The Social Science Disciplines
I. Geography
a. What is geography?
i. Basic concepts of space
ii. Interactions of variables at a particular place
b. What do geographers do?
i. Develop descriptions of regions or places
ii. Investigate special topics involving spatial interactions
c. Key Concepts
i. Location of people and economic activities are influence by external factors and internal value choices
ii. Environmental conditions place restrictions on cultural choices
iii. Nature and culture are interlocking components of the ecosystems
iv. Movement of cultures from subsistent economies and self-sufficient communities toward surplus-oriented, interdependent cultures means an increased technology, trade, migration, and communication network.
v. Highly specialized and specifically adapted livelihood forms have limited potential for cultural change
d. Themes
i. Location
ii. Place
iii. Relationships within place
iv. Movement
v. Region
e. Tools
i. Maps
ii. Globes
II. History
a. What do Historians do?
i. Pose questions about human interaction in current and past events, seek appropriate sources of data, and attempt to develop explanations and inferences to answer questions.
ii. Search for Cause and Effect
iii. Historians begin inquiry with
1. What happened?
2. How did it happen?
3. Why did it happen?
b. History is a selective representation of reality
c. Interpretations are grounded in Historical Data Sources
d. Key ideas about History
i. Change has been a universal characteristic of all human societies
ii. A knowledge of the past is necessary to understand present & future events
iii. No historical events have resulted from a single cause
iv. Leadership of certain individual has had a profound influence on the course of history
v. Interpretations of the past are constantly changing as new data and trends result in altered perspectives
III. Economics
a. How do people satisfy their needs?
b. Key concept—Scarcity
c. Economists
i. Analyze the use of various resources.
1. Analyses are designed to deal with decisions of how to use limited resources to meet our needs and wants
a. What should be produced?
b. How is it produced?
c. How much is produced?
d. Who produces what?
e. Who should share in what is produced?
2. How these questions are answered defines the economic system
d. Selected Economic Concepts
i. Consumer
ii. Corporation
iii. Demand
iv. Division of Labor
v. Goods
vi. Opportunity Costs
vii. Producer
viii. Profit
ix. Services
x. Supply
IV. Political Science
a. What is political science?
i. Central focus
1. Governing processes
2. Power structure found in those governing processes
ii. Study of human behavior in relation to political systems, governments, laws, and international relations
b. What do political scientists do?
i. Examine the existence of and analyze the relationships among the people and institutions that make up political systems.
c. Key Ideas about Political Science
i. The study of politics and government includes the study of the institution of government and how individuals behave as citizens
ii. Democracy is government in which the decision making is in the hands of the people, who make their demands known through voting, political parties, and pressure groups
iii. Democracy seeks to protect the rights of individuals and minority groups, although its actions are based on majority opinion
iv. Citizenship in a democracy is the exercise of duties, responsibilities, and privileges, as a reasoned and functional act of political behavior
v. Political systems exist to make binding authoritative decisions for all citizens
V. Anthropology
a. What do anthropologists do?
i. Study of humankind
ii. Study cultures
1. Central concept
2. Entire way of life
iii. Biological & environmental causes of human behavior
iv. Indirect observation
1. Data, artifacts, interviews with informants
v. Direct observation
1. Spend time with subjects
vi. Participant observation
1. Spend time with subjects
2. Become part of group
b. Key ideas about Anthropology
i. All people have universal cultural traits
1. Language
2. Technology
3. Social organization
4. Political organization
5. Moral & legal sanctions
6. Religion or philosophy
7. Creative activities
8. Ways of resolving differences
9. Methods of protection
10. Leisure activities
11. Methods of education or enculturation
ii. All elements of culture, whether explicit or implicit, are integrated
iii. A change in one aspect of culture influences the total pattern of culture
c. Specializations
i. Cultural Anthropology
ii. Archeologists
iii. Physical Anthropologists
VI. Sociology
a. What is sociology?
i. Study of groups and the subsequent norms of behavior that human beings exhibit as a result of their group memberships.
ii. Examination and analysis of changes that occur in group structures
iii. Study of relationships that exist among group members and among groups
iv. Group behaviors are called norms
1. An individual is not born with culture, he acquires it through socialization.
b. What do sociologists do?
i. Study groups
ii. Ask questions about groups & group behavior
iii. Employs same methods for data collection as anthropologists
c. Key Ideas about Sociology
i. Norms define the boundaries of social interaction
ii. Differentiation of social roles is based on sex, age, kinship, and occupation
iii. Complex technological societies tend toward greater stratification
iv. Social interaction involves cooperation, conflict, assimilation, or accommodation
v. Each society develops institutions to aid the socialization of its members
vi. Socialization is the process by which the individual becomes a functioning member of society
vii. Human survival depends on living in groups
VII. Psychology
a. What is Psychology?
i. Study of individual mental process and behaviors
b. What do psychologists do?
i. Analyze genetic and learned behavior
ii. Analyze learning processes
1. Major determinant of behavior
Additional Subjects of the Social Studies
Factors that shape the human condition