UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY understand why things happen in the world of
AND POLITICAL SCIENCE government and how we can make informed
decisions as citizens.
Perspective in Anthropology
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Holism – analyzes anthropological
concepts on a holistic approach.
Political science is a systematic study of
By using a holistic approach, anthropologists ask
government, politics, and political power.
how different aspects of human life influence one
another. It means looking at things as a complete
Political science is like a "study of politics." It's all
system, where everything is connected and
about understanding how governments and
influences each other.
societies work.
Cultural Relativism – it analyzes culture by
Greek word “polis” means city-state while science
relating it to others.
comes from Latin word “scire” which means to
know.
Is the idea that we should seek to understand
another person’s beliefs and behaviors from the
Imagine you have a big group of people, and
perspective of their culture rather than our own.
they need to make decisions about rules, leaders,
Anthropologists do not judge other cultures
and how to solve problems.
based on their values nor do they view other
ways of doing things as inferior. Instead,
Political science helps us look at:
anthropologists seek to understand people’s
Government: How leaders are chosen, what
beliefs within the system they have for explaining
they do, and how they make decisions.
things.
Laws and Policies: How rules are made, who
Field working – immersion.
they benefit, and how they affect people's lives.
You participate in people’s lives, while observing
Elections: How people vote for leaders, and
them and taking field notes that, along with
what factors influence their choices.
interviews and surveys, constitute the research
data. This research is inductive: based on day-
International Relations: How countries talk to
to-day observations, the anthropologist asks
each other, make deals, or sometimes even
increasingly specific questions about the group or
disagree.
about the human condition more broadly.
Power and Influence: Who has power in a
Perspective in Sociology
society, and how they use it.
Functionalist Perspective – analyzes
History and Comparisons: Looking at the past
society’s interconnectedness,
and comparing different countries to learn what
sustainability, and balance.
works and what doesn't.
For example, the increase in single- parent and
Goals of Political Science
dual-earner families has contributed to the
number of children who are failing in school
1. Make people better citizens.
because parents have become less available to
2. Keep social order and harmony among
supervise their children’s homework.
different groups of people.
3. Protect the rights of an individual.
Conflict Perspective – Battle of interest
4. Avoid conflict and promote cooperation.
and competitions.
So, political science is like a giant puzzle where Sees social life as a competition and focuses on
we try to figure out how politics shapes our world the distribution of resources, power, and
and how we can make it better. It helps us inequality. The workers, who may earn only
subsistence wages, are denied access to the
many resources available to the wealthy owners.
- Symbolic Interactionist Perspective – focuses on
individualism, in other words, on YOU as part of
the society.
Since it focuses on you, it asks what your function
to your society is.
Perspective in Political Science
Family – is the basic unit of society.
Gender – What will be your role in the future? Are
roles assigned to you by society or based on what
you want?
Religion – Affects how we make decision based
on moral standards. “Moral compass”
Social Classes – Better social classes – better
network of people – better management
decisions.
Race and Geographical Location – your culture
and how you put it in tradition or what are your
practices in an aspect of decision making.
