Understanding

Culture,
Society and
Politics
Lesson 1:
THE
MEANING OF
CULTURE
 O.Q WHY IT IS
IMPORTANT TO
UNDERSTAND
CULTURE SOCIETY &
POLITICS?
III
WHAT IS WHAT IS
WHAT IS
CULTURE SOCIETY? THE
? PURPOSE
OF
1 1I STUDYING
1V
THIS?
 SOC1
TERMINOLOGIES

LESSON 1
LESSON 2

ACTIVITY
PERFORMANCE TASK

SUMMARY
 TERMINOLOGIES

• Culture - The customs, arts, social institutions, and

achievements of a particular nation, people, or other
social group; The system of knowledge, norms, and
values more or less shared by members of a particular
society (in general).
• Norms - Rules and expectations by which the
position of each individual is influenced by his or her
achieved status.
• Mores - The essential or characteristic customs and
conventions of a community.
 BIRD’S EYE VIEW
Culture is a means of society used in responding to nature. It is
not just meant to respond merely to various forces of the physical
environment but defines a person as well as a human being endowed
with his inherent freedom and rationality.
Perspectives behaviors and attitudes towards life and its
environment are redefined, however, as a result of the advancement of
science and technology that has generated an avalanche of changes in
various shapes and curves. He is bound to adapt or suit himself to
enable him to respond to changes caused by various external factors
 The word ‘culture’, which is also crucial to the discipline,
originates from the Latin word ‘colere’, which means to
cultivate. (The word ‘colony’ has the same origin.). ‘Culture’
has been described as one of the two or three most
complicated words in the English language (Williams 1981,
p.87).

Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and

other characteristics common to the members of a
particular group or society. Through culture, people and
groups define themselves conform to society’s shared
values, and contribute to society. Thus culture includes
many societal aspects: language, customs, values, norms,
mores, rules, tools, technologies, products, organization,
and institutions.
One of the great Filipino journalists and sociologists today, UP Professor Randy David
wrote in his book that culture renders people’s lives meaningful, a source of identity and
self-esteem. It allows people to understand the world and define places within it. It also
permits communities and generations to share a common memory.
Two Parts
of Culture
Material Culture
Material culture is the visible
part. It may be the food we eat,
our cars our houses, or anything
that members of society make
use of and share.
Non-Material Culture
It is intangible but this influences
our behavior like our language,
beliefs, values, behavior of
family patterns, and political
system.
 The 7
Aspects of
Culture
1. Dynamic, Flexible & Adaptive
2. Shared & Contested
3. Learned through socialization or enculturation
4. Patterned social interactions
5. Integrated and at times unstable
6. Transmitted through socialization/enculturation
7. Requires language and other forms of communication
Lesson 2:
THE
MEANING OF
CULTURE
 TERMINOLOGIES

• Normative - establishing, relating to, or deriving

from a standard or norm; in culture, serves as a model or
norm of people’s action.
• Cumulative – (in culture) refers to the process by
which traditions are gradually modified; and improved
upon over time.
• Folkways- distinguish between right and rude; it is
the measurement of behavior but not approved by
society.
• Albeit- making progress.
 BIRD’S EYE VIEW
Culture encompasses the meaningful processes and products of
these social interactions. People interact in society as individuals and as
a group with duties and privileges. The person is a social product, but
society is created by acting persons.
Culture always has a bilateral relationship between a person to
society and vice-versa. In this topic, we draw some theoretical lessons
on the characteristics of culture and also how the individual absorbs a
way of living as the individual grows up.
 LET’S BREAK THE ICE!
Directions:
1. Get one whole sheet of paper.
2. Write your name inside the circle.
3. Draw Figure 1 on the sheet of paper and write “Figure 1” below.
4. Write the following information about yourself in the 4 spaces:
a. gender
b. b. socio-economic class
’S BREAK THE ICE! c. c. ethnicity
d. d. religion
CHARACTERISTI
C OF CULTURE
CULTURE AS
LEARNED
 Culture is not ascribed or naturally
embedded in the person’s being. It is,
therefore not inherent or inborn. It is
instead acquired. But to acquire
culture one should have the power of
reason because you have to learn it to
acquire it and to learn the reason.
Hence, culture is only proper and
suitable for rational beings like
human person
CULTURE AS
NORMATIVE
 Culture is not just confined to knowing
things, that is, of their concepts and
meanings. It not simply meant to know
the truth of things but also of the
goodness of things. In other words,
culture serves as the norm of the people’s
action. As normative, culture guides
people to do things in conformity with
the people’s accepted norms which they
use to regulate their ways.
CULTURE AS CUMULATIVE
 Culture, which exists along in time
and place is passed from one
generation to the next through the
medium of language and behavior
which makes the continuity of
culture possible. This is the splendor
of having the culture of our
ancestors handed down to us
regardless of how long these
traditions or customs have been
imbibed or practiced.
CULTURE AS ADAPTIVE
 This geographical setting includes all that
is found in the world such as land, seas,
mountains, forest, weather, and the like.
Culture adapts itself to and around its
geographical setting. How culture is
formed and assimilated by the people
largely depends on the environment where
it is situated. Both ventifacts and artifacts
of culture are chiefly based on the kind of
physical environment that envelops the
people and their culture.
CULTURE AS DIVERSE
 The geographical setting of
inhabitants living in mountainous
areas like Benguet or Mountain
Province of the Cordillera Region
may be a factor that differentiates
the culture of the people living in
coastal areas. The cold weather of
Baguio City yields a lot of
differences among the residents’
ventifacts and artifacts.
 Enculturation
Is the gradual acquisition of the characteristics and norms of a culture or group
by a person. It can be an absence of prior knowledge.
Enculturation is also essential for survival.
For example, infants do not possess culture at birth. They have no conception of
the world, no language even morality.
When time goes by, the child possesses certain possibilities for processing
information and developing desires making it possible for that ordered way of
life to influence him.
These enduring competencies and standards of judgment, along with attitudes
and motives, form the personality. The personality, in turn, influences the
culture.
 Acculturation
 When individuals or groups of people adapt to or borrow
traits from another culture. It is learning how to keep your
culture while interacting successfully with other cultures.
On the contrary to enculturation, acculturation Is not
essential for survival. For example, when you visit China or
South Korea they use chopsticks to eat food while in Western
countries, they use spoons and fork.
ACTIVITY
ACTIVITY #1 PINPOINT
 ACTIVITY #2:
What’s on your mind?
Directions: Answer the following
questions in sentence format (10 pts.)

1. Why is there great variation in the way

people are around the world?
2. Amid this variation, why do we see
similarities in our society?
3. In the middle of a crisis, how can you
help our country to be a better, safe, and
peaceful country?
QUIZ #1
QUIZ #2
Define the following.
Directions: Define the following terms based on what you’ve learned
from the discussion.

1.Culture as learned.
2.Culture as normative
3.Culture as cumulative
4.Culture as adaptive
5.Culture as diverse
Summary
The word ‘culture’ originates from the Latin ‘colere’ which
means to cultivate. There are two parts of culture- material culture
and non-material culture. Material culture is the visible part. While
non-material culture is the intangible part and this influences our
behavior like our language, beliefs, values, behavior of family
patterns, and political system. Whether it is tangible or not tangible
this is our entire heritage, the gift of our ancestors. Every human
person carries with him his culture wherever he goes, whenever he
does, and whoever he is. Culture serves as the person’s eyeglasses
in looking at things and doing things.
Summary
Whereas enculturation is the learning of the appropriate behavior of
one's own culture, acculturation is the learning of the appropriate
behavior of one's host culture. One enters a new culture, in effect, as
a child and is enculturated into the new society through the process
of adaptation to that society. To the degree he does not permit the
structures and relationships of his former society to unnecessarily
restrict his adaptation, he can become effectively acculturated into
the new. Effective acculturation allows him to maintain his
principles, and thus his self-respect, and yet cope with all the
challenges and opportunities of the new culture.
 REFERENCES
Website: https://www.scribd.com/document/383033017/TG-UNDERSTANDING-CULTURE-SOCIETY-
ANDPOLITICS-docx Uploaded by: Joan Eser Mina (Jul 02, 2018) Understanding Culture, Society, and
Politics (Teacher’s guide) Website:///DepEd%20Curriculum/Understanding%20Culture,%20Society%20&
%20Politics/UCSP%20Reader %20V11%20Final%20(1).pdf by: Understanding Culture, Society, and
Politics (Activity Sheets) Department of Education, June 2016 Website:
http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/encultur.htm A reading for Cultural Anthropology by Stephen A. Grunland and
Marvin K. Mayers Website of pictures used: https://www.google.com/search?
q=baby&safe=active&sxsrf=ALeKk01gvtH5yAW7WfcW649TbF8MskEIeQ:15
91341003923&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi1iYWajrpAhXKxYsBHWDRDnQQ_AUoA
XoECCEQAw&biw=1366&bih=657#imgrc=jI0QXIIKUqZNfM Google.com Book: Understanding Culture,
Society, and Politics Author(s): Juanito Philip V. Bernardo, Jr. JFS Publishing Service, 2016