Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics - Reviewer
Social Science
● is the scientific study of the society
● The study of the social features of humans and the ways in which they interact and change. Social Sciences are
those disciplines that study Institutions and functioning of human society and the interpersonal relationship
of individuals as member of the society.
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Anthropology
● From Greek word Anthropos means human and logos (study of).
● Is the study of humans and all aspects of its being including its origin.
● It tries to explain and to understand the biological and cultural origin of the species.
● The field strives for comprehensive understanding of what defines human.
The four fields of Anthropology
● Cultural Anthropology
- Explores the patterns of the societies, and its beliefs, practices, and behavior in the contemporary
setting.
- It also interested in the history of the culture around the world.
● Physical/ Biological Anthropology
- Is the study of humans from the biological perspective.
- This concerns investigating and reconstructing the evolutionary origins of human species.
● Linguistic Anthropology
- Is the gateway to culture.
- It is the field of study in Anthropology that documents language in terms of structure, use, and
acquisition.
- Study how language influences the way people think in a specific culture.
● Archaeology
- Is the study of human cultures through the materials or artifacts of the past.
- the relationship of the artifacts to the present and future of the society.
Ethnography
● The whole process of gathering data and writing a descriptive output.
● From the Greek term ethno (group) and grapos (writing).
● A form of qualitative research that involves long-term participation while observing the daily lives and
activities of the people.
, Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics - Reviewer
- It is to understand the culture from the point of view of a non-member of a culture.
- It helps to make sense of the worldviews without biases.
● EMIC
- Is an insider’s view.
- One needs to fully integrate into everything about culture.
**********************************************************
Sociology
❖ Comes from the Latin word socius which means “companion” and the Greek word logus which means “study
of”.
❖ It is the study of human social interactions, groups, relationships, social development, organization, processes
and institutions.
❖ It systematically analyze different social phenomena such as populations, social groups, gender, religion, race,
crime and deviance, social stratification or social movements.
Social Thinkers
1. AUGUSTE COMTE
❖ Father of Sociology
❖ He believed that society operates in a certain laws.
2. EMILE DURKHEIM
❖ Proposed an analogy for society as an organism that is composed of interdependent parts
“Functionalism Theory”:
❖ society (through its various institutions) enforces laws, norms, and belief systems in order to regulate
an individual behavior in becoming its productive member.
❖ Individuals are more the product rather than creator of society.
❖ Social forces strongly impact on peoples lives (Suicide).
3. KARL MARX
❖ He explains that societies rise and fall due to changes in economic relations referred to as mode of
production
❖ The Communist Manifesto (with Friedrich Engels 1847) focus on misery of lower classes cause by
social order (Bourgeoisie “the owner of the factory” and Proletariat “the factory worker”)
❖ He reiterated that political revolution is vital in the evolutionary process of society (Structural
Conflict or Conflict theory)
4. MAX WEBER
❖ Asserted that the religion is very influential in the actions and thoughts of the people.
❖ He observes that individuals acts based on the course of action they think would benefit them the
most. Verstehen (Sympathetic understanding).
❖ Asserted that the religion is very influential in the actions and thoughts of the people. (The
protestant ethics and the spirit of Capitalism).
❖ Symbolic interactionism is a theory that focuses on how individuals interact. It argues that people's
actions are based on the meanings they assign to things, which can differ depending on the person
and can change over time.
Social Science
● is the scientific study of the society
● The study of the social features of humans and the ways in which they interact and change. Social Sciences are
those disciplines that study Institutions and functioning of human society and the interpersonal relationship
of individuals as member of the society.
****************************************************
Anthropology
● From Greek word Anthropos means human and logos (study of).
● Is the study of humans and all aspects of its being including its origin.
● It tries to explain and to understand the biological and cultural origin of the species.
● The field strives for comprehensive understanding of what defines human.
The four fields of Anthropology
● Cultural Anthropology
- Explores the patterns of the societies, and its beliefs, practices, and behavior in the contemporary
setting.
- It also interested in the history of the culture around the world.
● Physical/ Biological Anthropology
- Is the study of humans from the biological perspective.
- This concerns investigating and reconstructing the evolutionary origins of human species.
● Linguistic Anthropology
- Is the gateway to culture.
- It is the field of study in Anthropology that documents language in terms of structure, use, and
acquisition.
- Study how language influences the way people think in a specific culture.
● Archaeology
- Is the study of human cultures through the materials or artifacts of the past.
- the relationship of the artifacts to the present and future of the society.
Ethnography
● The whole process of gathering data and writing a descriptive output.
● From the Greek term ethno (group) and grapos (writing).
● A form of qualitative research that involves long-term participation while observing the daily lives and
activities of the people.
, Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics - Reviewer
- It is to understand the culture from the point of view of a non-member of a culture.
- It helps to make sense of the worldviews without biases.
● EMIC
- Is an insider’s view.
- One needs to fully integrate into everything about culture.
**********************************************************
Sociology
❖ Comes from the Latin word socius which means “companion” and the Greek word logus which means “study
of”.
❖ It is the study of human social interactions, groups, relationships, social development, organization, processes
and institutions.
❖ It systematically analyze different social phenomena such as populations, social groups, gender, religion, race,
crime and deviance, social stratification or social movements.
Social Thinkers
1. AUGUSTE COMTE
❖ Father of Sociology
❖ He believed that society operates in a certain laws.
2. EMILE DURKHEIM
❖ Proposed an analogy for society as an organism that is composed of interdependent parts
“Functionalism Theory”:
❖ society (through its various institutions) enforces laws, norms, and belief systems in order to regulate
an individual behavior in becoming its productive member.
❖ Individuals are more the product rather than creator of society.
❖ Social forces strongly impact on peoples lives (Suicide).
3. KARL MARX
❖ He explains that societies rise and fall due to changes in economic relations referred to as mode of
production
❖ The Communist Manifesto (with Friedrich Engels 1847) focus on misery of lower classes cause by
social order (Bourgeoisie “the owner of the factory” and Proletariat “the factory worker”)
❖ He reiterated that political revolution is vital in the evolutionary process of society (Structural
Conflict or Conflict theory)
4. MAX WEBER
❖ Asserted that the religion is very influential in the actions and thoughts of the people.
❖ He observes that individuals acts based on the course of action they think would benefit them the
most. Verstehen (Sympathetic understanding).
❖ Asserted that the religion is very influential in the actions and thoughts of the people. (The
protestant ethics and the spirit of Capitalism).
❖ Symbolic interactionism is a theory that focuses on how individuals interact. It argues that people's
actions are based on the meanings they assign to things, which can differ depending on the person
and can change over time.
