J. Gabriel L. de Leon
2006-07148
Soc Sci 1 TFV
Prof. Cherrie Joy Billedo
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Social science: The body of knowledge that operates in a scientific approach to study the human aspects of the world, namely, society, and the different relationships of human groups and individuals within it; also referred to as the behavioral sciences. (Google.com, condensed and modified)
[Below are the different disciplines under the Social Sciences, according to the Yahoo! Directory (definitions from Google.com):]
Anthropology: the scientific and humanistic study of man's present and past biological, linguistic, social, and cultural variations
Archaeology: scientific study of past human cultures by analyzing the material remains, sites, and artifacts that people left behind
Communication Studies: the discipline that studies the principles of transmitting information and the methods by which it is delivered
Cultural Studies: the study about how particular phenomena relate to matters of ideology, race, social class, and gender.
Economics: the study of the choices people make in a world with scarce and limited resources.
Environmental Studies: the systematic study of human interaction with their natural environment
Geography: the scientific study of the locational and spatial variation in both physical and human phenomena on Earth
Gerontology: the study of aging and its biological, psychological, and sociological impacts
History: the discipline that records and interprets past events involving human beings
Humanities: the study of the manmade arts such as art, literacy, and music that convey the cultural aspects of humanity
Linguistics: the study of the structure and development of a particular language and its relationship to other languages
Philosophy: the study of seeking knowledge and wisdom in understanding the nature of man and the universe
Political Science: the science deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior
Psychology: the scientific study of human behavior, mental processes, and how they are affected and/or affect an individual’s or group's physical state, mental state, and external environment
Sociology: the study of the social and interactive lives of humans, groups, and societies
Notes/Insights:
The social sciences are also colloquially termed as the soft sciences - academic research not based on reproducible experimental data and/or mathematical explanation of that data - mainly because of its semi-subjective-objective [or partly qualitative-quantitative] approach in trying to answer queries (Wikipedia.com). However, the catch is that these so-called “soft” sciences are more often than not the harder points to study, relative to the “hard” sciences (J. Diamond, 1987).
What makes social science so “hard,” and yet interesting, is the fact that all the disciplines under it are remarkably interrelated. It’s almost like when one studies a certain branch, i.e. History, he or she won’t be able to understand the subject fully unless that person relates it to another field of study, i.e. Archaeology, Cultural Studies, Linguistics, and others as well.
Some sciences are practically considered as subdivisions of two or more different fields; recently, many intellectuals brand very broad fields such as Law and Education as part of the social sciences, in which they cite that these two are actually by-products of different sciences, i.e. Psychology with Political Science and Economics, integrated to complement each other.
The subjects actually force you to view a certain aspect in many different, yet significant, perspectives. And personally, as a student, a learner, and wholly as a person, that is kind of fun and exciting. Perhaps this is why I took Soc Sci 1, it enables me to learn a lot and yet actually enjoy at the same time. (“,)
Prof. Cherrie Joy Billedo
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Social science: The body of knowledge that operates in a scientific approach to study the human aspects of the world, namely, society, and the different relationships of human groups and individuals within it; also referred to as the behavioral sciences. (Google.com, condensed and modified)
[Below are the different disciplines under the Social Sciences, according to the Yahoo! Directory (definitions from Google.com):]
Anthropology: the scientific and humanistic study of man's present and past biological, linguistic, social, and cultural variations
Archaeology: scientific study of past human cultures by analyzing the material remains, sites, and artifacts that people left behind
Communication Studies: the discipline that studies the principles of transmitting information and the methods by which it is delivered
Cultural Studies: the study about how particular phenomena relate to matters of ideology, race, social class, and gender.
Economics: the study of the choices people make in a world with scarce and limited resources.
Environmental Studies: the systematic study of human interaction with their natural environment
Geography: the scientific study of the locational and spatial variation in both physical and human phenomena on Earth
Gerontology: the study of aging and its biological, psychological, and sociological impacts
History: the discipline that records and interprets past events involving human beings
Humanities: the study of the manmade arts such as art, literacy, and music that convey the cultural aspects of humanity
Linguistics: the study of the structure and development of a particular language and its relationship to other languages
Philosophy: the study of seeking knowledge and wisdom in understanding the nature of man and the universe
Political Science: the science deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior
Psychology: the scientific study of human behavior, mental processes, and how they are affected and/or affect an individual’s or group's physical state, mental state, and external environment
Sociology: the study of the social and interactive lives of humans, groups, and societies
Notes/Insights:
The social sciences are also colloquially termed as the soft sciences - academic research not based on reproducible experimental data and/or mathematical explanation of that data - mainly because of its semi-subjective-objective [or partly qualitative-quantitative] approach in trying to answer queries (Wikipedia.com). However, the catch is that these so-called “soft” sciences are more often than not the harder points to study, relative to the “hard” sciences (J. Diamond, 1987).
What makes social science so “hard,” and yet interesting, is the fact that all the disciplines under it are remarkably interrelated. It’s almost like when one studies a certain branch, i.e. History, he or she won’t be able to understand the subject fully unless that person relates it to another field of study, i.e. Archaeology, Cultural Studies, Linguistics, and others as well.
Some sciences are practically considered as subdivisions of two or more different fields; recently, many intellectuals brand very broad fields such as Law and Education as part of the social sciences, in which they cite that these two are actually by-products of different sciences, i.e. Psychology with Political Science and Economics, integrated to complement each other.
The subjects actually force you to view a certain aspect in many different, yet significant, perspectives. And personally, as a student, a learner, and wholly as a person, that is kind of fun and exciting. Perhaps this is why I took Soc Sci 1, it enables me to learn a lot and yet actually enjoy at the same time. (“,)
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