Detailed Study Guide on Culture, Society, and Politics

The Dynamics of Culture, Society, and Politics in a Modern Context

• Interplay of Core Elements: In the modern world, understanding human behavior and social groups requires analyzing the interplay between culture, politics, and society. This analysis serves as a backdrop to global phenomena like globalization and industrialization.

• Student Roles and Expectations: Students are viewed as individuals and integral members of society. They are expected to value their roles, apply academic knowledge to social realities, and translate ideas into actions that benefit nation-building.

• Transformation Through Discernment: The ideal way to transform student ideals into action is by teaching them to discern challenges and convert them into positive endeavors. This requires understanding the dynamics between individuals, institutions, and major social players.

• Foundational Learning Aids: Political science, anthropology, and sociology are essential disciplines that equip individuals to locate themselves effectively within their community and society.

Defining Culture, Society, and Politics

• Culture: Generally defined as the sum of an individual’s way of life. It encompasses:     * Tangible/Material Aspects: Food, clothing, housing, architectural and engineering wonders, medical advancements, and breakthroughs in transportation and communication.     * Intangible/Non-material Aspects: Norms, values, music, dance, poetry, creative expressions, scientific knowledge, technology, fads, fashion trends, manners, and taboos.

• Society: An organized group or groups of interdependent people who share a common territory, language, and culture, and act together for collective survival and well-being. (Haviland, et. al: 312).     * Interdependence: Manifested through economic systems, communication networks, and defense systems.     * Inseparability: There can be no culture without a society, and no known human societies exist without a culture.

• Politics: Refers to the "theory, art, and practice of government." (Turner: 215).     * Political Institution: A stable cluster of statuses, norms, and role behaviors involved in the acquisition and exercise of power and decision-making.     * The State: The institution that sets social norms and values regarding who possesses the "monopoly of legitimate use of physical force within a given territory," how power is organized, and how it is maintained. (Weber: 216).

Governance and the Exercise of Power

• Government as a Political Institution: It is a concrete example that exercises power specifically for governance and decision-making.

• Power and Status: Power is manifested through the acquisition of statuses and functions. In democratic principles, power is a status granted to individuals or institutions to run the government and implement the rule of law.

• The Executive Branch:     * Key Figures: President or Prime Minister and the Cabinet.     * Functions: Execute governance and implement laws. The President serves as chief executive and commander-in-chief of the military during war and the cabinet during peace. Duties include policy-making, law imposition, and designating roles for cabinet members.     * Veto and Check-and-Balance: The executive can approve or veto legislative decisions and order reviews of other branches to ensure proper function execution.

• The Legislative Branch:     * Key Figures: Senators and Congressmen.     * Functions: Exercise legislative power by making and passing laws for the executive to implement.

• The Judiciary Branch:     * Functions: Tasked with interpreting laws in accordance with societal standards and norms.

• Balance of Power: All three branches are expected to work harmoniously to maintain political equilibrium.

Dimensions of Social Identity and Difference

• Gender: The socially constructed characteristics of being male or female (Eccles: 43).     * Gender vs. Sex: Sex refers to biological differences (hormones, sexual arousal), while gender refers to culturally learned differences.     * Cultural Variation: Gender roles vary; for example, in Judeo-Christian traditions, men are often ascribed vigorous occupational roles (plowing), while women are relegated to homemaking.     * Examples of Variation: New Guinean highlanders feature men who are artistic and nurturant, while women in some Amazonian tribes exhibit patterns of dominance.     * Gender Inequality: Often manifests in job domains; however, domains are overlapping in modern times (e.g., male chefs, female bankers).

• Socioeconomic Status: A category of persons with similar socioeconomic privileges due to inherited wealth or the breadwinner's occupational status (Panopio: 327).     * Philippine Social Classes:         * Upper Class: Elite families, subdivided into the "new rich" (nouveau riche, rags-to-riches) and the "traditional upper class" (descendants of powerful families with inherited wealth).         * Middle Class: Small business owners, managers, professionals, office workers, farm owners, and overseas workers.         * Lower Class: Farm employees, skilled/unskilled artisans, service workers, unemployed/underemployed. Often characterized by a "subsistence lifestyle" (lacking three decent meals a day, insufficient income to feed the family, no permanent job).     * Income Distribution (SWS 2011 Data):         * Class A & B: $1\%$ of families; average annual income > P1,857,700.         * Class C: $9\%$ of families; average annual income $\approx P603,000$.         * Class D: $60\%$ of families; average annual income $\approx P191,000$.         * Class E: $30\%$ of families; average annual income $\approx P62,000$.

• Ethnicity: Expression of cultural ideas held by a distinct ethnic or indigenous group. (Haviland, et. al: 313).     * Major Philippine Groups (2000 Census): Tagalog ($28.1\%$), Cebuano ($13.1\%$), Ilocano ($9\%$), Bisaya/Binisaya ($7.6\%$), Ilonggo/Hiligaynon ($7.5\%$), Bikol ($6\%$), Waray ($3.4\%$).

• Religion: Organized system of ideas about the spiritual/supernatural and associated rituals (Haviland, et. al: 554).     * Philippine Composition (2000 Census): Catholic ($82.9\%$), Islam ($5\%$), Evangelical ($2.8\%$), Iglesia ni Kristo ($2.3\%$).

• Exceptionality: Refers to being intellectually gifted and/or physically/mentally challenged (comprising personality, communication, intellect, or physical appearance). (MinEd: 2).

• Nationality: The legal relationship binding a person and a country, granting the state jurisdiction and the person protection. (Wels: 29).

Social, Political, and Cultural Behavior and Phenomena

• Norms: Guides or models of behavior indicating what is proper/improper or right/wrong. They set limits for achieving goals.     * Norms of Decency: Involves appropriateness in clothing, manners, and civility. Examples include the act of pagmamano in the Philippines or proximity during conversation (sign of intimacy in Asia vs. improper in the West).     * Norms of Conventionality: Beliefs/practices acceptable in one culture but potentially seen as inimical in others. Examples: Bagobo burial practices or T'boli hanging of dead infants on trees.

• Symbolic Meanings: Colors vary in meaning (e.g., Blue is royalty for British, Pink for Indians, Red for luck for Chinese).

• Conformity and Social Control:     * Social Control: Means to ensure people behave in approved ways via sanctions (rewards/punishments). (Robertson: 64).     * Internalization: The unconscious process of making cultural norms part of one's personality.     * Conformity: The state of having internalized norms.

• Deviance: Behavior set away from a norm (nonconformity).     * Formal Deviance: Violations of enacted laws (theft, robbery, graft).     * Informal Deviance: Violations of non-codified social norms (belching loudly, spitting).     * Political Dynasties as Deviance: Manifestations of power imbalance. Studies show dynastic candidates have a $30\%$ greater chance of winning in the Philippines.

• Taboos:     * Food Taboos: Religious (Muslims/Jews and pork; Hindus and beef) or Cultural (West viewing dog/cat meat as deviant; insects as common fare in Asia/Africa).     * Folklore (Mari-it): In Panay, belief in "dangerous zones" preserves forests and fishing grounds by discouraging entry.

Patterns of Social, Political, and Cultural Change

• Social Change: Variations or modifications in social organization patterns (Panopio: 364).     * Causes:         * Invention: New combination of existing knowledge. Material (mobile phone, airplane) or Social (alphabet, jejemon).         * Discovery: Learning to see existing elements in a new way. Example: Using carageenan (seaweed) for gelatine and anti-retroviral drugs for HIV.         * Diffusion: Spread of culture traits via trade, migration, or mass communication process (Enculturation, Socialization, Association, Integration).

• Political Change: Changes toward open, participatory politics. Examples: Youth awareness in elections, EDSA People Power revolutions (2001 toppled Estrada), and civil society "pressure groups" (e.g., Corona impeachment).

• Cultural Change: Alterations in culture content and structure (traits/complexes).     * Factors of Cultural Change:         * Physical Environment: Disasters (floods, droughts, Typhoon Yolanda) force lifestyle adjustments and resiliency.         * Population: Migration and urban explosion. Leads to "transnational families" where parents work abroad, causing roles to flex (grandparents raising kids).         * War and Conquest: Reduces population and creates a "war industry."         * Random Events: Oil price hikes affecting commodity prices.         * Technology: Radical transformation via the Internet/Facebook. Marshall McLuhan's "global village" enables rapid knowledge diffusion.

The Essence of Anthropology, Political Science, and Sociology

• Anthropology: The study of humans and their ancestors.     * Fields: Physical/Biological (humans as organisms), Cultural (behavior/thought), Archaeology (material remains), and Linguistics (language systems).

• Political Science: Analysis of state, government, and power dynamics at local, regional, national, and international levels (Sharma and Sharma: 6).     * Philippine Setting: Power is divided into Central (National Gov in Manila) and Local (Provinces/Cities per the Local Government Code of 1991).

• Sociology: The science of society and social behavior as an aggregate of individuals (Robertson: 5).     * Perspective: Analyzes social life in complex phases. For example, viewing suicide not just as a choice but as a result of impersonal social forces (Macionis).

• Interrelatedness: Anthropology (ethnography) helps political scientists understand nationality/ethnicity; sociology (social class analysis) assists in understanding the behavior of the electorate.