11

Understanding
Culture, Society,
and Politics
1st Quarter: Module 1
The Social Sciences: Sociology, Anthropology, and Political Science

Danilo Baraquel
Module Writer

Department of Education • Republic of the Philippines

AP11-Qrt1-Week1 0
HUMSS – Grade 11
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 1 – Module 1
First Edition, 2020

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Published by the Department of Education

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Authors: Danilo Baraquel

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AP11-Qrt1-Week1 1
 11
Understanding
Culture, Society,
and Politics
Quarter 1 – Module 1:

The Social Sciences: Sociology, Anthropology, and Political Science

This instructional material was collaboratively developed and

reviewed by educators from public and private schools, colleges, and
or/universities. We encourage teachers and other education stakeholders to
email their feedback, comments, and recommendations to the Department of
Education at [email protected].

We value your feedback and recommendations.

AP11-Qrt1-Week1 2
I.OBJECTIVE:

A. Content Standards:

The learners demonstrate an understanding of:

1. Human cultural variation, social differences, social change, and political identities;
2. The significance of studying culture, society, and politics;
3. The rationale for studying anthropology, political science, and sociology.

B. Performance Standards:

The learners will

1. Acknowledge human cultural variation, social differences, social change, and political
identities;
2. Analyze the shared concerns of sociology, anthropology, and political science with
respect to the nature of social change.
3. Appreciates the role of social diversity in promoting social understanding and cultural
tolerance.

C. Learning Competency:

Discuss the nature, goals, and perspectives in/of anthropology, sociology, and political
science.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this module the learners will be able to:
1. Adopt an open and critical attitude toward different social, political, and cultural
phenomena through observation and reflection;
2. Understand the shared concerns of sociology, anthropology and political science;
3. Appreciate the value of disciplines of Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science as
social sciences.

EXPECTATION

This module will equip you with the necessary content knowledge, skills, and
competencies about the goals and perspectives of anthropology, sociology, and political
science which you can apply in understanding and analyzing, proposing solutions, and
alternatives, and being actively engaged in the issues and trends within the community and
the world today.

You read and understand carefully each part of the module so that you can be able to
answer various activities that will help you develop your potentials in understanding the
lesson.

In this module, you will be able to encounter terminologies such as social, cultural,
anthropology, sociology, political science, etc. You are expected to identify the subjects of
inquiry and goals of anthropology, political science, and sociology. You will be able to adapt
an open critical attitude through observation and reflection.

There are various activities prepared by the writer/s that will help you understand the
nature, goals, and perspectives in/of anthropology, sociology, and political science. It is
hoped that you will learn to value the knowledge and wisdom of this module.

AP11-Qrt1-Week1 3
PRE-TEST

Direction: True or False. Write T if the statement is true and F if it is false.

___________1. Social change may be a product of technological change.

___________2. Values shape our behavior more than our attitude,
___________3. Our social categories such as being male or female, single or married, or
rich or poor shape the way we see and interpret the social world.
___________4. Values may often manifest in beliefs.
___________5. Beliefs are firmly held opinions or convictions.
___________6. An inherent feature of social change is violent actions.
___________7. A person’s sex dictates what he/she can and cannot expect in life.
___________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.

LOOKING BACK

Directions: Based on the previous activity, discuss your observations based on the following
questions:

1. What are the similarities and differences of every individual?

2. Do these similarities and differences affect the life of the whole community? Why?
 Think about answers to the questions and write it on your notebook.
 As your teacher, I will give you time frame of 2 minutes to read your answers.

INTRODUCTION OF THE LESSON

As distinct disciplines, the social sciences look at society in equally different ways.
This module is interested not only in examining their unique ways of making sense of the
social world; it is equally interested in mapping their complementation and blending. The
“blending” of perspectives is expected to give you the opportunity to see the social world in a
variety of ways, thus enriching capabilities to broaden your minds as social beings. This
module will give you information regarding the nature, goals, and perspectives in
anthropology, sociology, and political science.

Culture, Society and Politics as Conceptual Tools

Do you know that culture, society and politics are concepts? Yes, they exist in the
land of ideas and thoughts. As such, they cannot be seen or touched and yet the influence
the way we see and experience our individual and collective social beings. Concepts are
created and have been used to have firm hold of a phenomenon. Just like any other words,
concepts are initially invented as images to capture phenomena and in the process, assist
the users/inventors to describe surfaces of social experience in relation to the phenomena
concerned. What is interesting about concepts is that as conceptual tools, they allow us to
form other concepts, or relate concepts to each other or even analyze old ones and replace
them with something new.

AP11-Qrt1-Week1 4
Students as Social Beings

The way you live your lives—or should I say,

the way we are being directed to live our lives -
assumes omnipotent forces shaping the very fabric
of our existence. The categories that we possess as
individuals labels that are ascribed or given to us
individually and collectively are testament to the
operation of these forces which leave us innocent of
their disturbing and disciplinary implications in our
lives. Our categories as male/female, rich/poor, or
tall/short and even the problematic effect of the
https://www.google.com/search?q=studen
color of our skin are evidences of the operation of
ts+as+social+beings+cartoon&tbm=isch&v
these social forces. Our sociality is defined by the very categories that we possess, the
categories assigned to us by the society at large. These labels so to speak, function, as tags
with which our society read our worth and value. These categories that we possess are not
natural; rather they are socially constructed.

Identity

Identity is the distinctive characteristic that defines an individual or is shared by those

belonging to a particular group. People may have multiple identities depending on the groups
to which they belong.

Social Realities: Behavior and Phenomenon

There are times we find ourselves in a situation

unlike other situations. We personally encounter
different ways of doing things, behaving, and making
sense of events. Observing them, we cannot help but
as: Why do people do such a thing? What makes it
normal and acceptable to some people in some places
and unacceptable to others in other places? In order to
explore the issue further, here are the following
https://www.google.com/search?q=Soci behavior and phenomenon: (1.) Istambay; (2.) Lagay;
al+Realities+editorial+cartoon&tbm=isch
(3.); Food taboos, (4.); Same-sex partnership; (5.) Use of a go-between/padrino.

Values and Beliefs as Behavior Motivators

Values are a person’s or a collectivity’s

principles or standards of behavior and are
considered as judgment of what is important in
life. Values are the criteria of people used in
assessing their daily lives, arranging their https://www.google.com/search?q=values+
priorities, and choosing between alternative and+beliefs+cartoon&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUK
courses of action.

Belief on the other hand, is something one accepts as true or real. More often than
not, belief takes the form of firmly held opinion or conviction, regardless of the lack of
AP11-Qrt1-Week1 5
verifiable evidence: Beliefs may be based on tradition, faith, experience, scientific research, or
some combination of these. Both values and beliefs are commonly shared by a particular
culture.

Social Dynamics: Social, Political, and Cultural Change

Social Dynamics refers to the behavior of groups that result from the interactions of
individual group members as well to the study of the relationship between individual
interactions and group level behaviors. It is concerned with changes over time and
emphasizes the role of feedbacks. However, in social dynamics individual choices and
interactions are typically viewed as the source of aggregate level behavior, while system
dynamics posits that the structure of feedbacks and accumulations are responsible for
system level dynamics. Examples of Phenomenon of social dynamics: a. Selfieing; b. Political
Dynasty; c. Transnational families; d. Youth volunteerism; e. Video gaming.

Those phenomena may all be considered as manifestations of cultural and political

changes. New technological platforms facilitating communication, self-expression, and
interactions represent the cultural change, while possession and expressions of power
represent the political change.

What is it?

The Scope of Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science

A. The Holistic Study of Humanity: Anthropology

Definition and Scope of Anthropology

Anthropology is derived from two Greek

words anthropos and logos, which intensively
studies human and the respective cultures
where they were born and actively belong to.

It is
https://www.google.com/search?q=anthr considered the
father or even grandfather of all opology&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjAnMe social and
behavioral sciences like sociology, economics and psychology, to name a few. The discipline
had its humble beginnings with early European explorers and their accounts which produced
initial impressions about the native peoples they encountered in their explorations.

The study of man and his varied aspects is comparatively a recent endeavor and has
been known as Anthropology. It may be called a subject of half science and half arts. It is a
young science which is yet to be intimately familiar with the students of science.
Anthropology, as is commonly misunderstood, is not an idler's pursuit nor is it a study of
queer customs of the savages or digging for the remains left by the prehistoric people. Social
diversity refers to the gaps between people as measured by the presence or absence of certain
socially desirable traits.

It concerns us primarily with our own lives. It is no longer a vague study or a study
without a portfolio. It is a well-defined science which tells us about the various aspects of the
life of man, which is both physical and cultural, from the time of his origin till the present
day. It embraces a vast field of study which views man from different angles. Anthropology is
probably the most comprehensive of the sciences dealing with man and his works.
Anthropologists take account of the “equal but different ways” of how people live in the world.

AP11-Qrt1-Week1 6
Anthropology has been pejoratively called “a child of colonization” because discoverers of new
territories were always accompanied by missionary documenters or ethnographers.

B. The Study of the Social World: Sociology

Sociology and the Sociological Perspective

Sociology is the study of society, social

institutions, and social relationships. Sociology is
interested in describing and explaining human
behavior, especially as it occurs within a social
context (Merriam Webster).

Sociology focuses on the ubiquity (or the

“everywhere-ness”) of social forces in unlikely
forms: sex, gender, religion, class, race, ethnicity,
sexual orientation, and the like. Social forces
represent a constellation of unseen yet powerful https://www.google.com/search?q=sociolo
forces influencing the behavior of individuals and gy&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjDl9ak9_HpAh
institutions. In this sense, social forces can be interpreted as any human-created way of
doing things that influence, pressure, or force people to behave, interact with others, and
think in a certain ways.

The constellations of these forces characterize social actors’ social maps, which in turn
determine the set of opportunities of life chances they can expect in life. A social maps, refers
to a person’s specific economic and political location. Social maps, therefore lock out any
possibilities of social mobility. However C. Wright Mills (1959), an American social critic,
argued that individuals can still transcend the limitations posed by their respective social
locations. They can do this by imagining the intersections of their life situations (or individual
biographies) and the event of societies (or history) this is called “sociological imagination”.

1. The sociological perspective emphasizes that our social backgrounds influence our
attitudes, behaviors, and life chances. The chances of committing even an individual
act such as suicide depend to some degree on the group backgrounds from which we
come.

2. Sociology is both the consequence and cause of change given its historical
development as a result of wide-ranging changes in Europe from the Renaissance and
Industrial Revolution periods.

3. Social fact is another name for social phenomenon. It has distinctive characteristics
and determinants which are capable of holding an external constraint on the
individual.

4. Sociology attributed the persistence and omnipresence of social inequality to the

beneficial functions it provides for the overall operation of society. This is exemplified
by the merit system (giving of incentives) and division of labors ( of diverse skills and
expertise).

5. According to C. Wright Mills, the sociological imagination involves the ability to realize
that personal troubles are rooted in problems in the larger social structure. The
sociological imagination thus supports a blaming-the-system view over a blaming-the-

AP11-Qrt1-Week1 7
 victim view.

C. The Study of Politics: Political Science

Guide Questions:

1. Why is there a need for politics?

2. Can we exist without politics?

Political Science is part of the social sciences

that deals with the study of politics, power, and
government. In turn, politics refers to “the process of
making collective decisions in a community, society,
or group through application of influence and
power” (Ethridge and Handelman 2010, p.8).
Political Science studies how even the most private
and personal decisions of individuals are influence
by collective decisions of a community. “The https://www.google.com/search?q=political
personal is political.” +science&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwitvfj39_H

In its most generic sense, political science assumes the asymmetrical power relations
of members of society but problematizes the unjust and unfair effects of such relations
manifested in matters related to governance. In political science there is so called a form of
“social agreement” because they have futuristic and latter effects in people’s collective lives.
In view of this, the discipline was traditionally believed to have emerged from the woks of
“social contract” theorists.

Politics

Generally, politics is associated with how power is gained and employed to develop
authority and influence on social affairs. It can also be used to promulgate guiding rules to
govern the state. It is also a tactic for upholding collaboration among members of a
community, whether from civil or political organizations.

Concept of Politics

Politics is allied with government which is considered as the ultimate authority. It is

the primary role of the government to rule the society by stipulating and transmitting the
basic laws that will supervise the freedom of the people. Each form of government possesses
power to attain order that should lead toward social justice.

Politics as Science

Science is commonly defined as the knowledge derived from experiment and

observation systematically done. Policy-making and government decisions should be done
through proper research, social investigation, analysis, validation, planning, execution and
evaluation. Thus, politics is science.

What’s More (Activity)

AP11-Qrt1-Week1 8
Activity 1.1: Matching Type: Choose the answer from the following terms/concepts. Write
the letter of the correct answer.

A. Cultural Change B. Identity C. Beliefs

D. Values E. Culture E. Politics
__________1. It is the distinctive characteristics that defines an individual or is shared by
those belonging to a particular group.

__________2. It encompasses the complex processes and dynamics that characterized the
great variety of “ways of living” practiced and observed around the world.

__________3. These are a person’s or a collectivity’s principles or standards of behavior and

are considered as judgment of what is important in life.
__________4. It refers to firmly held opinion or conviction, regardless of the lack of verifiable
evidence.
__________5. It is represented by new technological platforms facilitating communication, self-
expression, and interactions.

What I have learned.

Activity 1.2: The Compartmentalized Life Matrix: Complete the matrix.

I am _______________________________ (your name) and I am a (boy/girl). The following are the

compartments representing what I can and cannot do.

Things I can do Things I cannot do

Activity 1.3: Terminologies: Define the following terms/concepts.

Anthropology Political Science Social Realities

Sociology Politics Social Dynamics

CHECKING YOUR UNDERSTANDING

What I Can Do

Critical Thinking: Me and My Social Map

Starting with your present situation as a student:

1. List down five (5) important factors you think are responsible for the kind of person
you are right now.
2. 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.
3. Then evaluate each in terms of opportunities and constraints it provides in pursuing
your present and future plans.
4. Use the table below as template for assessment.

AP11-Qrt1-Week1 9
 My unique features as Types of social forces Assessment of effects
social person (May responsible for these (Does it provide
include but are not limited features (Is it societal, opportunities to serve as
to sex, religion, residence) cultural, political?) constraints?)

POST TEST

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. Political Science
B. Philosophy D. Sociology

2. Served as the historical and cultural context of the birth of Sociology.

A. Industrial revolution C. Reformation
B. Inquisition period D. Renaissance
3. It refers to the gaps between people as measured by the presence or absence of certain
socially desirable traits.
A. Cultural conflict C. Social diversity
B. Cultural diversity D. Social stratification
4. A quality of the mind that enables its processor to grasp the intersection of biography and
history.
A. Anthropological wandering C. Sociological imagination
B. Political maneuvering D. Sociological perspective
5. The social science discipline takes account of the “equal but different ways” of how people
live in the world.
A. Anthropology C. Psychology
B. Political Science D. Sociology
6. A social science discipline that problematizes the unjust results of the exercise of power
and not the arrangements of power relations itself however unequal.
A. Anthropology C. Political Sociology
B. Political Science D. Sociology
7. A social science discipline pejoratively labelled as “a child of colonization”.
A. Anthropology C. Psychology
B. Political Science D. Sociology
8. Conceived by Emile Durkheim as the counterpart notion of social phenomenon in terms of
its external effects on individual actions.
A. Deviance C. Manifest function
B. Inequality D. Social fact
9. The precursor concept behind the power relations focuses on Political Science.
A. Marriage contract C. Social contract
B. Political contract D. Social covenant
10. A system of giving rewards for important tasks performed.
A. Credit system C. Privilege system
B. Merit system D. Skill-based system

AP11-Qrt1-Week1 10
 ENRICHMENT

Additional Activity

Directions: Write a reflective learning by answering question in the box. Express

your answer in a brief but more critical and creative presentation. Explore and
enjoy!

If you want to see change in your 1 2 3 4 5

community, what do you think are
the necessary steps that you need
to do in order to create a change?

AP11-Qrt1-Week1 11