Disciplines of Social Sciences

Ethnography of the Disciplines of Social Sciences

1. INTRODUCING THE DISCIPLINES WITHIN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

2. Etymologies of Social Science Disciplines and Definitions SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES ETYMOLOGIES DEFINITIONS Anthropology “ anthopos ” (human), “logos” (study of) Scientific study of man or human being and their societies in the past and present Demography “demos” (people), “ graphein ” (description) Study of human population and dynamics Economics “ oikanomia ” (household management) Study of what constitutes rational human behavior in the endeavor to fulfill needs and want Geography “geo” (Earth), “ graphein ”(description) Deals with the study of the relationship between the earth and people

3. Etymologies of Social Science Disciplines and Definitions SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES ETYMOLOGIES DEFINITIONS Linguistics “lingua” (tongue, language) Study of languages and focuses on the three aspects of language History “ histoire ” (recorded and documented events) The study of the past and its records about events. Political Science “ politika ,” “polis” (affairs of the cities) Deals with the system of governance Psychology psyche” (mind), “logos” (study of) Scientific study of the mind and behavior Sociology “socius” (people together, associate), “logos” (study of) Study of groups - how they are formed, how they change, and how the group impacts individual behavior

4. ANTHROPOLOGY Essentially to understand as many aspects of human life as can possibly be studied, to record its findings, and contribute to both historical understanding as well as to ascertain current states of the human condition in an attempt to better understand and/or act upon those findings. ( Fethe , 2017)

5. DEMOGRAPHY To know the population of a particular area; To ascertain as to which factors are influencing the population of that particular area; To explain the factors relating to changes in population; and To study the population trends on the basis of the above three factors

6. GEOGRAPHY To understand basic physical systems that affect everyday life (e.g. earth-sun relationships, water cycles, wind and ocean currents). To learn the location of places and the physical and cultural characteristics of those places in order to function more effectively in our increasingly interdependent world. ( Bonnett , 2008)

7. ECONOMICS The three most important functions of economics are as follows: Just as feeding, digestion and growth are the vital processes of living beings; similarly production, consumption and growth are the essentials of economies. ( Leaňo , 2012)

8. LINGUISTICS Refer to the general social uses of language, such as requesting objects and activities, initiating social interactions, expressing personal feelings, describing aspects of the world, requesting information, and pretending. ( Bernardez , 2013)

9. HISTORY A useful for work. Its study helps create good business people, professionals, and political leaders. The number of explicit professional jobs for historians is considerable, but most people who study history do not become professional historians. (Evans, 2001)

10. Methods Description Positivism Embraces human agency in history. Uses sources to provide and accurate and complete vision of the past. Also embraces and empathetic approach towards people in the past Narrative -Chronology The creation of narratives of the past - analysis plays less role as the role of accidents is most important. Biography - Hagiography The “Great Men” method which creates chronological narratives. Often look at the agency of one individual in history. Methods of Creating History

11. Methods Description Dialectics - Analysis These are created which become orthodoxies. New theses then arrive to challenge these - revisionism - and a synthesis is produced from the old and the new. The synthesis becomes the new thesis or paradigm and the process of clashes (dialectics) repeats. Meta - Narrative/ Total History Works of the Annales school are characterized by a multi - layered approach which seek to integrate long term, midterm and short term factors in a “total history”. There is an effort to explain large amounts of human history through the application of theory and social sciences. Negativism Rejects human agency in historical affairs. Rejects all sources. Rejects the possibility of empathetic understanding of the past. Methods of Creating History

12. PSYCHOLOGY According to earlier psychologists, the function of psychology was to study the nature, origin and destiny of the human soul. But soul is something metaphysical. It cannot be seen, observed and touched and we cannot make scientific experiments in soul. (Kendra, 2020

13. School of Psychology Proponent Description Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener Considered to be the first school of thought in Psychology. This outlook focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. The structuralists used techniques such as introspection to analyze the inner processes of the human mind. Functionalism John Dewey, James Rowland Angell, and Harvey Carr . Founder: William James A general psychological philosophy that considers mental life and behavior in terms of active adaptation to the person’s environment. A theory of the mind in contemporary philosophy, developed largely as an alternative to both the identity theory of mind and behaviorism. School of Psychology

14. School of Psychology Proponent Description Psychoanalytic Sigmund Freud Studies the unconscious mind. This school of thought emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior. Freud believed that the human mind was composed of three elements: the id, ego, and superego. Behaviorism John Watson and B.F. Skinner Focuses on observable behavior. Suggests that all behavior can be explained by environmental causes rather than by internal forces School of Psychology

15. School of Psychology Proponent Description Cognitivism The school of psychology that studies mental processes including how people think, perceive, remember and learn. As part of the larger field of cognitive science, this branch of psychology is related to other disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy, and linguistics. Gestalt Psychology Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka Studies the mind and behavior as a whole A school of psychology based upon the idea that we experience things as unified wholes. Means “form” or “configuration” The whole is other than the sum of its parts School of Psychology

16. POLITICAL SCIENCE A social study concerning the allocation and transfer of power in decision making, the roles and systems of governance including governments and international organizations, political behavior and public policies. ( Mortel et al. 2003)

17. SOCIOLOGY Can study society with a wide variety of focuses. From studying the power elite, to the interaction of the economy, society and the environment, to the examination of various rights movements, Sociology examines the way different aspects of society behave and function. (San Juan, 2011)

18. Creating an Imaginary Nation! Directions: Create a physical map of an imaginary nation. Write the name of the country on the top of the map. You should include at least five different land or water forms in the map and give each of them a unique name (e.g. The Shadow Mountain). You should also include at least five major cities including a capital these must be named. Neatly color the maps with colored pencils or crayons. Explain how your imaginary nation is conducive to be a productive and developed society. Use separate bond paper in answering this question. ACTIVITY

19. Founder of Different Disciplines