3. Objectives
At the end of this lesson,
you should be able to:
• explain anthropological and
sociological perspectives on
culture and society, and
• describe society and culture
as a complex whole.
7. Anthropology and Sociology
Humans are interesting
subjects to study. The human
story has a lot to say from
their way of living to the
associations they form. The
two interrelated scientific
studies of society colloquially
known as the twin social
8.
9. Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of
people throughout the world,
their evolutionary history, how
they behave, adapt to different
environments, communicate,
and socialize with one another.
10. Anthropology provides us with
a big picture of what it means
to be human.
The study of anthropology is
concerned with the biological
features that make us human
(such as physiology, genetic
makeup, nutritional history, and
evolution) and their social aspects
(such as language, culture,
politics, family, and religion).
11. A fictional social network diagram. It consists of 165 Nodes and 1851
Edges. The SVG-file was auto-generated by script. The underlying
node/edge data can be extracted from the circle/line elements.
12. Sociology
Sociology is the study of
human institutions and their
relationships. This discipline
examines how human actions
in modern societies are
shaped by social groups and
by wider social, economic, and
political pressures.
13. Sociology’s subject matter is
diverse, ranging from crime to
religion, from the family to the
state, from the divisions of
race and social class to the
shared beliefs of a common
culture, and from social
stability to radical change in
14. Anthropological and
Sociological Perspectives on
Culture and Society
In sociology, society is the
leading concept while culture
is subordinate. In
anthropology, on the other
hand, culture comes first as a
subject matter followed by
society.
16. When talking about culture,
we are mostly talking about
tangible factors which include
language, technology, and
institutionslike our churches,
schools, or houses.
However, culture also has
intangible aspects such as our
values and behaviors. It also
includes norms, the standards
or rules of acceptable
behavior.
17. Culture is what makes society a
collective whole. It gives the
community its form, shape, and
identity.
A society, in terms of sociology,
is a group of people living and
interacting with one another to
create a culture. Its population is
bound by a shared culture,
beliefs, attitudes, languages, and
institutions.
18. Society and Culture as a
Complex Whole
Edward B. Tylor
defined culture as "that
complex whole which includes
knowledge, art, belief, law,
morals, custom, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired
by man as a member of
society."
19. With this premise, it can be
said that culture is a product of
society. These two exist
dependently on each other.
Culture , just like every person
in society, is susceptible to
change or death.
20. Society is not constant. Its
members change from time to
time. As a result, culture changes
along. New trends exist. New
technologies are invented and
new means of interaction have
been created.
People evolve over time as a
result of their exposure to
renewed or changed laws, values,
and standards of society.
21. Explore!
Think about the different
factors involved in shaping
society and culture. How do
they affect continuous societal
and cultural changes?
22. Try it!
Identify three societies or
groups of people. Write at
least three characteristics for
each group.
23. What do you think?
What is the dividing line
between anthropology and
sociology? Culture and
society?
24. Keypoints
Anthropology is the study of
humans' evolutionary history
and how people behave,
adjust, communicate, and
socialize in different
environments.
Sociology is the study of
human institutions and their
25. Culture is a way of life of a group
of people. It involves symbols,
languages, values, and norms.
Society is a community or group
of people joined together by
sustained bonds and interactions.