MODULE

in
Understanding Culture,
Society and Politics (UCSP)

Name of Student:
________________________________

Grade Level / Section:

Strand:
________________________________
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 MODULE 1

THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THE THREE FACECS OF THE SOCIAL

MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING

COMPETENCIES
➢ Discuss the nature, goals and
perspectives in/of anthropology, sociology
and political science.
➢ Recognize the subjects of inquiry and
goals of anthropology, political science
and sociology.
➢ Adopt an open and critical attitude toward
different social, political and cultural
phenomena through observation and
reflection.
Fig. 1.1 The social as the merging as the merging point of the
LD sociological, anthropological and political reflections
LESSON DISCUSSION
Society in its broader sense involves social (i.e., actions and interactions), cultural (i.e,
practices and traditions) and political (i.e., power relations) realities. As formal and systematic studies
of society, these three facets are referred to as the “social science”, also known in academia as
“disciplines.” These disciplines may be likened to a lens, which changes the way the wearer sees
things in terms of color, focus and details. In other words, they change a person’s perspective.
In a way, each discipline provides unique ways of seeing and a equality unique way of
zooming in on social details. Regardless of their distinctive angles of looking, they share a common
goal: to understand the “social” and to explore how it drives the unfolding of society as we know it
(see Fig. 1.1). Let us take a closer look at each of them.
Together these sciences show the three faces of the social, with discipline representing
unique facet of it. And given their disciplinal foci, they provide a precarious yet captivating portrayals
of social life as (i) Impinged upon by social forces (ii) Routinized by cultural practices (anthropology)
and (iii) Constantly enmeshed in power relations (political science)

The junctures of this depictions of the social are sought by multidisciplinary approaches in the
analysis of the dynamics of interactions and institutions.

Examine the two sets of word/concept below. Match each word/concept in set A with the word
concept in set B by connecting their perspective dots with a line.

A B
Sociological imagination • • the search for the social
Social map • • Political Science
Traditions • • Sociology
Power relations • • social lens
Social forces • • Anthropology
Social Sciences • • perspective
Life with history • • social location

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 LESSON 1:

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS:

SOME KEY OBSERVATIONS
LESSON MOTIVATION

Food or what people around the world eat as

food, mirrors cultural diversity. Balot, for example
is a delicacy in the Philippines. Write a short
essay arguing that Balot is a unique cultural icon
of the Filipinos. Compose your essay on the
space provided below:

CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS: AS CONCEPTUAL TOOLS

Culture, Society and Politics are concepts. They exist in the

realm of ideas and thoughts. As, such, they cannot be seen or
touched and yet they influence the way we see and experience our
individual and collective lives as social beings.

Charles S. Pierce – (American Philosopher) - Describes the concept as the “Rational Purport of a
word or a conception.” This simply suggest that to turn a phenomenon into concept means, for one
thing, to make it more rational. Instead of using a word more or less automatically, an attempt is now
made to scrutinize it and try to decide what is essential to it.

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Just like any other words, concepts are initially invented as icons to capture (or represent) phenomena
and in the process assist their users/inventors to describe facets of social experience in relation to
the phenomena concerned. As their sharpness as icons became indubitably useful and practical, they
began not only to be used as a tool to explorer social experiences and phenomena; their “organizing
effects” are utilized as well in making sense of social realities altogether.

Max Weber– (German Sociologist) To deconstruct old ones and replace them with something new.
This concept is perhaps the reason he admitted that concept is one of the great tools of all scientific
knowledge.

STUDENT AS SOCIAL BEINGS

The way we live our lives—or should we say, the way

we are being steered to live our lives presupposes

omnipotent forces shaping the very fabric of our

existence. The categories that we possess as

individuals—labels that are ascribed or given to us

individually and collectively—are testament to the

operation of these forces which leave us unsuspecting of their intrusive and punitive implications in

our lives. Our categories as male/female, rich/poor, or tall/short and even the problematic effect of

the color of our skin are evidences of the operation of these social forces.

Our sociality is defined by the very categories that we possess, the categories assigned to us by the

society at large. These labels so to speak, function, as tags with which our society read our worth

and value. These categories that we possess are not natural; rather they are socially constructed.

The personal traits and social positions that members of a society attach to being male or female

reflect this insight. Even before we see the first light of day, our world is already being organized by

society: as boys & girls we have been assigned appropriate Colors, Toys, Clothes, Mannerism,

Etiquette, Career, Choice of mate. In short, the totality of our sociality has already been constructed

for us.

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 SOCIAL REALITIES: BEHAVIOR & PHENOMENON

There are times that we find ourselves in a situation unlike other situations. We personally
encounter different ways of doing things, behaving, and making sense of events. Observing them,
we cannot help but ask: Why do people do such a thing? What makes it normal and acceptable to
some people in some places and unacceptable to others in other places?

These questions are triggered by our habit of looking at other people’s worlds as we look at
our own. In order to explore the issue further, consider the following situations in the table below.

Situation Behavior and Phenomena

1. There are times that we find ourselves in a
situation unlike other situations. We
istambay
personally encounter different ways of doing
things, behaving, and making sense of
events.
2. As a businessman, Mang Leo is used to
giving “padulas” (or lagay) to his main supplier
lagay
in order to expedite his business transactions
with them.
3. Member of the Seventh-Day Adventist
Church are strongly prohibited from eating
food
pork and food with blood, as well as from
smoking and drinking alcohol beverages.
4. Darius is open gay. He lives with his partner
Garner. He and Garner are both college
same-sex partnership
professors in the local city college.
5. If grades were to be the basis of Rusty’s
standing in his economics class, he would
surely fail the course. However, he was given
a passing grade by his economics teacher, Use of a go-between/padrino
who happened to be a childhood friend of his
mother.

Situation 1 is a behavioral example. Istambay is usual scene in the streets of Manila and elsewhere
in the urban areas in the country. It is a behavioral feature of most young people who feel that the
company of other young people is more meaningful and exciting than staying at home or reading
books. Situations 2 and 5 are the same category; they are about a set of practices. Situation 2 is
about bribing, while Situation 5 is about the use of an influential mediator. In both cases, undue
influence either through money or connections is being revolving around the nexus of health and
religion. Lastly, Situation 4 is about a form of lifestyle associated with a specific sexual preference
and romantic arrangement.

VALUES AND BELIEFS AS BEHAVIOR MOTIVATORS

In the five situations above. It can be observed that human behavior, whether individual of
collective is propelled by powerful motivators. Within the perspective of the social sciences these
motivators may be in the form of value and beliefs. Value are a person’s or a collectivity’s principles
or standards of behavior and are considered as judgement of what is important in life. They are

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important and lasting beliefs or ideal shared by the members of a culture about what is good or bad
and desirable or undesirable. Values are the criteria people use in assessing their daily lives,
arranging priorities, and choosing between alternative courses of action.
Belief, on the other hand, is something one accepts are true or real. More often that not belief
takes the form of firmly held opinion or conviction. Beliefs may be based on tradition, faith,
experiences, scientific research, or some combination of these. Both value and beliefs are commonly
shared by a particular culture.

SOCIAL DYNAMIC: SOCIAL, POLITICAL & CULTURAL CHANGE

Consider the following situations in the table below.

SCENARIO PHENOMENON
1. Taking “selfies” is Kara’s preoccupation. It became a habit when her
parent gave her a phone on her birthday

Reference: https://www.shutterstock.com/search/filipino+selfie
selfieing
2. Kapitan Tim is the incumbent mayor of the City of Amin-Amin. His son,
Timmy Jr. is currently running for the congressional seat of the district,
a position occupied by his mother, Cong. Valencia for about three
consecutive terms.

Reference: https://politicalissuexe1.wordpress.com/2014/04/07/political-dynasty/
political dynasty
3. Amina, a college student, is living alone in Manila. Both of her parents
are OFW working in the Middle East. She visits them every summer
break.

Reference: https://medium.com/@SindyHernandez/is-family-separation-worth-it-7f924a14b7a6
Transnational families
4. As a youth volunteer, Verna finds the rainy season a busy season due
to the frequency of typhoon-related disasters. Sometimes she even
spends her own money to buy relief goods for typhoon victims.

Reference: https://www.redcross.ca/blog/2014/2/youth-volunteers-supporting-mental-health-in-the-philippines

Youth Volunteerism
5. Michael almost missed the chance to finish his high school because he
had been absent most of the time playing Mobile Legends (ML).

Reference: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcR_Qd3imj1ERfaXKx5recYr2_Id3X5h583BcA&usqp=CAU
Video Gaming
The scenario presented in the table typify behavior and situations that are either new, emerging, and
familiar. Scenario 1 on selfies is a recent behavioral pattern due to the infiltration of technology.
Scenario 2 on political dynasty is a familiar one and reflects the durability of certain cultural and
political practices. Scenario 3 represents an emerging pattern of family relations. Just like scenario
1, Scenario 5 is about video gaming is fast becoming a normal behavioral pattern among the younger
members of the Filipino society, Lastly Scenario 4 is about volunteerism is appears to be personal
expression of a political principle by an increasing number of people.

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 What is common among the scenarios is that they may all be considered as manifestations
of cultural and political changes. New technological platforms facilitating communication, self-
expression and interactions represent the cultural change, while possession and expressions of
power represent the political change.

I. KNOWLEDGE

A. Write a short essay that answer the Lesson 1: What constitutes our sociality as human beings?

B. Matching Type: Choose the answer from following terms/concepts below.

Write the letters of the correct answer.

a. Cultural change e. Culture

b. Political change f. Politics
c. Beliefs g. Society
d. Values

__________1. The most fundamental, intrusive and limiting social label attached to members of society.
__________2. It encompasses the complex processes and dynamics that characterized the great variety
of “ways of living” practiced and observed around the world.
__________3. These are a person’s or a collectivity’s principles or standards of behavior and are
considered as judgement of what important in life.
__________4. It refers to firmly held opinion or conviction, regardless of the lack of verifiable evidence.
__________5. It is represented by new technological platforms facilitating communication, self-expression
and interactions.

II. CRITICAL THINKING

Kuha’rili (a.k.a. Selfie)

(A clipped version of “kuhasasarili” by A. Contresas

(2015)

A selfie is a self-photograph, habitually taken with

camera phone held in the hand or recently supported
by a selfie stick. Selfies are often intended to be
shared on social networking sites such as Facebook,

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Instagram and Twitter. They are usually taken to capture the ongoing mood and unique backgrounds.
They are flattering, made to appear casual and impromptu.

In the photo presented, the students will offer a critical insight on how selfie can be read as an image
of the social by listing down 15 words that best describe the photo and try to connect the words and
compose 5 sentences paragraph revolving around the attributes to selfie (or selfieing).

III. PERFORMANCE TASK

Complete the Matrix

I am __________________ (your name) and I am a (boy/girl)

The following are the compartments representing what I can and cannot do.
Things I can do Things I cannot do