Social Sciences

 Comprised of a wide array of academic

disciplines that study the overall functions
of society as well as the interactions
among its individual members and
institutions.
Identity, Culture, and Society
Identity
 Is
the distinctive characteristic that
defines an individual or is shared by those
belonging to a particular group.
 People Have Multiple Identities
 Family = daughter, son, brother or sister
 School = officer, varsity player, music

enthusiast, performance artist

 Religion = Christian to Atheist
 Career = Student to Professional
Culture
 Defined as a society’s way of life
 It provides the basis of forging identities
 Allows people to understand themselves
in relation to others

Two Kinds of Culture

1. Material
2. Nonmaterial
Society
 Refers to a group of people living in a
community.
 It is a web of social relationship, which
is always changing.

Example: Rights of Women,

International Migration,
Transnational Families
 Anthropology
 The systematic study of the biological,
cultural, and social aspects of man.
 Derived from two Greek words

anthropos = man ; logos = study or inquiry

 Branches
 Social Anthro – studies how social
patterns and practices and cultural
variations develop across different
societies.
 Cultural Anthro – studies cultural
variation across different societies and
examines the need to understand each
culture in its own context.
 Linguistic Anthro – studies language and
discourse and how they reflect and shape
different aspects of human society and
culture.
 Biological Anthro – studies the origins of
humans as well as the interplay between
social factors and the processes of human
evolution, adaptation, and variation over
time.
 Archaeology – deals with prehistoric
societies by studying their tools and
environment.
Sociology
 The study of human social life, groups,
and society.
 Provide a deeper assessment of individual
and group behavior, as well as social
phenomena, by examining the interplay
between economic, political, and social
factors.
Political Science
 The systematic study of politics
 The activity through which people make,
preserve, and amend the general rules
under which they live.
 Focuses on the fundamental values of
equality, freedom, and justice and its
processes linked to the dynamics of
conflict, resolution, and cooperation.
 Specializations
 Public Administration – examines how the
government functions and how decisions and
policies are made.
 Political economy – evaluates the interplay
between economics, politics, and law.
 Comparative politics – compares domestic
politics and governance systems across
different sovereign states.