Lesson for week 4

1. UCSP Week 4

2. CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL
SYMBOLS
GOALS 4A
🞅 At the end of the lesson the students can:
🞅 A. Define the cultural, social and
political symbols in their own
words.
🞅 B. Analyse the differences of
cultural, social, and political
symbols.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

3. 🞅 In one statement how does
the picture speak to you about
Cultural Relativism?
LOOKING BACK

4. SYMBOLS
🞅 A symbol carries meaning to the people who share a culture because it is created
and maintained by the members of the culture. Symbols such as gestures, signs,
objects, signals, and words—help people understand their messages all over the
world.

5. DIFFERENT SYMBOLS
🞅Cultural
🞅Social
🞅Political

6. CULTURAL SYMBOL
It is something that carries meaning to people who share a
culture, is broadly understood and used so frequently that it does
not require explanation. Language, which is both an element and
a reflection of culture, is a system of symbols that allows
members of a culture to communicate with one another.
Words symbolize objects, ideas, and actions. However,
sometimes these meanings

7. EXAMPLES
In Language, “Hane” is an expression used in Tanay Rizal
everytime they made a statement like “kumain ka na ba
hane? The same in Batangas, they have “Ala eh!” and “ga”,
such as "ala eh! saan ka ga nang galing?”. This language
expressions give a unique identity to each culture in our
country particularly in Tanay and Batangas.

8. EXAMPLES
In gesture, it has also a symbol to express, kissing and
hugging in western countries and in our country is an
expression of affection, but in Middle East countries is a
form of honor and respect.

9. EXAMPLES
🞅 In visual. In some culture’s colors are
associated with gender, such as pink for girls
and blue for boys. Another example is traffic
signage such as stop signs or symbols used on
highways to indicate where to stop for gas, food,
or lodging.

10. Examples
🞅 Clothing and possession: in
commercial society having many money
and wealth and things that can be bought
by wealth such as car, house and fine
cloths are status symbol. In the
Philippines among the youths, one of
the obvious status symbols is having an
expensive branded smart phone or
gadgets. Other are fine watch, imported
bag and shoes etc.

11. WHAT MAKES
UP YOUR
CULTURE?
Societal recognition: Uniform symbolizes
membership of an organization and display ranks,
specialty, and societal position within organization.
A good example of this are military uniform with
rank insignia over the shoulder, doctor’s emblem
written their name, an engineer wearing a hard
hat, or a teacher known by the color-coded
uniform on daily schedule.

12. EXAMPLE
🞅 Symbol of love, wedding and
friendship: Red heart shape is
symbolizing love, two golden or silver
rings for wedding and friendship band to
seal friendship. Society finds way to
create symbols to convey their affections
and emotion.

13. Political
Symbols
POLITICAL SYMBOLS ARE USED TO
REPRESENT THE POLITICAL STANDPOINT.
THE SYMBOLS CAN OCCUR IN VARIOUS
MEDIA, BANNER, ACRONYM, PICTURES,
FLAG, MOTTO AND MANY MORE.

14. Example
Red flags have traditionally been flown
by socialist, communist, left wing radical
to present the “blood of the workers”.
Many groups used political colors
associated to their political philosophy.
Political color as symbol used around the world:
Black – anarchism, fascism, Catholicism, Christian
democracy and black
Blue – conservatism, Judaism, men, monarchism and
liberalism
Brown – Nazism and Hispanic
Gold – capitalism and libertarianism
Green – conservatism, Islam and agrarianism
Red – communism and socialism

15. WRAP UP
A symbol carries meaning to the people who share a culture because it is created and maintained by the
members of the culture.
CULTURAL SYMBOL - It is something that carries meaning to people who share a culture, is broadly
understood and used so frequently that it does not require explanation.
SOCIAL SYMBOL - It is a perceived visible, external denotation of one’s special and perceived indicator of
social status
POLITICAL SYMBOLS - Political symbols are used to represent the political standpoint. The symbols can
occur in various media, banner, acronym, pictures, flag, motto and many more.

16. ACTIVITY 3 (5
POINTS)
1. Which of the examples is NOT considered as a symbol?
A. Emotions
B. Objects
C. Ideas
D. Gestures
2. What kind of symbols carries meaning to people who share a culture, as broadly understood and used so frequently that it does not require explanation?
A. Political Symbol
B. Sociological symbol
C. Cultural Symbol
D. Philosophical symbol
3. What kind of symbols are used to represent the political standpoint?
A. Political Symbol
B. Sociological symbol
C. Cultural Symbol
D. Philosophical symbol
4. What color symbolize conservatism, Judaism, men, monarchism and liberalism?
A. Black
B. Blue
C. Gold
D. Red
5. What kind of sociological symbol that is common in commercial society using many money and wealth for status symbols?
A. Symbol of love and wedding
B. Clothing and possession
C. Societal recognition
D. Symbol of friendship

17. ACTIVITY 4 (9
POINTS)

18. CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING (1
5 POINTS)
🞅 Complete the sentence according to how you have learned the lesson.
🞅 Cultural symbols helps me to value that…
🞅 Sociological symbols made me realize that…
🞅 Political symbols allow me to understand that…

19. GOALS
4B
🞅 A. Identify the importance
of Cultural, Sociological
and Political symbol in our
society.
🞅 B. Value and respect the
unique Cultural,
Sociological and Political
symbol in our society that
are different from them.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

20. LOOKING BACK
🞅 Cultural Symbol – It is something that
carries meaning to people who share a
culture, is broadly understood and used
so frequent that it does not require an
explanation.
🞅 Everyone knows this gesture all around
the globe and its desire for peace not for
war and hate. This symbolized the culture
of promoting peace.

21. LOOKING BACK
🞅 SOCIAL SYMBOL - It is a perceived
visible, external denotation of one’s
special and perceived indicator of
social status.
🞅 This symbol was used as a
password from early church in
Jerusalem to protect their members
from persecution and
imprisonment. At this time this
symbol speaks about a group of
people who follows Christ, known as
Christianity

22. LOOKING BACK
🞅 POLITICAL SYMBOLS - Political symbols
are used to represent the political
standpoint. The symbols can occur in
various media, banner, acronym, pictures,
flag, motto and many more.
🞅 This political symbol, Nacionalista Party is
the oldest political party in the Philippines
and in Southeast Asia, responsible for
leading the country throughout the majority
of the 20th century since its founding in
1907.

23. IMPORTANCE OF CULTURAL, SOCIOLOGICAL AND
POLITICAL SYMBOLS
🞅 People group such as cultural group, sociological group and political group used symbols that convey meaning
and it is a tool for a communication. Communication is based upon the use of mutually understood symbols.
🞅 Symbols—such as gestures, signs, objects, signals, and words—help people understand that world.
They provide clues to understanding experiences by conveying recognizable meanings that are shared by
societies or people group. The used of symbols are helpful to provide clues to understanding experiences by
conveying recognizable meanings that are shared by Culture, Sociology and Politics.
🞅 People create and interpret the meaning of all symbols solely through shared cultural, sociological and
political understanding. Communication can occur only if people know how to use and interpret a shared set of
symbols. The ability to communicate is thus rooted in culture. A culture's shared set of symbols is
produced and maintained through shared cultural beliefs, sociological practices, and political expectations.

24. FOR EXAMPLE
This is the universal cultural sign or gesture for
peace, all over the world used this to convey
message of harmony not war. It might look as
simply as an index and middle finger raised
together to other people but it means so much to
places and people living in terrorism, chaos and
war. So this symbol is very precious to them and
Peace is all they want.

25. FOR EXAMPLE
During the World War II and after, this symbol of Nazi Party as
political party in Germany, the “swastika” was the most hated in the
world due to his cruel and hostile act of killing of millions of
Europeans and of 6 million Jewish race alone during Holocaust. But
the swastika was a symbol of “Aryan identity” and national pride in
Germany during those time. But not for the family and victims of
cruelty and hostility. Each race gave different meaning on this
symbol.

26. HOW OTHERS PERCEIVED SYMBOLS
I heard a story sometime ago regarding “NO ENTRY” symbol and how Filipino and American interpret it. This is
how the story goes on.
A symbol of “No Entry” was posted in the door for a purpose. When the American saw and read it, he said to
himself maybe this symbol was posted for my protection and safety and it will bring me to harm if I insists to
go inside and then he goes.
Later, a Filipino came and about to enter when he noticed a symbol “No Entry” posted in the door. Furious
because he can not go inside, shouted: Who put this symbol on this door? Why somebody denying me the access
to go inside? Do they know who I am?
(Disclaimer: this story was unvalidated not sure if this is true or not or just for humor).
Two human being has two different meaning to the same symbol. The one look at it as precaution while the other
one look at it as privilege or entitlement. Sounds strange and amusing that somebody will demand his right for
symbol that has no power to argue with.
This story remind us that symbols communicate messages to use and to interpret by its purpose not by our own
preference. It is important to understand that each cultural, sociological and political group used symbols to
communicate their ideas and admonition. It is vital to remind ourselves to carefully understand, respect and give
value to the symbols of each cultural, sociological and political group.

27. WRAP UP
🞅 The used of symbols are helpful to provide clues to understanding experiences by conveying
recognizable meanings that are shared by culture group, sociological group and political
group.
🞅It is important to understand that each cultural, sociological and political group used symbols to
communicate their ideas and admonition.
🞅It is vital to remind ourselves to carefully understand, respect and give value to the symbols of
each cultural, sociological and political group. We may took the meaning differently, nevertheless
we ought to accept each other’s perception.

28. CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING:
Activity 3 (15 point)

29. POSTTEST
ACTIVITY 4 (5
POINTS)

30. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC