Our society is undoubtedly growing and advancing over the years. Along with the advancement of our society is the more extensive understanding of science, which includes various phenomena found in our world. Among these exciting scopes of study is the branch of science that deals with the understanding of societies.
This field of study allows us to have a clearer understanding of how our society works as a whole, as well as its definition in a scientific sense. Throughout the years, society developed drastically, starting from prehistoric times. That is why it became a point of interest to many scientists, which led to the development of social science.
In this article, let’s look into the more profound definition of social science, its history, as well as other branches of study related to it.
What is Social Science?
As mentioned earlier, social science is a broad field of study devoted to the understanding of societies, along with the individual relationships within those societies. This field of science requires a wide range of academic disciplines, which helps to build knowledge about the subject.
Social scientists use various methods and tools for understanding society, along with the different fields of study associated with it.
Branches of Social Sciences
Social sciences is a broad field of study, which deals with various topics related to human existence. It covers a wide variety of branches that focuses on a more specific area of study. These branches of social sciences include the following:
- Anthropology –is the field of study that deals with the totality of human existence. It builds knowledge on the various aspects of social sciences, including humanities and human biology.
- Communication studies –is a branch of social sciences devoted to the study of the processes of human communication. This branch alone covers diverse topics, including face-to-face conversations with mass media platforms, such as television broadcasting.
- Economics –is one of the broadest branches of social sciences, wherein it aims to analyze and describe the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth. This field of study originated from ancient Greek, and it continues to develop over the years.
- Education –is the branch of social sciences that deals with teaching and learning specific skills. It plays an essential and fundamental role in the development of society.
- Geography–is the field of study that offers a wide range of topics, such as human geography and physical geography. The science of geography often refers to the study of the Earth, mainly its measurements. However, it also refers to the influence and interaction of humans on the environment.
- History – is one of the major aspects of social sciences since it covers a continuous, systematic narrative and research into past human events. It provides us a much broader knowledge of how our society developed and the advancement of humans since ancient times.
- Law –is a field of study that is mainly used in our modern world. It aims to gain an understanding of the various rules that are capable of enforcement through institutions.
- Linguistics –is a branch of social sciences devoted to the study of cognitive and social aspects of human language. It covers diverse topics that deal with more specific aspects of the human language. This field of study was heavily developed by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure who was often recognized as the father of modern linguistics.
- Political science – from the name itself, this field of science is related to politics. It is an academic and research discipline devoted to the study of theory and practice of politics. It also deals with the description and analysis of political systems and behavior.
- Psychology –is one of the most known branches of social sciences, which deals with the study of behavior and mental processes.
- Sociology –is the systematic study of society, as well as the relationship of each individual to their societies. Various scientists developed this branch of science, wherein a French sociologist named Emile Durkheim was often considered as one of the founding fathers of sociology.
These are only some of the branches of science related to social sciences. In addition to this, many other fields of study contribute to its development. In our modern world, social sciences have a significant impact on the advancement of our society as a whole.