4: Social System (S)
How does a country's CULTURE impact a country's development?
The social system focuses on culture and so much more. We are going to look at how people live in a particular place and what we can learn about their lives based on certain aspects, such as healthcare and education. Do they take care of their citizens? We would be able to know based on their life expectancy rate, how many children are born in year, and how many doctors are available. How well educated are their people? Do a majority of people (males and females) read and write, have access to the internet, and go to school for a certain amount of years? Where do people live? Do people have access to clean water? We will get to see how looking at statistics can actually provide a window in their citizens' world. On cia.gov, you need to look under the tab "People and Society" to find certain facts.
Learning Targets
- I can identify and explain the elements of culture (Social organization, arts and literature, customs and traditions, and language)
- I can examine the aspects of healthcare and education and how both relate to population trends and how people live within a country
ISN #___:Social SystemPART ONE: Getting the terms
Let's look up terms to determine what certain words mean so we can better understand the next parts. You will use the cia.gov glossary to get down the basic understanding.
- For how people live --> Sanitation facility access; drinking water source; population growth (see world trends); urbanization
physician density, major infectious diseases
- For education --> Literacy rate and school life expectancy
- For healthcare --> Healthcare expenditures; infant mortality rate (IMR); child mortality rate/under 5 mortality rate (CMR); life expectancy
PART TWO: The Elements of Culture
These can be delicate terms in a society. When we discuss these concepts it is best to be culturally relative and try not to be ethnocentric (judging a culture as right or wrong compared to you). The seven elements of culture are commonly known and understood so you may encounter many resources to help you better understand how we will define culture. Here is a YouTube video if you would rather watch a video. Note, we covered two elements of culture (political and economic elements) when studying the other systems of PEGS.
- Social organizations - What does it mean to organize society? What are the two most common ways?
- Customs and traditions - How would you explain this element in your own words? What are examples of "laws" and what would be an example of "a tradition"?
- Language - What is the purpose of language? How can language unite and divide a society?
- Arts and Literature - How can arts and literature define a culture? Why are these important?
- Religions - Why is religion important for a society?
- How have these religions played important roles in certain societies and in the world? As you watch this video write 3-5 ideas about the five main religions we will study for this system of PEGS. Here is a website (click on other links to read more about each religion) if you would prefer to learn about religions that way. Here is BBC's website also that goes over each religion in more depth. There will be more emphasis on the religions when we get to U6, the unit devoted to the Middle East and the Social System. Any religion(s) you choose to study in addition to this list will be considered enrichment (cite your sources).
- Buddhism
- Judaism
- Islam
- Christianity
- How have these religions played important roles in certain societies and in the world? As you watch this video write 3-5 ideas about the five main religions we will study for this system of PEGS. Here is a website (click on other links to read more about each religion) if you would prefer to learn about religions that way. Here is BBC's website also that goes over each religion in more depth. There will be more emphasis on the religions when we get to U6, the unit devoted to the Middle East and the Social System. Any religion(s) you choose to study in addition to this list will be considered enrichment (cite your sources).
ENRICHMENT
How did the world get to 7 Billion people? Apply 3 things you learned about this system to explain HOW/WHY the population grew.
What do lunches look like around the world? LINK
During our unit on terrorism and the Middle East, we will come back to looking at culture and how religions, differences in languages and roles of the people impact relationships.
When we build a culture of understanding and uphold human dignity, we build a better world. Ban Ki Moon