Program Studi Magister Ilmu Lingkungan Program Pasca Sarjana - Universitas Padjadjaran

UJIAN MATRIKULASI DASAR-DASAR ILMU SOSIAL Nama : Fittrie Meyllianawaty Pratiwy NPM : 250120110531 Konsentrasi Pembangunan dan Konservasi Pedesaan

1. Write down your reflection on the process and materials of the Social Science Class. How and in what ways do these materials and methods help you in understanding the (social) world? Basically the process of learning in Social Sciences class runs good and fun. Course materials has presented well and step by steps. There are several things that make me comfortable in social sciences class with any reasons, as follows:

Actually I am interested in social sciences class, especially about cultural change. Submission of materials are not forced to jump to the next session, so I can easily understand each stage. It was seen when the lecturer gave the students a basically understanding of the major materials.

Provided the relevant examples to the course materials and based on the speakers experiences. Used the audio visual technology to illustrated the real things. It made the students easy to remember what the lecturer've described. In brilliant way it could showed how wide the world can be explain and how difficult to answer just with a simple question of culture.

Used the examples related about historical value, especially when the lecturer told us about linkage of Marvin Harris theory and the story of pork (pig eater and pig hater).

These my opinions on how to order materials or methods to help students understand about the social sciences: Use an audio visual media to provide relevant examples such as video clips, movies or images. Use a study cases to be discussed together and will be illustrate any public phenomenon that related to the theoretical materials, so it is clearly visible for students to understand.

2. What does it mean to say that culture is symbolic? Explain your answer with relevant example[s] from your own experience. The essential feature of culture, that it is learned and transmitted from one generation to the next, rests on the human capacity to think symbolically. For example language, perhaps the most important feature, is a symbolic form of communication. Without language, culture could not be transmitted, people could not learn from one another across generations, and there would be no cultural continuity. Because culture is transmitted through symbols whose meanings remain more or less constant doesn't mean that cultures are static and don't change. John Bodley (1994) on Jervis (2010) said that: Culture has several properties: It is "shared, learned, symbolic, transmitted cross-generational - as discussed above - adaptive, and integrated." (Source: Jervis, N. 2010 at www.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/grade3/culture.html) Because of culture is transmitted, every community in world have their own culture and it is different each other, especially called with different name and function. For example in Hindustan (Indian), beef is forbidden to eat because cow have a sense of God, it make a purity symbolic, and usually called a sacred cow, but on another place like America, its become a trending foods. At Hindu religion book, Vedic scriptures, cattle have to be treated with the same respect 'as one's mother' because of the milk they provide; "The cow is my mother" (Mahabharata)[50]. Also Shiva is traditionally said to ride on the back of a bull named Nandi. In ancient rural India every household had a few cows which provided a constant supply of milk and a few bulls that helped as

draft animals. So cows that stay in the middle of the road is waiting for the God Shiva, therefore should not be disturbed. For that reason, slaughter of cows (including oxen, bulls and calves) is forbidden by law in almost all the states of the Indian Union. (Source: Wikipedia) On the other hand, I have some experiences when I went to Europe two years ago for student exchange programme, generally European people are Christian and realy like a pork and we can find it almost in every moment and every space, Im the ones and the only one whose wearing a headgear in this programme. my European friends asked me some question why its forbidden for you? Its so nice and we love itWhy youre wearing a headgear?dont you feel hot inside when you wearing it? and I told them and gave some reasons why pork is forbidden, I explained them related about religion value, sense of culture, and behavior patterns. In Europe, wearing a headgear is unusuality but in a country like Indonesia-while dominated by moslem people and become a majority-it is a usuality things. On the other hand, when I showed about wayang and explained them that it have a sacred sense and with heard that, they realy gave respect for Indonesian culture, they said that it were become interested when culture connected with a symbolic sense. These differences doesnt make us be apart, we actually connected by this things that should be share each other. So, culture have the authority given from each community, so its different symbolic from one community to other community and it show us that culture is symbolic, it is based on arbitrarily assigned meanings.

3. Explain these pictures with [a] relevant culture concept[s]!

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

These pictures show us about cultural change concept when a dynamic of culture happens while the old culture are lost because they are no longer useful, the new ones are added in a society and influence the behavior patterns of modern urban. Cultural knowledge make an impact to development of needed, skills to survive, and willing to changes the ability or personality. For example, gender roles have been changing and become a different problems on one place to the other. Particulary, men resisted the increase in economic and political opportunities for women over the last century because of the far ranging consequences, and also changed the nature of marriage, family, and the lives of all men. In 1960th most of womens have been a household and clearly just did a housewifes jobs. But society have been changing, and made an impact for a dynamic culture, women roles moved on to masculine workplace and they could do as well as mens doing. For example, in a government institutions like an airforce and police women (picture a and d), women get a freedom to be what do you wants to be and that the reason to make far ranging opportunities for women from domestic to public. Moreover, now we can find women become a wrestler with a strength muscles (picture c) and it is make a controversial problems in social life style.

..Things have changed to some degree. Today there is more sharing of family
and household responsibilities, and both males and females are working in less traditional careers, e.g. we have both male and female nurses, firefighters, engineers, dentists, etc. (Source: http://www.ualberta.ca/dept/health/web_docs/healthinfo/Decisions/roles.htm, download on March 11, 2012) The changing of women role made a causes for men role, while a workplace more dominated by a women, the econimical, political, and public opportunities become limited ranging for men. It also significantly make a men do the houses job like take care of a babies (picture b), cooking some foods, house maid, and another womens job. Its describe us about a gender roles change causes a dynamic culture.

4. Analisis gambar-gambar di bawah ini dengan menggunakan konsep atau teori yang relevan menurut anda!

(a)

(b)

(c)

Teknologi merupakan kunci perkembangan dan pertumbuhan budaya dimana dalam proses mengembangkannya perlu menghimpun energi yang berada di alam. Konsep atau teori yang relevan untuk ketiga gambar diatas adalah konsep lima tahap perkembangan budaya berdasarkan energi yang digunakan sesuai dengan pendapat Leslie Alvin White (LAW). LAW nengungkapkan bahwa perkembangn budaya dan peradaban memiliki kaitan yang erat. Dengan asumsi faktor lingkungan konstan, dari ketiga premis ini LAW merumuskan hukum perkembangan budaya/peradaban sebagai berikut:

C= tingkat perkembangan budaya E= energi yang himpun dan dimanfaatkan per kapita per tahun T= kualitas efisiensi dan efektivitas teknologi yang digunakan untuk menghimpun dan memanfaatkan energi

Gambar dari kiri ke kanan (a) menunjukkan perkembangan budaya paling awal yaitu menggunakan energi otot dan alam dimana perahu terbuat dari kayu yang berasal dari alam dan digerakkan dengan menggunakan tenaga manusia atau energi yang berasal dari otot. Gambar (b) menunjukkan perkembangan budaya kedua yaitu menggunakan energi binatang yang didomestikasi dimana tenaga kuda digunakan sebagai alat

transportasi atau sebagai kebutuhan dengan tujuan tertentu serta ini merupakan interpretasi teknik yang digunakan manusia untuk berinterkasi dengan habitat alamiahnya yang merupakan bagian dari sub-sistem teknologi dimana tenaga hewan digunakan sebagai alat transportasi atau berfungsi sebagai perkakas sebagai kepentingan tertentu dalam kehidupan manusia. Gambar (c) menunjukkan

perkembangan budaya keempat yaitu menggunakan energi alam, dimana energi angin dimanfaatkan sebagai sumber energi penggerak baling-baling helikopter sehingga dengan angin, helikopter dapat terbang.

5. Jelaskan kaitan antara masyarakat, budaya, dan lingkungan! Berikan contoh original dari pengalaman anda untuk menunjukkan keterkaitan tersebut! Ada beberapa pendapat mengenai lingkungan, budaya, dan masyarakat menurut Steward dan Marvis. Namun keterkaitan ketiganya adalah bahwa manusia dan lingkungan terikat dalam suatu interaksi dan membentuk sebuah sistem dimana sistem tersebut menciptakan beragam sistem yang masing-masing terkait satu sama lain, terikat nilai dan norma, dan disebut sebagai budaya. Masyarakat merupakan organisasi social yang menghimpun interaksi sistemik antar berbagai kelompok, jaringan, status dan peran. Dalam masyarat tersebut manusia menginterpretasikan hubungannya dengan lingkungan yang terintegrasi dan menciptakan suatu budaya pada tatanan kelompok social tertentu. Di lain sisi, budaya dapat merefleksikan permasalahan-permasalahan empiris dan fenomenal yang terjadi di masyarakat seperti yang diungkapkan Jeffrey (1984); It should be clear that when cultural refraction is the model used for an empirical case, the opportunity for reintegration of cultural and social conflicts is presented in a more complex and open-ended way than for the two other ideal types. Source: Jeffrey C. Alexander. 1984. Sociological Theory, Vol. 2. Hal . 298 Semua tidak terlepas dari peran teknologi yang menjadi sebuah mediasi antara manusialingkungan-sosial budaya, sehingga muncullah sebuah sarana melalui teknologi. Sebagai contoh adanya sebuah kearifan lokal pada suatu masyarakat tertentu, ketika saya mengunjungi banten saya pernah mendengar tentang cerita masyarakat suku

Baduy. Suku Baduy tepatnya daerah Kanekes memiliki kearifan lokal dalam menjaga hutan asri yang berada disana, ada daerah-daerah tertentu yang berada di hutan tersebut yang menjadi pantangan bagi orang yang mengunjunginya, memang hal tersebut tidak terlepas dari mitos, namun hal tersebut juga merupakan suatu upaya untuk menjaga kelestarian alam dan suku Baduy menginterpretasikannya sebagai hubungan dengan lingkungan sehingga menjadi suatu cirri yang termasuk ke dalam budaya. Di lain sisi, dengan adanya alat transportasi laut (sampan) berbagai bentuk dan rupa yang berbedabeda antar etnik, contohnya di suku Bajo menjadi cirri khas tersendiri bagi suku tersebut yang menjadi bagian dari sebuah budaya yang merefleksikan hubungan masyarakat tersebut dalam memanfaatkan dan berinteraksi dengan alam sekitarnya. 6. Mengapa manusia harus mengembangkan hubungan perkawanan untuk hidup yang manusiawi? Karena manusia berbeda dengan hewan, dimana hewan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan dasarnya semataa-mata hanya karena naluri, sedangkan manusia selain naluri (insting) ada dorongan dan tujuan lain yang membuat perilaku manusia lebih didominasi berdasarkan sesuatu yang bersifat olahan atau buatan (nurtural) melalui proses belajar (akal, rasa, iman) sehingga perilaku manusia akan menjadi lebih kompleks yang terikat ruang dan waktu (Time and space). Manusia tidak sama seperti hewan yang memiliki struktur khusus untuk beradaptasi dengan lingkungannya (Anatomi, biologis, organis). Berdasarkan hal tersebut manusia dikategorikan sebagai makhluk yang paling lemah. Maka, untuk dapat bertahan hidup manusia harus mencari cara untuk menyesuaikan diri dengan lingkungannya dan hal itu tidak terlepas dari alat bantu untuk bertahan hidup. Untuk menciptakan bantuan tersebut, manusia tidak mungkin melakukannya sendiri, sehingga manusia membutuhkan orang lain untuk dapat bertahan hidup, yang secara fundamental adalah lewat sebuah perkawanan.