in
their own societies looking at economics, health, education, law, and policy (to name just a few topics).
When trying to understand these complex issues, they keep in mind what they know about biology,
culture, types of communication, and how humans lived in the past.

The Four Subfields

American anthropology is generally divided into four subfields. Each of the subfields teaches
distinctive skills. However, the subfields also have a number of similarities. For example, each
subfield applies theories, employs systematic research methodologies, formulates and tests
hypotheses, and develops extensive sets of data.

Archaeology

Archaeologists study human culture by analyzing the objects people have made. They carefully
remove from the ground such things as pottery and tools, and they map the locations of houses, trash
pits, and burials in order to learn about the daily lives of a people. They also analyze human bones
and teeth to gain information on a people’s diet and the diseases they suffered. Archaeologists collect
the remains of plants, animals, and soils from the places where people have lived in order to
understand how people used and changed their natural environments. The time range for
archaeological research begins with the earliest human ancestors millions of years ago and extends
all the way up to the present day. Like other areas of anthropology, archaeologists are concerned with
explaining differences and similarities in human societies across space and time.
Biological Anthropology

Biological anthropologists seek to understand how humans adapt to different environments, what
causes disease and early death, and how humans evolved from other animals. To do this, they study
humans (living and dead), other primates such as monkeys and apes, and human ancestors (fossils).
They are also interested in how biology and culture work together to shape our lives. They are
interested in explaining the similarities and differences that are found among humans across the world.
Through this work, biological anthropologists have shown that, while humans do vary in their biology
and behavior, they are more similar to one another than different.

Cultural Anthropology

Sociocultural anthropologists explore how people in different places live and understand the world
around them. They want to know what people think is important and the rules they make about how
they should interact with one another. Even within one country or society, people may disagree about
how they should speak, dress, eat, or treat others. Anthropologists want to listen to all voices and
viewpoints in order to understand how societies vary and what they have in common. Sociocultural
anthropologists often find that the best way to learn about diverse peoples and cultures is to spend
time living among them. They try to understand the perspectives, practices, and social organization of
other groups whose values and lifeways may be very different from their own. The knowledge they
gain can enrich human understanding on a broader level.

Linguistic Anthropology

Linguistic anthropologists study the many ways people communicate across the globe. They are
interested in how language is linked to how we see the world and how we relate to each other. This
can mean looking at how language works in all its different forms, and how it changes over time. It
also means looking at what we believe about language and communication, and how we use
language in our lives. This includes the ways we use language to build and share meaning, to form or
change identities, and to make or change relations of power. For linguistic anthropologists, language
and communication are keys to how we make society and culture.

What is Sociology?

Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior.
Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact within
these contexts.
Because all human behavior is social, the subject matter of sociology ranges from the intimate family to the
hostile mob; from organized crime to religious cults; from the divisions of race, gender, and social class to the
shared beliefs of a common culture; and from the sociology of work to the sociology of sports.

Because sociology addresses the most challenging issues of our time, it is a rapidly expanding field whose
potential is increasingly tapped by those who craft policies and create programs.

What is Political Science?

Political science focuses on the theory and practice of government and politics at the local, state, national, and
international levels. We are dedicated to developing understandings of institutions, practices, and relations that
constitute public life and modes of inquiry that promote citizenship.

Some of the major subfields are described below.

Political Theory

Political theory is concerned mainly with the foundations of political community and institutions. It focuses on
human nature and the moral purposes of political association. To clarify these concepts, political theorists draw
on enduring political writings from ancient Greece to the present and on various writings by moral philosophers.
Political theory also focuses on empirical research into the way political institutions function in practice. Here
political theorists subject beliefs about political life found in important political writings to re-examination in
the light of ongoing human behavior. In either case, political theory seeks to ultimately deepen political
thinking and to spur citizens to responsible and creative political action.

POL S 201, Introduction to Political Theory, provides students with an overview of the main lines of thought in
political theory. Advanced courses focus on given concepts, topics, and thought in political theorizing.

Comparative Politics

Comparative politics is a broad field with a variety of approaches and goals. Some scholars and researchers
compare contemporary political systems in order to judge which types best provide particular values: order,
equality, freedom, or economic security and well-being for their citizens. Others suggest that the main purpose
of comparative politics is to provide an understanding of how and why different societies develop different
kinds of political institutions. Still others use comparative politics as a way of discovering general laws and
theories that will explain human political behavior and its variability.

Comparative politics courses are of two basic types. One offers comparisons of a particular set of problems or
institutions in a number of different countries. The second type offers in-depth analyses of the basic political
institutions and processes of a single country or group of countries in a world region.

Most students will want to begin their study of comparative politics with the Introduction to Comparative
Politics (POL S 204), which combines the two main approaches by including comparative discussions of
particular problems, issues, processes, and institutions in a wide variety of political settings as well as in-depth
readings and lectures on some of the major countries in the contemporary world.

International Relations

The field of international relations is concerned with developing an understanding of why states and non-state
international actors, like the United Nations and multinational corporations, interact as they do. International
relations is a diverse field both in terms of what kinds of behavior are studied and how they are studied.
International conflict, particularly war, continues to be an important focus of the field. Why do wars start? Who
wins and why? How can wars be prevented? What is the role of international law and organizations? As the
world has become more interdependent, scholars have become more aware of the importance of international
economic activity. As a result, scholars are analyzing world trade, communications, development, foreign
investment, and international finance. How states make foreign policy decisions is another important area of
study. National security policy, nuclear deterrence, arms control and defense spending decisions are typical
examples of foreign policy decisions.

POL S 203, International Relations, introduces the student to International politics. This is the foundation for a
wide variety of offerings at the 300 and 400 levels, such as American foreign policy, global environmental
politics, international political economy, and international conflict.

American Government and Politics

Students of American government and politics seek an understanding of politics as practiced in the United
States. In addition to courses on the American presidency, the U.S. Congress, and the courts, the department
offers specialized courses on such topics as the political role of mass media, the politics of race and ethnicity,
constitutional law, policy formation, state politics, and American political thought.

Some of the broad questions that concern students in this field are: How and why did American political
institutions, ideas, and practices develop as they have? How does one go about evaluating them? Are American
political institutions, ideas and practices unique, or are they similar to other societies? How might American
politics be improved?

POL S 202, Introduction to American Politics, is recommended preparation for most other courses in American
Politics. To acquire first-hand experience with the American political system, students are encouraged to
participate in academic internships in Washington D.C., Olympia, or Seattle.

Political Methodology

The subfield of political methodology is concerned with the philosophical bases of political science, social
science, empirical research design and analysis, and practical field research experience.

Courses in the political methodology field cover philosophical issues regarding the possibility of a science of
politics, the similarities and differences between political science and other social sciences, alternative modes
of explanation, and the truth of knowledge claims. They also examine the formulation of experimental and
non-experimental research designs for making causal inferences about political processes and behavior and
explore the. use of statistics, mathematics and computers for the analysis of political data generated by such
research designs. Students are also provided an opportunity to conduct individual and group research projects
through seminars. The political methodology faculty have current research and teaching interests in such
diverse topics as mass media, feminist theory, language politics, political economy, rational choice theory, and
public policy.

What is social identity?

Social identity relates to how we identify ourselves in relation to others according to what we have in common.
For example, we can identify ourselves according to religion or where we're from (Asian American, Southerner,
New Yorker), political affiliation (Democrat, Environmentalist), vocation (writer, artist, neurosurgeon), or
relationship (mother, father, great-aunt). In addition, some identities are stigmatized (person with AIDS,
homeless person, alcoholic) and many social identities can be multiple (an Asian American Democrat who
works as a writer). Together, the different roles a person plays can help him realize his overall identity.

Social identity can provide people with a sense of self-esteem and a framework for socializing, and it can
influence their behavior. In experiments carried out by Henri Tajfel and John Turner, it was found that people
favored the members of their own group, regardless of whether the assignment to the group was based on the
flimsiest commonality or even if it was arbitrary. In addition to how your view yourself, social identity also
influences how other people treat you.

What Is the Concept of Political Identity?

Identity is often thought of as the expression of an individual's belief system and social affiliations.
Various factors can construct an identity, including race, nationality, where a person lives and a
person's gender and sexuality. Political identity is almost always associated with a group affiliation
and describes the ways in which being a member of a particular group might express specific political
opinions and attitudes

Socialization is how we learn the norms and beliefs of our society. From our earliest family and play
experiences, we are made aware of societal values and expectations.

Socialization is the process through which people are taught to be proficient members of a society. It
describes the ways that people come to understand societal norms and expectations, to accept
society’s beliefs, and to be aware of societal values. Socialization is not the same
as socializing (interacting with others, like family, friends, and coworkers); to be precise, it is a
sociological process that occurs through socializing. As Danielle’s story illustrates, even the most
basic of human activities are learned. You may be surprised to know that even physical tasks like
sitting, standing, and walking had not automatically developed for Danielle as she grew. And without
socialization, Danielle hadn’t learned about the material culture of her society (the tangible objects a
culture uses): for example, she couldn’t hold a spoon, bounce a ball, or use a chair for sitting. She also
hadn’t learned its nonmaterial culture, such as its beliefs, values, and norms. She had no
understanding of the concept of “family,” didn’t know cultural expectations for using a bathroom for
elimination, and had no sense of modesty. Most importantly, she hadn’t learned to use the symbols
that make up language—through which we learn about who we are, how we fit with other people, and
the natural and social worlds in which we live.

Sociologists have long been fascinated by circumstances like Danielle’s—in which a child receives
sufficient human support to survive, but virtually no social interaction—because they highlight how
much we depend on social interaction to provide the information and skills that we need to be part of
society or even to develop a “self.”

The necessity for early social contact was demonstrated by the research of Harry and Margaret
Harlow. From 1957 to 1963, the Harlows conducted a series of experiments studying how rhesus
monkeys, which behave a lot like people, are affected by isolation as babies. They studied monkeys
raised under two types of “substitute” mothering circumstances: a mesh and wire sculpture, or a soft
terrycloth “mother.” The monkeys systematically preferred the company of a soft, terrycloth substitute
mother (closely resembling a rhesus monkey) that was unable to feed them, to a mesh and wire
mother that provided sustenance via a feeding tube. This demonstrated that while food was important,
social comfort was of greater value (Harlow and Harlow 1962; Harlow 1971). Later experiments
testing more severe isolation revealed that such deprivation of social contact led to significant
developmental and social challenges later in life.

What is the relationship of culture, society and politics?

Culture influences the daily state of society and its direction of development, while politics determines
the nature and form of culture and has the function of transforming it. Therefore, politics has a decisive
role in deciding which direction the culture is going to develop. Culture is the basis for shaping social
normalcy and development. Politics only fundamentally changes this foundation, while culture reflects
its reality and internality. Has nurtured social characters, such as nationality, people's general
personality characteristics and customs and habits. However, culture and politics are influencing and
interacting with each other. While politics determines culture, culture also influences politics in a
subtle manner.

The reason why culture affects a society is that culture not only shapes the human nature of people in
the society, but also casts people’s world outlook, outlook on life, and values; social customs and
ethical morality are gradually formed in the process of cultural influence. Fixed down. In a certain
sense, the sociality of a society is a concentrated expression of the social culture. Harrison believes:
"Culture is the values, beliefs, and concepts shared by members of a society. These values, beliefs,
and attitudes are mainly through the environment, religion, and the adoption of child-rearing practices,
religious practices, education systems, media, and The historical accidental factors that were passed
down from their peers were formed." The impact of culture on society is in all aspects, from the
formulation and implementation of policies and laws, the formation of social ideologies and customs,
and the status of interpersonal relationships, while the smaller ones involve the shaping of individual
personalities and the establishment of ideological concepts. Behavioral performance and so on. In
general, culture will generally affect the status, direction, and speed of a society's activities. When
culture succeeds in shaping the customs of a society, then the customs and habits of this society will
edify and influence people's ideas, behaviors, and personalities; therefore, there will be such things as
Tocqueville. This phenomenon was said to have occurred.

The impact of culture on the path of social evolution is not only crucial to achieving the goal of
reducing poverty and injustice throughout the world, it is also a key factor in foreign policy.