UNDERSTANDING

CULTURE,
SOCIETY AND
POLITICS
 Definition:
Sociology – the science that treats of
the development and structure of
society and social relationships.
Society – any
organized association, a
community or the body of mankind.
Culture – the skills, arts, etc. of a given
people in a given period; the customary
beliefs, social forms, material traits of a
religious, social or racial group.
• Anthropology – the scientific
study of human beings, their
origins, distribution, physical
attributes, and culture; the aspect
of Christian teaching dealing with
the origin, nature, and destiny of
human beings.
• Political Science – the science
or study of government, as to
its principles, aims, methods,
etc.
 Human Cultural Variations

• Refers to the differences in social

behaviors that different cultures
exhibit around the world.
• These differences includes the
way people interact, what they
wear and what they eat.
The Social Sciences
and the Three Faces
of Social
 Society
In its broader sense involves:

Social – that is actions and

interactions.
Cultural – that is practices and
traditions
Political – that is power relations
As a formal and systematic studies of society,
these three facets are referred to as the “social
sciences”, also known in academia as
disciplines.
Each discipline provides unique way of seeing
an equally 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.
 Student’s as Social Being
 Evidence of the
 Gender
 Male operation of the social
 Female forces
 LGBT
 Socio-Economic Class  In other words, our
 Rich sociality is defined by the
 Poor
 Physical
very categories that we
 Tall possess. Labels which
 Short our society read our
 Fat
 Stout worth and value.
 Religion  Categories that we
 Ethnicity
 Color of the skin posses are not natural;
rather, they are socially
constructed
 GENDER
• Of all the social labels attached to members of
society, gender appears to be the most
fundamental, intrusive, and limiting.
• Even before we see the 1st light of day, our
world is already being organized by society.
• As boys or girls, we have been assigned
appropriate colors, toys, clothes, mannerisms,
etiquette, careers to pursue, and choice of
mate.
• The totality of our sociality has already been
constructed for us.
• Gender roles- based on norms and standard
created by society.
• Gender differences – biologically or socially
influenced.
• Gender socialization – begins at birth and
occurs through the four major agents of
socialization ( family, education, peer groups
and mass media).
 Performance Task/Assignment
 Write an essay describing how your :
1. Gender
2. Socio-economic status
3. Religion
4. Beliefs/Traditions
5. Nationality/Ethnicity
May be the reason for the kind of social person you are today. Highlight the
significant opportunities that have been afforded to you, as well as the
constraints you constantly encounter as you navigate the social world. In
addition, offer a personal assessment of the reasons for these opportunities
and constraints.

Note: you may write an essay in English or Filipino/Tagalog

language