UCSP

Understanding Culture,
Society, and Politics
1 Quarter Week 1
st
Module 1:
Nature, Goals and
Perspectives in/of
Anthropology,
Sociology and
Political Science
Picture Analysis
Identify if the pictures
below are related to
Anthropology, Sociology
and Political Science.
Picture Analysis
ANSWER

ANTHROPOLOGY
Picture Analysis
ANSWER

SOCIOLOGY
PICTURE ANALYSIS
ANSWER

POLITICAL
SCIENCE
PICTURE ANALYSIS

POLITICAL
SCIENCE
ANSWER

ANTHROPOLOGY
PICTURE ANALYSIS
ANSWER

POLITICAL
SCIENCE
PICTURE ANALYSIS
ANSWER

SOCIETY
 Sociology
is the study of social life, social change, and the social
causes and consequences of human behavior.
Sociologists investigate the structure of groups,
organizations, and societies and how people interact
within these contexts. Since all human behavior is social,
the subject matter of sociology ranges from the intimate
family to the hostile mob; from organized crime to
religious traditions; from the divisions of race, gender and
social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture.
 Sociology
In another online article, Sociology is explained as the
systematic science of studying human behavior within
the context of societies. Society is a broad topic that
includes everything from economics to politics to
family dynamics. Sociology takes all these systems and
more into account. Broadly defined, a society is a
group of people that share a territory and a culture.
Since the definition of society is so broad, sociology is
a very broad topic as well. In fact, it may be the
broadest of the social sciences.
 Sociology
To elaborate further, sociology is the study of human social
behavior. Sociologists may use quantitative (measurable) or
qualitative (descriptive) methods to study how humans
socialize and organize themselves socially, as well as the
origins and implications of social structures. Human social
behavior is especially interesting because Homo sapiens has
evolved to be a species dependent upon socialization. Most
infant animals require some amount of care from parents,
however instinct serves as the driving force for animals like
deer and lizards. On the other hand, humans are entirely
dependent upon the care and teaching of others for the first
several years of life.
 Sociology
In addition, sociology looks for patterns, recurring
characteristics, and events. Sociology looks for these
patterns in a variety of scales: sociology can be applied
to two people having a conversation to differences and
similarities between nations. Sociology tries to see
social behavior by placing it in a wide social context.
Within this context, sociologists look for patterns that
reflect particular generalities of the society. A sociologist
might study an individual's behavior or actions to see
how it fits into the broader pattern of that person's
society and culture.
 Sociology
Hence, all sociologists are interested in the
experiences of individuals and how those experiences
are shaped by interactions within social groups and
society as a whole. To a sociologist, the personal
decisions an individual makes do not exist in a
vacuum. Cultural patterns and social forces put
pressure on people to select one choice over another.
Sociologists try to identify these general patterns by
examining the behavior of large groups of people living
in the same society and experiencing the same societal
pressures.
 Sociology
Finally, sociologists are interested in
socioeconomic class and mobility, sexuality, law,
politics, religion, or linguistics. A sociologist may
choose to study any aspect of human social
behavior, so these are just some examples of
what a researcher might choose to focus on.
Where other fields of study, like Anthropology,
can tell us why humans are social beings -
Sociology tells us how humans are social beings.
 Anthropology
is the study of what makes us human.
Anthropologists take a broad approach to
understanding the many different aspects of the
human experience, which we call holism. They
consider the past, through archaeology, to see how
human groups lived hundreds or thousands of years
ago and what was important to them. They consider
what makes up our biological bodies and genetics, as
well as our bones, diet, and health.
 Anthropology
Anthropologists also compare humans with other animals
(most often, other primates like monkeys and
chimpanzees) to see what we have in common with them
and what makes us unique. Even though nearly all humans
need the same things to survive, like food, water, and
companionship, the ways people meet these needs can be
very different. For example, everyone needs to eat, but
people eat different foods and get food in different ways.
So, anthropologists look at how different groups of people
get food, prepare it, and share it. World hunger is not a
problem of production but social barriers to distribution.
 Anthropology
Furthermore, anthropologists also try to understand how
people interact in social relationships (for example with
families and friends). They look at the different ways people
dress and communicate in different societies. Aside from that,
anthropologists sometimes use these comparisons to
understand their own society. Many anthropologists work in
their own societies looking at economics, health, education,
law, and policy (to name just a few topics). When trying to
understand these complex issues, they keep in mind what
they know about biology, culture, types of communication,
and how humans lived in the past
 Political Science
Now, let us place our attention to Political Science. It
is a classical discipline that deals with the study of
political phenomena. Its goal is to deepen human
understanding of the forms and nature of political
action and to develop theoretical tools for
interpreting politically meaningful phenomena. The
discipline deals with the traditional fields of public
national life, such as democracy, parliaments,
politicians, elections, and the government.
 Political Science
In a similar vein, political science is the study of
politics and power from domestic, international, and
comparative perspectives. It entails understanding
political ideas, ideologies, institutions, policies,
processes, and behavior, as well as groups, classes,
government, diplomacy, law, strategy, and war. A
background in political science is valuable for
citizenship and political action, as well as for future
careers in government, law, business, media, or public
service.
 Political Science
• Political
science is occasionally called
politology which is a social science that
deals with systems of governance, and
the analysis of political activities,
political thoughts, associated
constitutions, and political behavior.
 Political Science
Political science comprises numerous subfields,
including comparative politics, political economy,
international relations, political theory, public
administration, public policy, and political
methodology. Furthermore, political science is
related to, and draws upon, the fields of
economics, law, sociology, history, philosophy,
human geography, journalism, political
anthropology, and social policy.
 Political Science
Comparative politics is the science of comparison and
teaching of different types of constitutions, political
actors, legislature, and associated fields, all of them
from an intrastate perspective. International relations
deal with the interaction between nation-states as well
as intergovernmental and transnational organizations.
Political theory is more concerned with contributions
of various classical and contemporary thinkers and
philosophers.
 Political Science
• Political
science is methodologically diverse and appropriates
many methods originating in psychology, social research, and
cognitive neuroscience. Approaches include positivism,
interpretivism, rational choice theory, behaviorism, structuralism,
post-structuralism, realism, institutionalism, and pluralism. Political
science, as one of the social sciences, uses methods and
techniques that relate to the kinds of inquiries sought: primary
sources, such as historical documents and official records,
secondary sources such as scholarly journal articles, survey
research, statistical analysis, case studies, experimental research,
and model building.
 QUIZ NO. 1 Creativity
DIRECTIONS: Write T if the statement is TRUE and write F if the statement is FALSE
• ___ 1. Political Science is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior.
• ___ 2. Political Science the study of human social behavior.
• ___ 3. Anthropology looks for patterns, recurring characteristics, and events.
• ___ 4. Political Science is the study of what makes us human.
• ___ 5. Sociology is a classical discipline that deals with the study of political phenomena
• ___ 6. Political Science compares humans with other animals (most often, other primates like monkeys and chimpanzees) to see
• what we have in common with them and what makes us unique.
• ___ 7. Anthropologist are group of people that share a territory and a culture
• ___ 8. Anthropology tries to see social behavior by placing it in a wide social context.
• ___ 9. Sociology is a science of comparison and teaching of different types of constitutions, political actors, legislature, and
associated
• fields, all of them from an intrastate perspective.
• ___ 10. Sociology is a study of politics and power from domestic, international, and comparative perspectives.
 QUIZ NO. 1 Productivity
DIRECTIONS: Write T if the statement is TRUE and write F if the statement is FALSE
• ___ 1. Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior.
• ___ 2. Sociology the study of human social behavior.
• ___ 3. Sociology looks for patterns, recurring characteristics, and events.
• ___ 4. Anthropology is the study of what makes us human.
• ___ 5. Political Science is a classical discipline that deals with the study of political phenomena
• ___ 6. Political Science compares humans with other animals (most often, other primates like monkeys and chimpanzees) to see
• what we have in common with them and what makes us unique.
• ___ 7. Anthropologist are group of people that share a territory and a culture.
• ___ 8. Anthropology tries to see social behavior by placing it in a wide social context.
• ___ 9. Sociology is a science of comparison and teaching of different types of constitutions, political actors, legislature, and
associated
• fields, all of them from an intrastate perspective.
• ___ 10. Sociology is a study of politics and power from domestic, international, and comparative perspectives.
 QUIZ NO. 1 Purity
DIRECTIONS: Write T if the statement is TRUE and write F if the statement is FALSE
• ___ 1. Political Science is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior.
• ___ 2. Political Science the study of human social behavior.
• ___ 3. Anthropology looks for patterns, recurring characteristics, and events.
• ___ 4. Political Science is the study of what makes us human.
• ___ 5. Sociology is a classical discipline that deals with the study of political phenomena
• ___ 6. Anthropology compares humans with other animals (most often, other primates like monkeys and chimpanzees) to see
• what we have in common with them and what makes us unique.
• ___ 7. Society are group of people that share a territory and a culture
• ___ 8. Sociology tries to see social behavior by placing it in a wide social context.
• ___ 9. Political Science is a science of comparison and teaching of different types of constitutions, political actors, legislature,
and

associated fields, all of them from an intrastate perspective.