Branches of Social Science

• 2.1 Anthropology
• 2.2 Economics
• 2.3 Education
• 2.4 Geography
• 2.5 History
• 2.6 Law
• 2.7 Linguistics
• 2.8 Political science
o 2.8.1 Public Administration
• 2.9 Psychology
• 2.10 Social Work
• 2.11 Sociology
• 2.12 Further fields

Anthropology

Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/, from the Greek ἄνθρωπος, anthrōpos,

"human", and -λογία, -logia, "discourse", first use in English: 1593)[1] is the study of
human beings, everywhere and throughout time. Modern human beings are defined as
members of the species Homo sapiens, which arose in Africa around 200,000BP (Before
Present) (see Omo remains).[citation needed] Anthropology has its intellectual origins in both
the natural sciences, and the humanities.[2] Its basic questions concern, "What defines
Homo sapiens?" "Who are the ancestors of modern Homo sapiens?" "What are our
physical traits?" "How do we behave?" "Why are there variations and differences among
different groups of humans?" "How has the evolutionary past of Homo sapiens
influenced its social organization and culture?" and so forth. While specific modern
anthropologists have a tendency to specialize in technical subfields, their data and ideas
are routinely synthesized into larger works about the scope and progress of our species.[3]

Sociology is the study of society and human social action. It generally concerns itself
with the social rules and processes that bind and separate people not only as individuals,
but as members of associations, groups, communities and institutions, and includes the
examination of the organization and development of human social life. The sociological
field of interest ranges from the analysis of short contacts between anonymous
individuals on the street to the study of global social processes. Most sociologists work in
one or more subfields.

The meaning of the word comes from the suffix "-ology" which means "study of,"
derived from Greek, and the stem "soci-" which is from the Latin word socius, meaning
member, friend, or ally, thus referring to people in general. It is a social science involving
the application of social theory and research methods to the study of the social lives of
people, groups, and societies, sometimes defined as the study of social interactions. It is a
relatively new academic discipline which evolved in the early 19th century.

Because sociology is such a broad discipline, it can be difficult to define, even for
professional sociologists. One useful way to describe the discipline is as a cluster of sub-
fields that examine different dimensions of society. For example, social stratification
studies inequality and class structure; demography studies changes in a population size or
type; criminology examines criminal behavior and deviance; political sociology studies
government and laws; and the sociology of race and sociology of gender examine
society's racial and gender cleavages.

The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem, acc. of traditio which means
"handing over, passing on", and is used in a number of ways in the English language:

1. Beliefs or customs taught by one generation to the next, often orally. For example,
we can speak of the tradition of sending birth announcements.
2. A set of customs or practices. For example, we can speak of Christmas traditions.
3. A broad religious movement made up of religious denominations or church bodies
that have a common history, customs, culture, and, to some extent, body of
teachings. For example, one can speak of Islam's Sufi tradition or Christianity's
Lutheran tradition.

Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate")[1] is a
term that has different meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde
Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of
Concepts and Definitions.[2] However, the word "culture" is most commonly used in three
basic senses:

• the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an
institution, organization or group.
• an integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon
the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning
• excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture

Political science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and
the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. It is often
described as the study of politics defined as "who gets what, when and how".[1] Political
science has several subfields, including: political theory, public policy, national politics,
international relations, and comparative politics.

Political science is methodologically diverse. Approaches to the discipline include

classical political philosophy, interpretivism, structuralism, and behavioralism, realism,
pluralism, and institutionalism. Political science, as one of the social sciences, uses
methods and techniques that relate to the kinds of inquiries sought: primary sources such
as historical documents and official records, secondary sources such as scholarly journal
articles, survey research, statistical analysis, case studies and model building.

"As a discipline" political science "lives on the fault line between the 'two cultures' in the
academy, the sciences and the humanities."[2] Thus, in some American colleges where
there is no separate School or College of Arts and Sciences per se, political science may
be a separate department housed as part of a division or school of Humanities or Liberal
Arts.[3]

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court Tuesday ruled that a challenge to a move by

the House of Representatives to convene a Senate-less constituent assembly (Con-ass)
was premature, prompting lawmakers to buckle down to make the event happen and
institute revisions in the Constitution.

“The House has not yet performed a positive act that would warrant an intervention from
this Court,” the high tribunal said in an eight-page unanimous resolution throwing out
petitions by lawyer Oliver Lozano and businessman Louis Biraogo.

The court said the petitioners had no standing to question House Resolution No. 1109 and
brushed off their claim that they were taxpayers. The tribunal said that no tax money had
yet been spent for the planned exercise.

While saying that it had taken a liberal position in entertaining questions of law from
those who claim to suffer personal injury from state acts, it declared that “it is not an
open invitation for the ignorant and the ignoble to file petitions that prove nothing but
their cerebral deficit.”

The ruling penned by Chief Justice Reynato Puno said that HR 1109 only resolved that
the Lower House “shall convene at a future time for the purpose of proposing
amendments or revisions to the Constitution.”

“In short, House Resolution No. 1109 involves a quintessential example of an uncertain
contingent future event that may not occur as anticipated, or indeed may not occur at all,”
it said.

“When warranted by the presence of indispensable minimums for judicial review, this
court shall not shun the duty to resolve the constitutional challenge that may confront it,”
the tribunal said.

House allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have declared that they would
convene the constituent assembly immediately after she delivers her State of the Nation
Address on July 27.