UNDERSTANDING CULTURE

AND SOCIETY:
ANTHROPOLOGY AND
SOCIOLOGY
 WHAT IS A UNIQUE
CULTURE THAT IS ONLY
FOUND IN SSAM?
 ANTHROPOLOGY

Gr. Anthropos (human); gr. Logos

(science)

Scientific study of humankind

 ANTHROPOLOGY

The most scientific of the

humanities, and the most
humanistic of the sciences
-Eric Wolf
 ANTHROPOLOGY

Answers: what makes us human?

Holistic Perspective
HISTORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY
■ Herodotus, writing about the conflicts between he Greeks
and the Persian Empire, remarked the that the Greece was
dominant in the West and Persia was dominant in the East.
■ Modern anthropology can be traced back to Europe in the
Early Modern Period. Age of Discovery resulted in
interactions between Europeans and peoples.
■ The earliest works related to anthropology were treatise on
human nature, conflict, and the role of society in regulating
the tendencies of man.
HISTORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY
■ In 1625, Hugo Grotius, a Dutch jurist and scholar,
published his book ‘On Law of War and Peace’ in an
attempt to create a general theory of law tat would
regulate war and minimize bloodshed.
■ In 1651, Thomas Hobbes published the Leviathan.
■ Leviathan- human being’s natural state is one in which
individuals are at war with themselves and with each other,
and self-interest is the principal driving force behind
human activity. Peace would only be achieved when people
agree to subject themselves to an absolute power.
HISTORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY
■ On the contrary, John Locke held opposing views. He
believed that peace is humanity’s natural state, that
people are social in nature and that they have
inherent, inalienable rights.
■ Samuel von Pufendor, believed that humans, in their
nature as social beings, have rights to equality and
freedom based on their dignity and that slavery is not
part of the natural order.
HISTORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY
■ 19th century started the study of human culture.
■ Sir Edward Burnett Taylor provided the earliest
definition of culture: ‘that complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom,
and any other capabilities and habits acquired by
man as a member of society. Established a theory
based on the theory of Darwin about evolution.
HISTORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY
■ Lewis Henry Morgan argued that European
civilization was the pinnacle of human society,
and that other forms od society were backward,
savage, and barbaric.
■ Social Darwinism- theory used to justify
imperialism
■ In the 1920s and 1930s, Franz Boas expressed
his opposition with the idea of Social Darwinism.
HISTORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY
■ Franz Boas argued that genetic differences
between societies could not explain differences
in culture and that these cultural differences
were due to factors such as historical events
and migration, rather than genetic or
physiological superiority or inferiority.
■ Additionally, he said that fieldwork, or
experiencing firsthand of the cultures they
sought to study. (Cultural Relativism)
HISTORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE 20TH CENTURY
■ Structural Anthropology- Claude Levi-Strauss; proposes
that hidden rules or structures underlie and govern all
human thought and practices
■ Cultural Materialism- Marvin Harris; sees cultural
systems as a function between human populations, their
environments, and the resources in their environment.
■ Symbolic Anthropology- Clifford Geertz and Victor Turner;
postulated that cultural practices and symbols are
manifestations of how societies ascribe meaning to
various phenomena, and can therefore be used to better
understand those societies.
 METHODS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
■ Interviews are essential tools used by
anthropologists and other social scientists to
understand the culture they are studying and
obtain valuable information.
■ Participant observation is a method which is doe
by living with a group and participating in their
culture, while taking notes.
SUBDISCIPLINE OF ANTHROPOLOGY

EARLY CLASSIFICATION OF ANTHROPOLOGY

1. Physical Anthropology- evolution of human
beings and institutions
2. Cultural Anthropology- main focus is the
interaction between human beings and
institutions.
SUBDISCIPLINE OF ANTHROPOLOGY
CLASSIFICATION OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Biological Anthropology
AKA physical anthropology; branch of anthropology
that relates directly to biological sciences as it
seeks to know the origins of human beings as a
species and the evolution of their bodies in their
present form.
SUBDISCIPLINE OF ANTHROPOLOGY
CLASSIFICATION OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Archeology
Study of human activity through recovery and
analysis of physical remains such as fossils and
ruins to contribute to existing knowledge on
human prehistory and evolution. Archeologists
aims to understand human life in the ancient past
by making associations between such finds and
the civilization’s immediate environment.
SUBDISCIPLINE OF ANTHROPOLOGY
CLASSIFICATION OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Anthropological Linguistics
AKA linguistic anthropology; deals with principles
concerning the formation and evolution of
language. It also studies how language affects
culture and how culture influences the dynamism
of language.
SUBDISCIPLINE OF ANTHROPOLOGY

CLASSIFICATION OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Cultural Anthropology
Concern with the study of past and present
cultures. Generally study cultures through
observation of or immersion in a particular group
or community.
 SOCIOLOGY

The science that attempts the interpretative

understanding of social actions. –Max Weber

The study of the relationship and correlations

between various social phenomena, the relationship
between social and non-social aspects of life , and
the general characteristics common to all classes of
social phenomena. – Pitirim Sorokin
 SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
Ability to understand the social world by drawing
relationships between social forces and the actions
of individuals.

Through sociological imagination, people will

veer away from their personal world view and
analyze daily events and phenomena through
a much broader perspective.
 HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGY
■ Ancient Greek and Roman scholars discussed social
cohesion, collective solidarity, and community in
their various works.
■ 19th Century- Sociology as a formal discipline was
born. August Comte coined the term sociology which
was derived from the Latin word socius
[compassion] and logia [study].
■ August Comte and Herbert Spencer suggested that a
science of society would lead to an improved
understanding of how society works, enabling us to
shape it for the better.
 HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGY
■ 19th Century- social problems were also viewed as
consequences of scientific and democratic
revolution. Ex.: Frederic Le Play’s The European
Workers (a landmark study of the social aspect of
the working classes in Continental Europe); Alexis de
Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (explanation of
the social structures and institutions in the US);
Ferdinand Tonnies’ Community and Society (argued
that social problems in the West were primarily
caused by its transition)
 HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGY
■ 1890- University of Kansas in the United States
offered the first course in sociology under the name
Elements of Society
■ 1893- Rene Worms founded the International
Institute of Sociology, which superseded in 1949 by
the International Sociological Association
■ 1895- University of Bourdeux established the first
department of sociology by Emile Durkheim
■ 1919- Max Weber at the Ludwig Maximilian
University of Munich established a department of
sociology
 METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY
METHODS DESCRIPTION
1. Case Studies Involve analyzing a single case or example.
2. Longitudinal Studies Involve collecting information from a sample of people at
certain intervals over a period of time.
3. Experiments These aim to measure the effects of one variable on
another, aiming to establish a cause and effect
relationship between these variables.
4. Social Surveys These use structured and standardized questionnaires or
data collection instruments to collect information from
large numbers of people.
5. Interviews A method of gathering information by asking question
orally.
SUBDISCIPLINES OF SOCIOLOGY
APPLIED SOCIOLOGY
The use of existing research data to solve social problems
CULTURAL SOCIOLOGY
Systematic analysis of the historical process involved in cultural
phenomena
DEMOGRAPHIC SOCIOLOGY
The study of population change and related phenomena
ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY
Study of relationships between economics, state, and civil society
SUBDISCIPLINES OF SOCIOLOGY
ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY
Study of the relationship between societal well-being and
environmental quality
HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY
Study of human relations, social patterns, and customs over the
course of time
INDUSTRIAL SOCIOLOGY
The study of social relationships and social structures in business
settings
POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY
The study of how political phenomena influence social structures
SUBDISCIPLINES OF SOCIOLOGY
RURAL SOCIOLOGY
Study of rural society and human relationships in rural
environment
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Study of human nature, traits, belief systems, attitudes, and
morals
SOCIOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT
Analyzes the interface of socio-cultural circumstances and
processes of development
SOCIOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE
Study of knowledge as social product
SUBDISCIPLINES OF SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION
The study of religion as both a belief system and social
institution
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY
Study of analytical frameworks or paradigms used to examine
social phenomena
URBAN SOCIOLOGY
The study of metropolitan areas and their role in the
development of society
 REMINDERS
DECEMBER 11, 2018 –
WRITTEN WORK NO. 2 (QUIZ)
(LESSON 1-3)