CUSOPO080

CUSOP Reviewer Lesson 1

Understanding of Culture, Society, and Politics

● Society: A collection of people in a specific territory who share the same norms, values, and culture. These people work together, with the guidance of social norms, to maintain and sustain harmony in society. Cultural Variations and Social Differences in Gender

● Sex: Refers to biological differences that distinguish humans and other animals into two main categories: male and female. Sex is in-born and is purely biological in nature.

● Gender: Comes from a cultural perspective and encompasses all the social, cultural, and psychological characteristics that a culture assigns to males and females.

● Gender Role: Defined as culturally-assigned tasks and activities to sexes.

Cultural Variations and Social Differences in Socioeconomic Class

● Socioeconomic Class: Refers to a category that groups people with similar economic, social, cultural, and political status.

● Class Systems: Different ways of categorizing societal members into socioeconomic classes across various cultures.

● Economic Status: Basis for ranking people, which includes income in the family.

● Bourgeois: The class that owns the “means of production” (e.g., monetary, land, technological capital).

● Proletariat: Anyone who is not an owner of the means of production and must work in order to survive. Cultural Variations and Social Differences in Ethnicity and Religion

● Ethnic Group: A specific group of people having similar characteristics and a distinct cultural identity, distinguishing them from other groups in the community or society.

● Ethnicity: The shared culture of these groups, including cultural heritage, language or dialect, religion, traditions and rituals, norms, values, beliefs, and other practices.

● Race: A socially constructed category attributed to people who share the same biological traits or attributes.

● Religion: A set of beliefs and ritual practices related to symbols considered sacred. Cultural Variations and Social Differences in Exceptionality/Non-Exceptionality

● Disability: A condition where the loss of physical functioning or impairments in intellectual, social, and mental processes hinder normal growth and development of an individual.

● Exceptionality: Describes how an individual’s specific abilities and functioning—physical, intellectual, or behavioral—are different from the established normal or typical qualities.

● Labels: Terms used to refer to individuals possessing characteristics or ability of the exceptional. Cultural Variations and Social Differences in Nationality

● Nationality: A person’s belonging or membership to a specific nation or nation-state.

● Jus Sanguinis: A nationality law determining nationality and citizenship by the parent's nationality.

● Jus Soli: A nationality law where nationality is determined by the territory or land in which the child is born.

● Dual Nationality/Multiple Citizenship: The claim of a person to belong to two or more nation

Lesson 2 Defining Culture and Society: The Perspective of Anthropology and Sociology

● Society and Culture Society is a collection of people having the same culture.

● Culture can be simply defined as a way of life and is present in different forms. ( E. B. Tylor defines it as “that complex whole which encompasses beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a person learns and shares as a member of society”)

● Material culture - tangible objects significant to the society. ( public figures, historical places, things essential to the everyday lives of the people or special resources exclusive to their place. )

● Non-Material Culture - intangible form, value systems, mores, and laws

● Norms - the standard of behavior set by society.

● Taboos - forbidden behavior in society. Theories on Culture and Society

● Structural functionalism - interrelated parts of society and the important functions they perform to sustain its needs

● Robert Merton identified two types of functions that a member of society may perform: manifest functions and latent functions.

● Manifest functions - the expected outcome of social phenomena

● Latent functions – unintended outcome/effects. Festivals are originally made to bring celebration in the community and to thank the Higher Being for a good harvest. (Manifest) These festivals attracted local and foreign tourists to visit them. (Latent)

● Critical theory - considered as a conflict theory since it focuses on the inequalities present in society.

● Interpretive approach - micro interactions and relationships of people within society.

● Symbolic interactionism - that relationships are facilitated by using symbols. (Places premium significance to language and symbols that people use to communicate with each other) Culture is Dynamic, Flexible, and Adaptive

● Culture slowly changes as time passes but does not modify simultaneously.

● Cultural lag - material culture innovates in society but non-material culture remains stagnant.

● Adapting is essential to a society’s survival, hence why humans adapt through culture rather than changing biological characteristics. Subcultures and Countercultures

● Subculture - the shared way of living of a subgroup in a society. (each ethnic and indigenous group in the country has their own unique traditions but share the same general custom.) ● counterculture - a type of subculture which rejects some of the norms acceptable to the public. Transmission of Culture through Socialization

● Culture can be acquired through socialization and enculturation.

● Socialization /Enculturation - is the process of passing culture from one generation to the next.

● Acculturation - (OFWs) adapt to the culture of the country of destination while working abroad.

Agents of Socialization

● Responsible in teaching the members of society on how to act properly. ( usually come in the form of social institutions )

● Social institutions - semi-permanent relationships in the society that endure long period of time

● Institution of Family –The number one socializing agent for an individual (Dom Toretto Approved)

● Other Examples : Educational institutions, Peers, Mass Media, and Religion.

● Feral children – Individuals who were not able to undergo the processes of socialization mentioned above. Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism

● Ethnocentrism - tendency to believe that one’s culture is superior or above other cultures.

● Xenocentrism - the preference for the cultural practices of other cultures and societies,

● Cultural relativism - suggests that every culture is equal.

EMIC AND ETIC PERSPECTIVES

● Emic – understanding culture from the native’s point of view

● Etic – links cultural practices to external factors that might not be important to cultural insiders

Forms of Tangible and Intangible Heritage

● Heritage - anything that is being passed down from one generation to another.

● Cultural heritage - representation of a particular group’s way of living that is passed down from one generation to another. “is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations”- UNESCO Tangible Heritage

● The material culture of a group, material forms of cultural heritage.

● Movable cultural heritage - artifacts or objects that can be easily transported (sculptures, musical instruments, clothing, and tools for livelihood.)

● Immovable cultural heritage - structures such as monuments, buildings, a whole town.

● Natural heritage - special form of heritage. sites are not merely places but are also considered as part of a group’s culture. Intangible Heritage

● Represents the non-material aspect of a cultural heritage

● (Oral tradition, Performing arts, Rituals, Festivities, Knowledge about nature, or Skills in producing Traditional crafts.)

Lesson 3 Human Biocultural and Social Evolution

● Evolution - the process of developing physical and biological change in a species over a period. (Modern Humans – Genus Homo) Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution (science subject ba to?)

● The most well-known theory on human biological development

● Current Human race spurred from a line of primates that evolved through “Survival of the fittest.” Transition from Early to Modern Humans Homo habilis – existed 2.5 – 1.4 million years ago

● Nicknamed “Handy man” since it is one of the first users of stone tools.

● Earliest species of the genus Homo

● Developed bipedalism

● Diet included a variety of plants and meat.

● Had more distinct human features than the Australopithecines. Homo erectus – existed 1.9 million years ago

● Nicknamed “The upright man” since bipedalism peaked through it.

● Further enhanced bipedal activities.

● Strong muscles at the back of the neck, shallow forehead, and elongated brain case.

● Diet included an increased consumption of meat.

● Lived in Africa and parts of Europe or Asia

● The species that learned how to control fire

● Became extinct 200,000 years ago ☹ Homo sapiens – existed 400,000 years ago up to the present.

● Nicknamed “The wise man” by anthropologists.

● Average brain capacity of 82 cubic inches.

● High forehead, small teeth and jaw, and defined chin. (giga sigma skibidi rizzler)

● Constructed and used tools for survival.

● Developed a symbolic communication system

● The species where all present human beings belong. The Significance of Artifactual Evidence in Understanding Evolution

● Artifactual evidence - the key to understanding how human lifestyles and developments evolved through different stages.

● Fossils - Remains hardened in rock, Early human species were discovered here. Cultural Evolution of Man

● Cultural evolution - learned behavior passed on from one generation to another.

● Cooperation - Hunting and gathering is a social process.

● Camp - a place where all members of the group gather and share their resources

● Division of labor became a prominent means of survival.

● Males would go out hunting for days

● Female scoured for plants to eat around the vicinity.

● The existence of both sexes was not purely for reproductive purposes but also for practical reasons. Lower Paleolithic (3 million years ago)

● Key Features: o Oldowan hominins used flakes and stones. o Earliest stone tools by Homo habilis. o Acheulian tools (e.g., hand ax) by Homo erectus. Middle Paleolithic (120,000 years ago)

● Key Features: o Advanced stone tools. o Homo neanderthalensis prominent. o Mousterian tools known for sharp edges. Upper Paleolithic (35,000 years ago)

● Key Features: o Tools with intricate designs. o Emergence of Cro-Magnon Homo sapiens. o Tools like harpoons, spears, and punch blades. Mesolithic (12,000 years ago)

● Key Features: o Smaller, finer tools; blades in wood/bone. o Evidence of trade between groups. Neolithic (10,000 years ago)

● Key Features: o Domestication of crops. o Trading practices for tool development. o End of hunting-gathering practices. Sociopolitical Evolution of Man UNO-R SHSSAO STEM ORG Neolithic Revolution

● Paleolithic period - Early humans were hunter-gatherers, leading nomadic lifestyles.

● Humans went from nomads to farmers through the domestication of the plants and animals. ● Domestication - controlling breeding to enhance traits for human use.

● Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) existed in the same period as other Neolithic societies (China, Americas, Africa) Early Civilizations and the Rise of States

● Civilizations developed as humans settled in one place to domesticate plants and animals.

● The first civilizations were found mostly in Asia

● Mesopotamia, part of the Fertile Crescent, is considered the "cradle of civilization."

● Fertile Crescent – (Area in the ancient Middle East) o Fostered the growth of agriculture, urbanization, writing, trade, and science. o The Tigris and Euphrates rivers - important resources located in the fertile crescent. Development of States

● In Mesopotamia, Sumer (4000 BC) key developments: 1. Rise of states. 2. Invention of writing.

● Trade among different regions likely influenced these key developments, so early civilizations had some form of writing to keep records of their products and trades. Democratization

● City-states emerged during the Copper and Bronze Ages.

● Greek city-states transitioned from monarchies to oligarchies ruled by aristocrats.

● Ongoing wars and accessible weaponry led ordinary people to rebel against oligarchies.

● City-states were now ruled by a tyrant, Greek leader that meant “boss.”

● Tyrants were originally positive leaders ensuring fairness, gaining temporary peace and equality.

● The second generation of tyrants Abused their power which sparked revolutions, ousting tyrants.

● Not all Greek city-states followed this ruling, especially the poorer areas. Still, the political shifts influenced Roman government forms.

● Democracy emerged as a system where society members participated in state decision-making. UNO-R SHSSAO STEM ORG