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K to 12 BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM
NARRA NATIONAL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
2018-2019 - Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics
FACTSHEET #1
Topics Competencies
1.The Interpretative Dynamics of Society
2. Aspects of Culture/Become aware of why and how cultural
relativism mitigates ethnocentrism.
3. Identify forms of tangible and intangible heritage and threats
to these.
4. Explore the significance of fossils and artifacts in
interpreting cultural, social, and economic processes.
5. Explain the importance of artifacts and fossils in
understanding the social, cultural, political, and economic
processes of modern humans.
1. Interpretive dynamics of culture
• It is a tool to graspthe complexityof the phenomenon it represents and
a means to explore its many other dimensions hidden by its normative
use.
• It represents anideal type, which more or less depicts the form, Society
as a Concept
• Society is seen as an outcome of multiple interactions of people upon
which succeeding interactions are made meaningful and possible.
Society as a Facticity
Society
• the quality of having unlimited or very great power. Omnipotence
• the state of knowing everything. Omniscience
• the state of being widespread or constantly encountered. Omnipresence
• It allows us to see opportunities where there are none and to create one
if need be.
Sociological Awareness
Being sociallyaware means that you understandhowyoureact todifferent
social situations, andeffectivelymodifyyour interactions with other people
so that you achieve the best results.
The sociological perspective enjoins us tosee the coordinates of our social
maps- our biography and society’s history and their intersections – and
from there chart more feasible routes C. W Mills
Theoretical Perspective
the societyis seen as a complex system whose parts function and work in
harmony, bringing stability in the process (Parts of the society: family,
school, economy, or state)
An American sociologist who differentiate the two kinds of function He is
considered a founding father. Robert Merton
1. Manifest Function • Is the intended, recognized and obvious •
consequences that people observe or expect. It is explicitly stated and
understood by the participants in the relevant action.
2. Latent Function • The unintended and unrecognized function
2. Social Dysfunction • undesirable effects of a social pattern on the
operation of society, may result but society has the ability to adjust.
Focuses on: forces insociety that promote competitionand change • it is
basedon the assumptionthat societyis anarena of inequalityanddivision
resulting to conflict.
Focuses on: how individuals interact it focuses onhow people make sense
of the world, on how they experience anddefine what theyand others are
doing, and on how they influence and are influenced by others.
Rules: Invisible Hand of Society -Are essential in the everyday conduct of
the member of the society -it becomes the arbiter of disagreements and
people’s respect for rules gives them this organizing power over human
actions over time.
Written Rules Are easily seen and hence are easilyobserved andobeyed.
Stop at a red light
Unwritten Rules These are rules that aren’t necessarily laws but we follow
them on a day to day basis.
Don't stop in the middle of a busy sidewalk.
Culture as a Concept
Culture is that complex whole includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law,
custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society. -Edward B. Tylor
Culture is the way of life especially the general customs and beliefs, of a
particular group of people at a particular time
-Cambridge English Dictionary
Mass Culture refers to the mass- produced and mass – mediated forms of
consumer culture that emerged in the 20th Century.
Culture Society
One does not or cannot exist without the others • “There canbe noculture
without a society and there are no known human societies that do not
exhibit culture.”
1. Aspects of culture
What is culture? Culture refers to a people’s way of life. There are 5
categories that define culture
1. Language, Literature, Art and Music
2. Culture Beliefs and Religions
3. Customs Clothing Food Holidays Houses
4. Institutions,Schools,Family
5. Technology and material goods
Animism.The beliefthat all thingsinnature have their ownspirit. Animals
, Plants, Mountains Sun, moon and stars.
Hinduism .Most popular religion in modern India *Believe in many gods
(polytheistic)
Reincarnation. After you die you will be born again as someone or
something else
*Karma. If you are good you will be reborn into a higher caste
*Castes System. Social classes *Sacred Objects. Believe cows are sacred;
don’t eat beef
Buddhism *Main religion in Tibet, Japan, Thailand and China *Buddhists
follow teaching of Buddha, who taught selfish desires means human
suffering *Eightfold Path. Buddhist must give up wealth *Nirvana. Live
right and you will reach eternal bliss
Judaism *First religion to teach belief in one God (monotheism) *Old
Testament. History of Jewish people told in first half of Bible *Ten
Commandments. Moral code of conduct Ex: Believe in one God Listen to

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your parents Do not kill Do not steal Do not commit adultery. Christianity
*Begun by Jesus *Believe -Jesus is the son of God - Jesus rose from the
dead to go to Heaven - If you are saved, you will go to Heaven *Includes:
Catholics, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox Christians *World’s most
popular religion
Islam*Foundedby Mohammed around 600 A.D. *Muslims believe in one
God-Allah (monotheistic) *Qur'an. Holy book which contains God
messages giventoMohammed *Five Pillars of Faith. Basic religious duties
that Muslims must fulfill There is noGodbut Allah Pray5 timesa day facing
Mecca Give money tothe poor Fast during the monthof Ramadan Make a
pilgrimage (trip) to Mecca *Popular in the Middle East, South and
Southeast Asia
Sikhism *Found mostly in Northern India *Combines beliefs from
Hinduism and Islam *Believe in reincarnation *Believe in one God
(monotheistic) *Everyone is equal inthe eyes of God *Mendonot cut their
hair and often wear turbans over their hair
2. Tangible and Intangible Cultures
Tangible culture includes historic sites, buildings, villages, etc.
Intangible cultures are hard to preserve because they can get lost with
social transformation, and era of Change (modernization).
INTANGIBLE cultural heritage (ICH) is defined by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) as “the
practices, representations, expressions, as well as the knowledge and skills
(including instruments, objects, artifacts, cultural spaces), that
communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of
their cultural heritage.”
In the Philippines, experts have so far identified and documented
hundreds of intangible cultural heritage elements inthe country. Three of
them have been inscribed to the Unesco Representative List of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: the Hudhud chant and Punnuk
ritual of the Ifugao and Darangen epic of the Maranao
The Philippines became a signatory to the Unesco’s Convention for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of 2003. And since the
passing of the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, the National
Commission for Culture and the Arts, particularly its Intangible Heritage
unit, has intensified the listing of intangible heritage .
The result of the continuous documentationand the subsequent database
that was produced out of it thus far is the book, “Pinagmulan:
Enumerations from the Philippine Inventory of Intangible Cultural
Heritage,” published in 2013 by the NCCA together with the Unesco
International Information and Networking Center for Intangible Cultural
Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (ICHCAP).
Edited by anthropologist and award-winning writer Jesus Peralta, the book
is a pioneering and the most extensive publication thus far on Philippine
intangible cultural heritage.
The book has essay-contributions from Peralta, former National Museum
and Metropolitan Museum Director Corazon Alvina, Peabody Museum of
Natural History curator emeritus Harold Conklin, renowned
anthropologist Robert Fox, authority inKalinga culture Fr. FranciscoBillet,
the great Ivatan scholar Florentino Hornedo, socio-anthropologist F.
Landa Jocano, textile expert Dr. Norma Respicio, among others.
Their contributions include intangible cultural elements of the country in
five ICH domains—oral traditions and expressions; performing arts; social
practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning
nature and the universe; and traditional craftsmanship spanning from
precolonial Philippines to the traditions and practices of the present .
Some of the elements in the initial inventory include the Maranao folk
narrative Radia Indarapatra, Hinalawod epic of the Sulod of Panay, Moros
y Cristianos street drama of the Tagalog, kuratsa dance of the Waray,
pechen (peace pact) of Bontoc, Magpandipandi of the Yakan of Basilan,
Tau’t Batu cosmology, agsana (salt-making) of Ilocos Norte, baor-making
(inlaid wooden chest) of Tugaya, Lanao del Sur, and various agricultural,
burial and religious practices and traditions of the country.
NCCA Chair Felipe de Leondescribes the bookinthe introductory message
as “a celebrationof our indigenous, ancient yet contemporary heritage of
creative genius and a testament to the profound sources of our cultural
identity.”
Finalist for the Elfren S. Cruz Prize for Best Book in the Social Sciences of
the National Book Awards in 2014, “Pinagmulan” is indeed an excellent
guidebook and a good source of information on the rich and diverse
intangible cultural heritage of the Philippines.
Although not commercially available at present, the book is set to be
reprinted in2016 for it to be available tothe public. Its PDF file is available
online at the ICHCAP, website ichcap.org.
3. FOSSILS ARE IMPORTANT FOR US FOR SEVERAL REASONS.
1. THEY ARE THE BASIS FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE
GEOLOGICTIME TABLE. The appearance and disappearance of organisms
throughout time is how we divide up the earths history into different
periods.
2. THEY PROVIDE EVIDENCE THAT EVOLUTION IS TAKING PLACE.
3. THEY CAN INFORM US ABOUT WHAT THE ENVIRONMENT WAS
LIKE IN THE PAST.
4. THEY HELP US CORRELATE ROCKS. Finally, as we will learninthe
next few lessons they help us correlate rock layers.
Why are fossils and artifacts important in THE study of anthropology? •
It allowus to understandpast climates, including ice ages andperiods that
were warmer than our present climate. Knowledge from the study of
fossils is helping geoscientists understand global warming and its effects.
By studying the catastrophic extinction of the dinosaurs and many other
life forms at the end of the Cretaceous Period, geoscientists have gained
insight into the evolutionary implications of impacts by extraterrestrial
objects. Investigating the physical and chemical characteristics of fossil
organisms that lived during times of drastic climatic change helps us
understand the implications of the changes we
We only know about extinct groups like dinosaurs, ammonites and
trilobites through fossils. Some animals andplant are only known to us as
fossils. By studying the fossil record we can tell how long life has existed
on Earth, and how different plants and animals are relatedto each other.
Fossils are alsousedtodate sedimentaryrocks: some species witha broad
distribution on Earth and a short-term life (Ammonites for instance) are
great indicators to identifycertaingeological periods. Finally, fossils show
us the long history of life andthe past and current evolution processes on
Earth.
Fossil record.
Fossil record, history of life as documented by fossils, the remains or
imprints of the organisms from earlier geological periods preserved in
sedimentary rock.
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other
organisms from the past. Fossils are important evidence for evolution
because they show that life on earth was once different from life found
on earth today.
Three concepts are important in the study and use of fossils: (1) Fossils
represent the remains of once-living organisms. ... (3) The kinds of fossils
found in rocks of different ages differ because life on Earth has changed

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through time. Stratigraphic ranges and origins of some major groups of
animals and plants.Aug 14, 1997
Why are fossils important?
Fossils are important for various reasons. For one, they give us clues to
the history of life. Unraveling their lives and deaths give us clues to the
environments theylivedin, andhowthese have changedthroughtime. This
helps us understand our own fragile environment better, which gives us a
better chance to survive as a species, ourselves. Extinction of species,
when their environment changes, is a natural phenomenon. It has
happened many, many times in the long history of our planet, Earth. At
the end of the Permian (250 million years ago), for instance, 95% of the
life forms known from fossil remains became extinct. That was a much
bigger extinctionthanthe famous one that sawthe disappearance of most
of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous (65 millionyears ago). The
cycles of extinctionof certainspecies andthe evolution of others allowus
to tell the age of rocks just by looking at which fossils we find in them.
Fossils are the arms on our geological clock!
A second good reason for studying fossils is that during exploration for
economic minerals, finding certain fossils canbe very useful indicators of
the presence of ore bodies nearby. Theygive us a clue to the environment
at the time of the formation of the rocks they are found in. Certain
economic minerals only form in specific environments. Also in the oil
industry, certain species of microfossils (so small that they can only be
seen under a microscope) are used as indicators as to how close the drill
is to hitting oil. The copper that was mined at Britannia Beach, just north
of Vancouver, formed on the ocean floor when water, heated by
submarine volcanic activity, rose through fissures and vents to escape
onto the seabed (a process still happening off the West Coast of
Vancouver Islandtoday). As the hot liquids circulating throughthese vents
hit the cold seawater they dumped the mineral components they carried
onto the sea floor and copper, iron and other sulfide-rich minerals
precipitated to form little mounds. It is remarkable that some animals
have evolved to live inthese hostile environments inthe cold dark depths
of the oceans, next to boiling vents, where there is no oxygen! Fossils of
these creatures are sometimes found in the mudstones that formed
around these ore mounds, and even in the copper ore from deposits
formed under these conditions. Finding ore bodies is similar to finding
fossils: just like the formationanddiscovery of fossils, a set of veryspecial
coincidences need to take place. The Exploration Geologist alsoneeds to
know where to look and this usually involves some geological detective
work.
What is the importance of cultural artifacts?
Cultural artifacts are any things (such as objects, writings, artwork) which
give informationabout the people and the culture bywhomthe artifact was
used. For example, if archaeologists discover a cooking utensil from a lost
or ancient group of people, they are able to determine many things about
the culture which used it, such as what they ate, how advanced their tools
were, and how they prepared their food.
Cultural artifacts are any things(suchas objects, writings, artwork) which
give information about the people and the culture by whom the artifact
was used. ... On the other hand, they might discover artifacts which
provide evidence of a culture committed to eradicating deadly diseases
Cultural artifact.
Cultural artifact is a term used in the social sciences, particularly
anthropology, ethnology, and sociology for anything created by humans
which gives information about the culture of its creator and users.
Material Culture - Artifacts and the Meaning(s) They Carry
Philippine Prehistoric Relics and Artifacts
Prehistoric Relics and Artifacts category showcases the long list of
Philippine prehistoric evidences - the traces of our civilization. This
includes fossils, artifacts, ecofacts,features andsites inthe Philippines. For
clarity sake, let us first define some of our terminologies:
Fossils are information about human biology, which include bones and
other remains of human beings. Environmental conditions, however,
affect the preservation of fossils.
Artifacts refer to anything modified by man or made by man, including
tools, weapons and other material creation. Objects that are excavated
may or may not be related to those found near them.
Ecofacts are natural objects, like plants and animals, that have been used,
alteredor affectedbyman, andwhichhave left impressions that theywere
utilized.
Features are those that cannot be easily removed, like ash remains and
even caves.
Sites, however, are suspected locations of human activities, which can
determine relative time through depth and stratification.

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