UNDERSTANDING

CULTURE, SOCIETY,
AND POLITICS
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.
Look at your
seatmates.
Notice the shape of
their nose, the
color of their hair,
and the color of
their skin.
Are theirs
similar to
yours?
Do you speak
the same
language?
Do you eat
the same
food?
What makes
us different?
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.
CLASSROOM
DISCUSSION
 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
 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
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)
 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
 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
 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
 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
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
 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
 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
REFLECTION PAPER

Are humans really different

from one another, or are
our differences just skin-
deep?
THANK YOU!!!