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Essential Definitions
Anthropology - the study of human societies and customs
Economics - the study of production and distribution of wealth
Politics - the study of the state, theories and function of government
Sociology - the study of the structure and functioning of society
Psychology - the study of the human mind and its behaviour in a social
context
What about Geography?
A wonderfully eclectic subject; a magpie discipline and to some
extent a social science. 'Human geography' resembles other social sciences
in methodology (how it acquires knowledge e.g. surveys and questionnaires)
and content (e.g. the study of settlement, industry, transport and other
types of 'human' impact on the earth or 'Geo'). 'Physical geography' in
contrast borrows from the natural sciences in methodology (scientific
method) and content (e.g. the study of plate tectonics, rivers, glaciers
and other 'natural' phenomenon that physically impact on the earth). In
reality, geography recognises that it is artificial to distinguish between
the human and the physical e.g. to what extent are people made homeless as
a consequence of an earthquake the victims of a 'natural' disasater?
Back to 'What are the Social
Sciences?'
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