UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN PHILIPPINES
LABORATORY SCHOOLS
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics
Learning Material: Defining Culture and Society from the perspective of anthropology
and sociology
March 5 - 19, 2021
Name:___________________________________Grade Level and Strand: __________________
This material has the following lessons:
Lesson 4 – Culture and society as anthropological and sociological concepts
Lesson 5 – Perspectives in/approaches to the study of culture and society
After this lesson you are expected to:
1. Explain anthropological and sociological perspectives on culture and society
2. Describe society and culture as a complex whole
3. Identify aspects of culture and society
4. Raise questions toward a holistic appreciation of cultures and societies
5. Become aware of why and how cultural relativism mitigates ethnocentrism
6. Identify forms of tangible and intangible heritage and the threats to these
Lesson pretest
True or False
Assess whether the statements in column A are true or false. In column B, write
T if the statement is true and write F if the statement is false.
A
B
1. An inherent feature of social change is violent actions
2. Social actions and interactions are governed by unseen rules of
society
3. A person’s sex dictates what he/she can and cannot expect in life
4. Each social science has a unique take on what constitutes social life.
These takes are mutually exclusive and are therefore irreconcilable
5. If power and its exercise are the objects of interest of political
science, then anthropology cannot be used to study power relations
6. Because social sciences are sciences, they adhere to the rules,
principles, and methods of the hard sciences
7. The interpretation of what drives social action is called
“perspective.”
8. Cultures around the world are different; therefore, they are not
equal
9. The study of society is exclusive to sociology
10. Sociology was born during the industrial revolution
ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE
A. Sociology – focuses on the ubiquity of social forces in unlikely forms: sex, gender,
religion, class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and the like.
Social Forces – interpreted as any human created way of doing things that influence,
pressure, or force people to behave, interact with others, and think in certain ways.
Social Map – refers to a person’s specific economic and political location
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August Comte (1798-1857) – credited to be the father of the discipline for having
coined the term sociology. With his companions like Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and
Max Weber, they were the first who raise critical questions about the deluge of
changes brought about by the mushrooming factories and associated technologies
within and outside the major cities of England.
B. Anthropology – as a science seeking to “uncover principles of behavior that apply to
all human communities.”
Universal culture – cultural artifacts that appear the same or similar everywhere they
are found.
Culture universal – patterns of similarity within an array of differences
Social diversity – is an ever-present and enduring feature of all known cultures around
the world, from the most primitive to the most highly urbanized.
Social inequality – occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly.
Cultural diversity – means a range of different societies or people of different origins,
religions, and traditions all living and interacting together.
Activity
Me and my social map
Starting with your present situation as a student, list down five important factors
that you think are responsible for the kind of person you are right now. Start with
what is unique in you as a social person (not necessarily focusing on your biophysical
traits). Link each feature with a societal, cultural, or political force. Then evaluate each
in terms of opportunities and constraints it provides in pursuing your present and
future plans. Use the table below as a template for your assessment.
My unique features as a social
person
(May include but are not limited
to sex, religion, residence)
Types of social forces
responsible for these
features
(is
it
societal/cultural/political?)
Assessment of effects
(does
it
provide
opportunities or serve as
constraints?)
Lesson posttest
Multiple Choice. Encircle the letter that corresponds to your chosen answer.
___1. Maps the various social forces that shape individual actions and social
interactions.
a. Anthropology
c. Sociology
b. Political Science
d. Philosophy
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___2. According to _______, social differentiation is a normal feature of every known
culture in the world.
a. Anthropology
c. Sociology
b. Political Science
d. Philosophy
___3. A set of imaginary coordinates that determine social actors’ opportunities and life
chances in the social world
a. Social location
c. Social position
b. Social address
d. Social map
___4. This social science discipline takes account of the “equal but different ways” of how
people live in the world
a. Sociology
c. Political Science
b. Anthropology
d. Psychology
___5. He was consider as the father of having the coined term sociology
a. Emile Durkheim
c. Karl Marx
b. Auguste Comte
d. August
Reference: Erasga, DS. 2016. Selfieying: A Universal Culture or Culture Universal. Conference
paper. 44th Annual Conference of the Canadian Sociological Association, May 27-June 3, 2016,
University of British Columbia, Ottawa, Canada.
Prepared by:
JOEY C. CAMELLO
Subject Teacher
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