UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY &
POLITICS
SOCIAL IMAGINATIONS by C. WRIGHT
MILLS
 “think ourselves away” from the familiar
routines of our daily lives in order to look at
them with fresh, critical eyes
 “the vivid awareness of the relationship
between experience & the wider society”
 Ability to see things socially & how they
interact & influence each other. (Crossman,
2018)
 Connect history & biography & the relations
between the two within society
 Individual can understand her own fate &
experience by locating herself within the time
period
IDENTITY
 Culture
 Society
 Distinctive characteristic that defines an
individual or is shared by a particular group
 Can also be influenced by sexual
orientation, gender & nationality
 Can also change over time
Example: son > father || daughter > mother
 IMPORTANCE: shape both individual &
group behavior
**one should also understand other cultures
CULTURE
 Loosely defined as a society’s way of life
 “right way of doing things
 Associated with culture:
o MATERIAL THINGS – clothes,
music & food
 o NONMATERIAL THINGS – what
perceived as “right” or “wrong”
SOCIETY
 Group of people living in a community
 Acc to MacIver & Page, “web of social
relationship, always changing.”
CHANGE
 Can be cultural, political & social
 People’s individual and collective identities
have oftentimes transformed social order &
paved the way for lasting change
 TECHNOLOGY AND MIGRATION –
factors that can contribute to change
 EXAMPLES OF CHANGES:
- Women suffrage - International
Migrations
- Technological Advancements
SOCIAL SCIENCES
 Studies about society – its functions & the
human interrelations within it
Comprises of:
ANTHROPOLOGY
 Systematic study of the biological, cultural
& social aspects of man
 Greek words anthropos, “man” & logos
which means “study” or “inquiry”
 Integrates elements from bio sciences &
humanities to fully comprehend complex
human species, including past practices &
social patterns
 o SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY –
social patterns, practices & cultural
variations develop
o CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY –
cultural variation & understanding
culture at its own context
o LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY –
language & discourse
o BIOLOGICAL OR PHYSICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY – origins of
humans
o ARCHAEOLOGY – prehistoric
societies; their tools & environment
SOCIOLOGY
 Anthony Giddens, “study of human social
life, groups, & society.”
 Individual, group behavior & social
phenomena
o SOCIAL INTERACTION – how
people relate to one another &
influence each other’s behavior
o SOCIAL PHENOMENA –
observable facts that involve human
society
o PSYCHOLOGY – studies behavior
& mental processes; focuses on
individual
o BEHAVIOR – manifestation of your
attitude
o HISTORY – studies the people &
events of the past
POLITICAL SCIENCE
 Systematic study of politics
 Andrew Heywood, “the activity which
people make, preserve & amend the general
rules under which they live”
 INFLUENTIAL MADLANG PIPZ
 Greek Philosophers – Plato & Aristotle
 European thinkers – Hobbes, Marx, Locke
o PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION –
government functions
o POLITICAL ECONOMY –
interplay economics, politics & law
o COMPARATIVE POLITICS –
compares domestic politics &
governance system