Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

Lecture Notes

By Deona Faye Pantas

Society refers to a group of people living together in an organized community with a shared culture.
Culture is the complex system of meaning and behavior that defines the way of life for a given group or society. Its elements are
tradition, beliefs, values, customs, norms, laws, buildings, tools, food, dress, etc.
Politics is the art of policy making, government, public affairs, compromise and consensus, and power.

Social Science – a branch of science that studies societies and the interaction of its members. Its subfields include Anthropology,
Sociology, Political Science, Economics and Psychology.

 Anthropology studies humanity including its history, origin and variation. It is comparative in nature but it also utilizes
research methods such as observation & case study.
 Sociology studies the social lives of people, groups and societies. It particularly covers phenomena such as human
interaction, relationship, social pattern, social institutions, social origins, and social forces. Its goal is to examine social
issues, debunk myths, and analyze diversity among and within societies.
 Political science is the systematic study of government and the analysis of political activities and behavior. It examines
phenomena such as political parties, voting behavior, interest groups, bureaucracies and administrative procedures,
international laws and organization, and other political institutions.
Common intersections
Naturally, the three abovementioned academic disciplines would at many occasions intersect in terms of study of interest due to the
interconnecting relationship among the “society”, “culture” and “politics”. Nevertheless each one can aid the other in order to better
examine a certain issue/phenomenon.

 Anthropology & Sociology

o Both study culture but Anthropology could assist Sociology into understanding a present-day phenomenon by
tracing its history, variation, or origin. Sociology also borrows concepts from Anthropology such as cultural traits,
patterns and ideas.
 Sociology & Political Science
o Sociology does not give primacy to only one institution as it sees all institutions are equally important because each
contributes in its on significant way to the functioning of a society. Thus, for sociology, political institutions is one
of the institutions of society that must be analyzed in relationship with other institutions. Political Science also
needs sociological background as politics is the reflection of society.
 Political Science & Anthropology
o Laws are largely based on customs, traditions, conventions and usages and thus must gain an ample background on
cultural patterns, traits and ideas. War, mass movements, revolutions, government control, public opinion,
propaganda, leadership, elections, voting, political minorities can also be studied by both Anthropology and
Political Science.

Theoretical Perspectives of Sociology

Sociological theory is one of the tools that sociologists use to interpret real life. Sociologists use theory to organize their observations
and apply them to the broad questions sociologists ask, such as: How are individuals related to society? How is social order
maintained? Why is there inequality in society? How does social change occur? Different theoretical frameworks within sociology
make different assumptions and provide different insights about the nature of society.

1. Andersen, M. & Taylor, H. (2013). Sociology: The Essentials, 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
2. Hix, S. & Whiting, M. (2012). Introduction to political science. Retrieved from: www.londoninternational.ac.uk
 Figure 1. Thee Classical Sociological Frameworks by Andersen and Taylor (2013).

Functionalism (by Talcott Parsons & Robert Merton)

 It interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole.
 The different parts are primarily the institutions of society, each of which is organized to fill different needs and each of
which has particular consequences for the form and shape of society.
 It emphasizes the consensus and order that exist in society, focusing on social stability and shared public values.
 Disorganization in the system, such as deviant behavior and so forth, leads to change because societal components must
adjust to achieve stability.
Conflict Theory (derived from Karl Marx)
 It emphasizes the role of coercion and power, a person’s or group’s ability to exercise influence and control over others, in
producing social order.
 Social order is maintained not by consensus but by domination, with power in the hands of those with the greatest political,
economic, and social resources.
 When consensus exists, according to conflict theorists, it is attributable to people being united around common interests,
often in opposition to other groups.
 Inequality exists because those in control of a disproportionate share of society’s resources actively defend their advantages.
Symbolic Interaction
 It considers immediate social interaction to be the place where “society” exists. Because of the human capacity for reflection,
people give meaning to their behavior, and this is how they interpret the different behaviors, events, or things.
 This theory believes that subjective meanings are given primacy because people behave based on what they believe, not just
on what is objectively true. Thus, society is considered to be socially constructed through human interpretation.
 It interprets social order as constantly negotiated and created through the interpretations people give to their behavior.

1. Andersen, M. & Taylor, H. (2013). Sociology: The Essentials, 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
2. Hix, S. & Whiting, M. (2012). Introduction to political science. Retrieved from: www.londoninternational.ac.uk