Understanding Culture, Society and Politics

1. UNDERSTANDING
CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND
POLITICS

2. OBJECTIVES:
1.Articulate observations on human cultural
variation, social differences, social change,
and political identities.
2.Exhibit differences of human in terms of
their behavior.
3.Identify factors that affects the behavior of
humans.

3. Look at your
seatmates.

4. Notice the shape of
their nose, the color
of their hair, and the
color of their skin.

5. Are theirs
similar to yours?

6. Do you speak
the same
language?

7. Do you eat the
same food?

8. What makes
us different?

9. Form a group with five members. For 15 minutes,
share with one another the following information:
1.Your parents’ cultural background (Ilokano,
Kapampangan, Visayan, etc.)
2.The languages and dialects that you can speak.
3.Your nationality (Filipino, Chinese, American, etc.)
After your group discussions, summarize in two
paragraphs or more your similarities and differences.

10. CLASSROOM
DISCUSSION

11. NATIONALITY AND ETHNICITY
- their concepts are not interchangeable
Nationality
- it is the identity that is tied to being part of a nation or
country
- it is the “group of people who share the same history,
traditions, and language” and who inhabits a particular
territory delineated by a political border and controlled by a
government
- can be acquired by being born in a country or by the
process of legal applications called naturalization

12. Ethnic Groups
- smaller cultural groups that share specific
environments, traditions, and histories that are
not necessarily subscribed to by the mainstream
culture
- there are about 180 indigenous ethnic groups in
the Philippines and more than 100 tribal groups
who are mostly inhabiting ancestral domains in
the lowland, upland, and coastal areas

13. Gender
- refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors,
activities, and attributes that a given society
considers appropriate for men and women
Sex
- refers to the biological characteristics of humans such
as male or female, gender categories are more varied,
accommodating identities such as lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LQBTI)

14. TYPES OF GENDER
1. Heterosexual – is inclined to be sexually attracted to a person of the
opposite sex
2. Homosexual – is attracted to a person of the same sex (gay/lesbian)
3. Bisexual – are attracted to both sexes
4. Asexual – is being attracted to any sex
5. Polysexual – attracted to multiple types of gender
6. Pansexual – who accommodates all types of gender
7. Transgender – people whose gender identities do not match their
biological identity as male or female
8. Transsexual – their sexual orientation is not related to their genitalia,
which allow them to identify with any other type of gender such as
heterosexual, pansexual, bisexual, and sexual

15. SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLASS
- Its concept between societies as the ideas associated with
being poor or rich differ based on the collective experiences of
individuals
- People falling into different social classes are bound to
experience life differently such as in the form of transportation
and the type and amount of food that they can afford and
consume daily
- Our indicators of social class are different, given the economic
and political context in which our country is in
* mahirap
* medyo mayaman
* sakto lang
* mayaman

16. POLITICAL IDENTITY
- As a social group refers to the set of attitudes and practices
that an individual adheres to in relation to the political systems
and actors within his or her society
Ang Ladlad – a political party that negotiates for the welfare of
the LGBTI community
Kabataan – a political party that promotes youth empowerment
Religion – can also offer political identity to its followers
Ex: INC – promotes the practice of block-voting

17. RELIGION
- The belief of supernatural has been one of the universal pre-occupations of humans
as early as 60,000 years ago
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
- extreme weather conditions
- natural and man-made calamities
- sickness
- death
- Early human art exuded ancient forms of superstitious that included beliefs in the
afterlife and that of superhuman capabilities
Sorcerer of Les Gabillou – an example of a Paleolithic artwork – depicts the
supernatural ability of a religious practitioner to become half-man and half-animal

18. Today, religion has evolved to promote far complex
forms of understanding human nature, the afterlife, and
natural events.
Monotheistic – believing in the existence of one GOD
Polytheistic – believing in the existence of multiple
GODS

19. Cultural Variation
- The variation in human conditions promotes diversity and plurality in
cultural traditions
Ethnocentrism – a perspective that promotes an individual’s culture as
the most efficient and superior
- the individual who exhibits ethnocentrism feels that his or
her culture is the most appropriate as compared with other cultures
Cultural relativism – promotes the perspective that cultures must be
understood in the context of their locality
- this makes you tolerant of the differing attitudes and
practices of others

20. Cultural Relatively Approach of Ferraro and Andretta
“One can build emotional resilience by understanding that others do not necessarily
offend, but that their actions are guided by their own cultural norms”
Race – one of the problematic form of classification for human groups
- based on observable human traits and characteristics
Caucasoid Mongoloid
Australoid Negroid
*These categories merely reflect the differences in skin color, size of skull,
height, body frame, and other physical characteristics
*In 2013 study of the Pew Research Center, it was noted that “all black men were
six times as likely as all white men to be incarcerated”
- lower household income
- lesser access to good education
- poor housing conditions
- lesser to no access to health care system

21. REFLECTION PAPER
Are humans really different
from one another, or are our
differences just skin-deep?

22. THANK YOU!!!