social

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WEEK 1
WHAT IS SOCIAL
SCIENCE?

FC005—Introduction to Social Science

TODAY
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What you will learn about this term

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Why study this module?

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Module Information

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Introduction to Social Science:
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What is social science?
Why study society?
Social science disciplines

FC005 – Introduction to social science
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In this module you will learn about
 The

meaning of social science
 The disciplines of social science & how to use them (interdisciplinarity)
 Some key theories which help to explain social behaviour (i.e. power)
 Social Institutions (family; the welfare state)
 Case Study on Globalisation (focusing on economic, political and cultural aspects)

Why study social science?
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You may be thinking, ‗I want to do business management/accounting/journalism, why do I have to study Social Science‘?
Because in any of these fields you ‗deal with people‘.
Social science is the systematic study of human behaviour – in ALL its forms (e.g. economic behaviour; political behaviour; etc.)
This module will allow you to understand the fundamental ideas and principles that explain social behaviour, and will be helpful for your future studies!

Module information
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Teaching:
Class

Number per week Lenght

Lecture

1

2 hrs

Seminars

2

2 x 2 hrs (tot=4hrs)

Assessment:
Assessment

Weighting

Timing

Essay

40%

Week 8

Exam

60%

Week 12

Key texts
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1)

Hughes, G. and Fergusson, R. (eds.) (2004), Ordering
Lives: Family, Work and Welfare, London: Routledge –
Open University [to be used from week 1 to week 6 ]

2)

Held, D. (ed.) (2004), A Globalising World? Culture,
Economics, Politics, London: Routledge – Open
University [to be used from week 7 to week 11 ]

You MUST have a copy of both texts, and take them to all lectures and seminars!

What is social science?
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Social Science is, in its broadest sense, the study of society and the manner in which people behave and influence the world around us.
Hence, Social Science involves the study of: society  human behaviour
 human relationship (between both groups and individuals) 

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Such definition covers a range of academic disciplines—we will study them in this module!

Why study society?
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Social scientists study all aspects of the society

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Through their research, social scientists aim to:
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Contribute to knowledge

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Understand the different ways we interact, make decisions, use power, respond to change

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Discover the causes and effects of social problems

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Offer solutions to social problems

What is a ‗society‘?
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A society is any group of people living together in an organised way and constituting a single related, interdependent community

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Society is frequently taken to include entire national communities (e.g. ‗British society‘)

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Society can also be used to refer to groups of people with similar characteristics – e.g. ―rural societies‖ What ‗holds the society together‘?
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Societies have shared values and institutions which hold them together

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In this module we will look at some examples of values and institutions and their role within societies 

Values are the attitudes and beliefs that govern and inform people‘s expectations and behaviour

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By institutions in this module we mean social institutions: structures and mechanisms of social order – like family, work and welfare

What holds the society together?
(1) Values
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Values = the attitudes and beliefs that govern and inform people‘s expectations and behaviour

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Human values, such as respect and care for fellow human beings, are considered to be ‗universal values‘ (i.e. common across all cultures and nationalities)

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Others values are culturally-specific, such as attitudes towards cohabitation outside of marriage, religion or homosexuality. 

Values are influenced by factors such as tradition and religion 

Values are passed from generation to generation through social institutions

What holds the society together?
(2) Social institutions
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Social Institutions = structures and mechanism of social order
A social institution is a complex, integrated set of social norms
(rules) organised around the preservation of the basic values of a society
The term describes normative systems that operate in some basic areas of life, e.g.:
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In determining Kinship and passing values from one generation to the next (FAMILY); in providing for the legitimate use of power (GOVERNMENT); in passing knowledge from one generation to the next (EDUCATION)

In this module we will focus on two social institutions:
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‗The family‘
‗The welfare state‘

Social Science disciplines
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Social Science studies the society at large
It consist of a number of disciplines so as to cover all the aspects of a society
Discipline = ―a branch of learning or scholarly instruction or
Knowledge; a particular area of study‖ (Oxford Dictionary)
Disciplines define the academic world inhabited by scholars and provide the structure of knowledge formation
Each discipline will have its own methods of inquiry and methodology Each discipline (e.g. Geography) is sometimes referred to as a field. Each field may have a number of sub-fields (e.g.
Human Geography).

The social science disciplines
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The main Social Science disciplines include:

Social Science
Disciplines
SOCIOLOGY

ANTHROPOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY

What does it study?
Study of human social relations, social institutions and social change in industrialised societies
Study of cultures and societies throughout the world, over time
Science of the mind (behaviour)

Social Science disciplines
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SOCIAL SCIENCE
DISCIPLINE
HISTORY

WHAT DOES IT STUDY?

ECONOMICS

Study of the production, distribution and consumption of wealth POLITICAL
SCIENCE/POLITICS

Study of nature, distribution and dynamics of power – at national and international levels

GEOGRAPHY

Study of place and space.
Physical and human aspects

Study of known past events

SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES:
(1) SOCIOLOGY
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―Sociology is the study of society and the social groups within it‖ (Fulcher and Scott, 2007)
―Sociology is concerned with the study of the institutions, structures and relations of society‖ (Hughes and
Fergusson, 2004)
SOCIOLOGY:
 Studies society and human social action;
 Examines the social rules, processes and institutions that underline people lives as individuals and as members of particular groups and associations;
 Is concerned both with how and why these rules and processes come about, and also how and why they change. Sociology (cont)
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Broadly speaking, sociology looks at:
 Social Structures (e.g. Social Institutions): patterns of relationships that have an independent existence, over and above the individual or groups (e.g. the structure of nuclear family might remain the same through the ages and from place to place)
 Collective Representation: meanings and ways of cogitatively organising the world which have a continued existence over and above the individuals who are socialised with them (e.g.
Language)
 Social Actions: the different ways in which individuals interact with each other (e.g. Symbolic Interaction = the production, maintenance and transformation of meanings in face-to-face interaction) In this module we will focus in particular on Social Structure, so as to understand how and why the shape humans‘ life

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SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES:
(2) ANTHROPOLOGY
Anthropology = ―science of humanity‖; ―study of the humankind‖ 

The scientific study of the origin, the behaviour, and the physical and cultural development of humans and social customs and beliefs of humankind

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Anthropology encompasses a diverse subject matter
(from physical to cultural feature of humanity). In this course, we focus on the study of social and cultural constructions of human groups

Anthropology (cont)
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In general terms, Anthropology:
 is concerned with all humans past and present, and all forms of their activity; seeks to understand human diversity
 Anthropology = The comparative study of human societies and cultures and their development
 It places emphasis on cultural relativity, in-depth examination of social issues and cross-cultural comparisons
 Studies human diversity around the world. Anthropologists look at cross-cultural differences in social institutions, cultural beliefs, traditions, customs, communication styles, etc.
 It focusses a wide range of societies (non-industrialised and industrialised) often in a comparative key, so as to understand how different societies work and are held together
 it offers an opportunity to promote understanding between societies by ―translating‖ each culture to the other

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SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES:
(3) PSYCHOLOGY

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Derives from the Greek ‗psyche‘ (= soul).

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Examines consciousness, behaviour and social interaction

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Psychology tends to focus on the behaviour of individuals within particular societies

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So, sociologists and anthropologists tend to focus on group behaviour, whereas psychologists tend to focus on individuals 

HOWEVER, insights from Psychology about individuals are used to help social scientists develop their understanding of groups SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES:
(4) HISTORY

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Derives from the Greek ‗istoria‘ (= finding out, narrate)
History is the study of human behaviour through time
History:
 Provides us with a chronological organisation of events
(i.e. temporal succession of events);
 Helps us articulate the significance of past events in order to understand ourselves through the experiences of the past and the world we live in (i.e. interpretation of events).

History (cont)
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Historians:
 interpret the past in order to understand the present and, perhaps, anticipate the future
 Use their own experiences to understand the underlying conditions of their society and the principles governing them
 Have to be aware of the cultural differences of another age and take account of these differences in their evaluation of historical material

SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES:
(5) ECONOMICS
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Economics = Derives from the Greek ‗oikos‘ (household) and ‗nomos‘ (law, custom, norm).
Economics is the study of human choice behaviour and how it affects the production, distribution and consumption of wealth
It studies how individuals and societies seek to satisfy needs and wants through incentives, choices and the allocation of resources

Economics (cont)
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Economics can be divided into two broad subject areas:
 Microeconomics: examines the economic behaviour of individual units such as businesses and households; how production and consumption are organised, what is produced and who gains.
 Macroeconomics: examines an economic system as a whole, with the aim to understand the interaction between economic aggregates (totals) such as national income, employment and inflation.

SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES:
(6) POLITICS
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The term Politics derives from the Greek ‗polis‘ (city)
In Latin, the word Politicus was a term used to defined anything ―of the State‖
Political Science/Politics is the study of the theory and practice of politics, political systems and political behaviour It involves the systematic study of the state and the government, as well as political institutions, organisations and parties
The central concern of Politics is with the nature, distribution, and dynamics of power at national and international level

SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES:
(7) GEOGRAPHY
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Geography = Derives from the Greek ‗Gea‘ (earth) and
‗Graphein‘ (to write)
Geography studies location of places, surface of earth, distribution of life on earth and effect of human activity on nature, the way people conceive and experience places, the earth and the Cosmos.

Geography is not only concerned with the ‗physical features of the earth‘
Geography also studies the patterns and processes that shape human interaction with various environments
(e.g. impact of environment on social formations, and vice versa) Summary:
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Social Science is organised around disciplines or fields of study.
Social Scientists study all aspects of society
Each discipline studies society from a specific angle, and will have its own methods of inquiry and methodology.

…Any Questions?

Homework:
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Review the lecture and your notes
Read the Introduction in the core text: Hughes,
G. and Fergusson, R., (eds.), Ordering Lives:
Family, Work and Welfare, pp. 1-5.
Bring Questions to the Seminars – you can ask for clarifications or explanations of any new term that you find particularly difficult!
Start a Vocabulary Notebook – find the meaning of any word that you do not know.