Understanding Culture, Society and Politics
Technical Terms:
Culture- commonly defined as a society’s way of life, provides the basis for forging identities.
Anthropology-is the systematic study of the biological, cultural, and social aspects of man.
● It is derived from the two Greek words, anthropos, which means “man,” and logos means
“study” or inquiry.
Sociology- is the systematic study of social life, groups, and society.
● It is an academic discipline that attempts to provide a deeper assessment of individual and
group behaviour, as well as phenomena.
Political Science- is the systematic study of politics. It focuses on the fundamental values of
equality, freedom, and justice as well as the dynamics of conflict, resolution, and cooperation.
● Andrew Heywood describes as “the activity through which people make, preserve, and
amend the general rules under which they live”.
● Focuses on the fundamental values of equality, freedom, and justice and its processes are
linked to the dynamics of conflict, resolution, and cooperation.
# avoid being judgmental!
Chapter 1: Human Variation….
Identity- refers to a distinctive characteristics that define an individual or shared by those
belonging to a particular group.
● People may have multiple identities depending on the groups to which they belong.
● Family, School, Sports, Nationality, and sexual orientation.
● Identity can also change over the course of a person’s lifetime. It is continuously shaped
and reshaped through the passage of time.
● It helps the person to understand that identities are relational and contextual, thereby
avoiding the common pitfall of having misguided notions or prejudices of other people
that are solely based on one’s subjective views.
People have their similarities and differences and they live in a society.
Cultural variation could lead to:
Discrimination – unequal treatment of an individual based on their characteristics
Ostracism – being excluded from the group which can be a result of discrimination
Prejudice – having preconceived thoughts or opinions of an individual with no actual basis
What makes us different?
Environment and history are two of the primary factors that shape the behaviour of human
groups.
