DISS (Discipline and ideas in social science)

I. Module: social science

a. Social science as a field of inquiry
i. Social science- engaged in the study of phenomena relating to human groups and their
sociophysical environment. It implies two important contexts;
1. Involves the Scientific process
2. Inquires about social space
b. Revolution, social change, and the rise of Medern Social Sciences
i. French revolution (1789-1799)
1. Caused by the economic, social, and political problems
2. Society was unequally divided into three classes: clergy, nobility and masses.
a. The masses receives burnt inequality and accorded with less rights and privileges
while demanded more labor and tax
3. It criticized the absolute power of the monarchy and church
ii. Industrial revolution (1760-1840)
1. It was a shift from human labor dependence to machine dependence
c. The development of social science study and research
i. The social sciences rose as intellectual responses to the social changes that transpired in the
modern period.
d. Positivism and post-positivism: approaches in social sciences
i. Scholars used critical thinking and scientific inquiry to address the shifting socioeconomic
conditions of their time.
ii. Auguste comte (1798-1857)
1. Development of reason: theological, philosophical, and scientific.
a. Theological- knowledge based on assumptions lifted from sacred texts
b. Philosophical- knowledge based on critical thinking
c. Scientific- positive observation
2. Positivist approached
a. Empirical method- a phenomenon be understood by conducting processes that
include hypothesis building and testing through observation or experiment.
e. Research method in social sciences
i. Research methodologies
1. Inductive research- understand theoretical concepts from available data
2. Deductive research- test theories using new observed data
3. Research design:
a. Qualitative design- relies on non-numerical data such as texts and spoken words
as sources of information
b. Quantitative design- relies heavily on numerical data
c. Both require research methods and instruments for acquisition of pertinent data:
 Survey
 Key informant interview
 Participant observation
f. The interdisciplinary approach
g. Social sciences and natural sciences
II. Module: THE DISCIPLINE OF ANTHROPOLOGY
a. Greek terms: Anthropos (human) and logos (study)
b. The development of anthropology
i. The rise of empires and states
 ii. The dawn of colonialism and imperialism
c. Important personalities of anthropology
i. Edward Burnett Tylor (1832-1917)
ii. Lewis Henry Morgan (1818-1881)
iii. Franz Boas (1858-1942)
d. Fields of Anthropology
i. Biological/ physical anthropology
ii. Archaeology
iii. Linguistic anthropology
iv. Cultural anthropology
e. Key concepts in Anthropology
i. Evolutionism
ii. Cultural relativism
iii. Culture
f. Research methods in anthropology
i. Ethnography- review the existing material culture of a society, while others engage with the
informants through interviews and by living in the field (key informant interview and participant
observation.)
ii. In identifying the subject informant, the researchers use judgement sampling method
iii. Anthropology shares research methods with other disciplines
g. Current applications of anthropology
i. Applied anthropology: forensic anthropology and medical anthropology
1. Forensic anthropology- identification of unrecognizable remains of humans that may
have been burned, mutilated, or decomposed.
2. Medical anthropology- process by which culture influences people’s ways of seeking
health care and well-being.
3. Public anthropology- explains the issues that pervade in society.
III. Module: THE DISCIPLINE OF ECONOMICS
a. Greek terms: oikos (house) and nomos (custom or law)
i. The study of the allocation of resources within the household level.
b. The development of economic thought
i. Arthashastra (the science of wealth) a treatise written by Chanakya
1. Welfare state, labor inequality, and economic diversification.
ii. Concept of ‘just price’- by St. Thomas Aquinas