11

Understanding
Culture, Society,
and Politics
1st Quarter: Module 1
Culture and Society: Dynamics of Society

Danilo L. Baraquiel
Module Writer

Department of Education • Republic of the Philippines

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HUMSS – Grade 11
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 1 – Module 2
First Edition, 2020

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Published by the Department of Education

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Development Team of the Module

Authors: Danilo L. Baraquiel

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Printed in the Philippines by ________________________

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 11
Understanding
Culture, Society,
and Politics
Quarter 1 – Module 2:
Culture and Society: Dynamics of Society

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.

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 Society is an important product of human interaction and interconnectedness. It
symbolizes the group within which human beings can live a total common life – the peer
groups, social organizations like the family and kinship groups; economic, political, religious
and educational groups; and communities. In this module, you will see that society is a
product of human social processes intended to meet basic needs for survival.

Content Standards:

The learners demonstrate an understanding of:

1. Culture and society as anthropological and sociological concepts;

2. Perspectives in/approaches to the study of culture and society (i.e., comparative,
historical, structural functional, interpretative, critical)

Performance Standards:

The learners

1. Appreciate the nature of culture and society from the perspectives of anthropology and
sociology;
2. Demonstrate a holistic understanding of culture and society;
3. Value cultural heritage and express pride of place without being ethnocentric.

Learning Competencies:
Analyze the concept, aspects and changes in/of culture and society.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this module the learners will be able to:
1. Describe the construction of society through the hidden rules of society;
2. Analyze the different forms of interaction present in society;
3. Discuss the key sociological theories regarding the possibility of society.

EXPECTATION

This module will equip you the necessary content knowledge, skills, and competencies
about the society and culture: Dynamics of Society. As such, they are treated initially as
markers of the disciplinal territories of sociology and anthropology respectively. You read and
understand carefully each part of the module so that you can be able to answer various
activities. It is hoped to provide you an appreciation and understanding about the lesson.
In this module you will be able to know that society as individuals continue to interact
thus, societies were formed. Also they were organized in such a way that there are rules of
conduct, customs, traditions, folkways, and mores, and expectations that ensure appropriate
behavior among members. You will be able to identify the different elements, processes, and
dynamics of society.
There are various activities prepared by the writer/s that will help you analyze the
concept, aspects, and changes in/of culture and society. It is hoped that you will learn to
value the knowledge and wisdom of this module.

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 PRE-TEST

Directions: True or False. Assess whether the statements are true or false. Write T if the
statement is True and F if the statement is False.
______________1. Society is a historically formed entity.
______________2. Conflict over limited resources may spark cooperation more than
conflict.
______________3. Symbols are something that represent something else.
______________4. When parts of a system perform their assigned functions, social order
is assured of.
______________5. Unwritten and invisible rules are more powerful than written ones.
______________6. Meaning is objectively derived from symbols.
______________7. There are four classical theories of the origin of society.
______________8. Society is a concept that can be used to grasp complex social
phenomena.
______________9. Society is made possible by social interactions.
______________10. Most of our day-to-day actions and interactions are governed by written and
visible rules.

LOOKING BACK
Directions: Read carefully each statement or question below and fill in the blank(s) with the
correct answer. Answers may be more than one word.
1. ____________ is a reality or fact of life peculiar to a particular society; specifically a
phenomenon, such as social class, religion, etc., as experienced by a particular social group;
(as a mass noun) reality as conceived by a particular society or social group, dependent on
their customs and beliefs.
2. _____________ refers to the behavior of groups that result from the interactions of individual
group members as well as to the study of the relationships between individual interactions
and group level behaviors.
3.______________ 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.
4.______________ 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
5.______________ is part 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.

INTRODUCTION OF THE LESSON

Society as a Concept
Do you know that the word “society” was
coined by social scientists? This is to facilitate
their exploration of social phenomena. It is a
tool to hold the complexity of phenomena. As a
concept, society represents an ideal type, which
more or less depicts the form, process, and
dynamics of the social reality that it embodies. https://www.google.com/search?q=society
&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiShoiCkorqAhVxx
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 Concepts of course, may change through their changing meanings and interpretations or
disappear from non-use altogether. However, for master concept like society, the credibility
of change and disappearance is very unlikely to happen. Studying society provides us an
idea on its importance in creating an equal, just, and humane society. The significance of
studying society are the following: a. representation of our identity; b. characterize by the
totality of a territory; c. symbol of political independence; d. avenue for economic
independence.

What is it?

Society as a Facticity
Society is formally defined as constituting a fairly large number of people who are
living in the same territory, are relatively independent of people outside their area, and
participate in a common culture. An informal way to concretize the given definition of society
is to access its power in shaping the lives of the people inside. At this point, bear in mind the
twin concepts of social forces and social facts because they are the mechanics of operation of
society as a factual entity.
We can liken society to a deity. A deity or God is supposed to possess the tripartite
(i.e., three-fold) powers reserved for Him alone – omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence
(all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere). The analogy of society to a God suggests the
immense power of society to make or unmake lives of people. Society is all-powerful because
it “agents” control and runs the machinery of social control. It is all-knowing because its
“library” keeps all possible knowledge and collects the memories of the people who form it. It
is because its “spies” are distributed in the four corners of the land. Every single action of
ours is controlled by society. The tripartite powers of society are even more evident in its
effects on our daily and routine actions and behavior.
If we are translating the tripartite powers of society to the language of the social
sciences, and then we can look at this way:
Features of Society as God

Omniscience Omnipotence Omnipresent

(All-knowing) (All-powerful) (Everywhere)
In the God metaphor Its library creates, Its agent occupy and Its spies are present
“Society as God” collects, stores, control all the in the four corners of
retrieves, and influential position in its territory.
manipulates human its domain
memories.
In the language of Symbols system, Machineries and Socialization agents
sociology “Society as language rules, and armory of social are present
Fact” use of language for control everywhere, even at
communication the very start of a
person’s life.
Examples in social Language, symbol, Laws, norms, values, Family, peers, school,
science concepts arts, science belief system, church, government
religion, education.

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What Makes Society Possible: Three (3) Theoretical Perspectives

The formation of society and its continuous

development has been a subject of dramatic debates
among social scientists, sociologists in particular. The
latter’s version of the origin of society appears to be
one-sided as it only focuses on power relations and
governmental issues. The sociological approach
appeared more plausible as it combines the political
and anthropological dimensions of the development of
society as a social object.
Most of the attempts to explain the origin of
society are decidedly theoretical in nature and not
historically inclined. The three classical theories of the
https://www.google.com/search?q=pe origin of society are (1) the structural-functional, (2)
rspectives&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj2 the conflict theory, and (3) symbolic interactionism.
These theories are called by various names, but their basic assumptions about the
“possibility” of society remain the same.
1. Structural Functionalism and Social Order
The structural-functional school of thought looks at social “order.” It argues that
society is made possible by cooperation and interdependence. This view sees society as a
system with parts, and these parts have their respective functions to perform. The health and
condition of the entire system is dependent of two processes called functions and
interdependence. This school of thought are able to uncover interesting insights about the
nature of social inequality and deviance, insights that remain elusive even to the symbolic
interactionism approach.
2. Conflict Theory and Conflict
This perspective sees society as an arena. Social actors are gladiators fighting for their
very lives. The winner takes the rewards and is assured of freedom. This approach does not
take the usual assumptions about the nature and ethos of conflict. For the proponents of
this view, conflicts may change and dynamism appears. Conflict brings about a new set of
relations and interactions which produces new dynamism in society. The conflict theory
invokes the social processes rather than functions and interdependence.
3. Symbolic Interactionism and Meaning-Making
This theory explores the issues of meaning-making and why this is crucial in
understanding order or conflict as processes that brought about society. Humans as social
beings have the capacity to generate meaning from their surroundings, be it social or
otherwise. Meaning is important because it is the basis of actions towards or against specific
elements of the environment. The groups of meaning assigned to an object, event, or person
become the basis of social interactions, and they are constitutive of events and social
phenomena.
Rules: Invisible Hand of Society
Rules are guide in the performance of roles and in everyday actions and interactions.
Rules are essential in the everyday conduct of the members of society. However, not all rules
are visible, that is, written and understood by all. Unwritten rules are exciting to study
because they give invaluable insights into the nature of social behavior. Without us realizing
it, almost 90% of our day to day actions are governed and shaped by these invisible rules.
Culture as Concept
Culture according to E.B. Tylor “is that complex whole which includes knowledge,
belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society.” Culture is the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a
particular group of people at a particular time.” As defining aspect of what it means to

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be human, culture is a central concept in anthropology, encompassing the range of
phenomena that are transmitted through social learning in human societies.

Culture and Society

The relationship between society and culture, and personality is stressed by Ralph
Linton: “A society is an organized group of individuals. A culture is an organized group of
learned responses.” A society cannot exist separately from culture. A society is always made
of persons and their groupings. No culture can exist except as it is embodied in a human
society; no society can operate without cultural directives. One must always keep in mind the
interdependence and the reciprocal relationships between culture and society.

What’s More (Activities)

Activity 1.1: Directions: Define the following concepts.

Society Rules

Conflict Structural
Theory Interactionism

Symbolic
Interactionism

Activity 1.2: Essay: Answer the following questions.

1. How does society shape the lives of people inside it?
2. Why do we consider society as omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient?
3. Why rules are important in society?

What I have learned.

Activity 1: Compare and Contrast: Compare and contrast the different

theoretical perspectives that explain the origin of society.

Theoretical Perspectives Differences Similarities

1. Structural Functionalism

2. Conflict Theory

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3. Symbolic Interactionism &
Meaning-Making

What I can Do?

CHECKING YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Critical Thinking: Complete the schematic diagram.

If society is a concept that makes sense of human actions and creating an equal,
just, and humane society, how do you map its diverging points? Illustrate these points using
the diagram below.

Significance
of Society

POST TEST

Matching Type. Match column B with column C. Write the letter of the correct answer in
column A.

Column A Column B Column C

1.A library that creates, collects, stores, A. Society as omnipotent

retrieves, and manipulates human memories.

2. An agent that occupy and control all the B. Society as omniscience

influential positions in its domain.

3. These are guides in the performance of C. Structural Functionalism

roles and in everyday actions and
interactions.

4. It argues that society is made possible by D. Symbolic Interactionism

cooperation and interdependence

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 5. It argues that symbols and meanings E. Rules
make society possible.

ENRICHMENT

REFLECTIVE LEARNING SHEET

Directions: Conduct a participant observation activity that describes the hidden rules that
govern social interaction in a specific context. These invisible rules will be identified through
the behavior of people in actual interactions or situations. You can choose from any of the
following situations:
1) Riding the LRT or MRT
2) Riding a public vehicle
3) Buying food in the canteen or market
4) Crossing the street
5) Listening to a class lecture (physical or virtual)

Explain the different actions, behavior, and

interaction that you have observed. Write the
different visible and unwritten rules that you
have observed from the activity. What are your
realizations? Based from the activity, how do
rules govern our everyday life?

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