SOCIAL SCIENCE

DISCIPLINES
INTRODUCTION: DEFINITION, FIELDS AND
METHODS OF INQUIRY
PERFORMANCE STANDARD
◦Connect the disciplines with their historical and
social foundations

LEARNING COMPETENCY
◦Compare and contrast the various Social
Science disciplines and their fields, main areas of
inquiry and methods. HUMSS_DIS 11-IIIb-d-3
ANTHROPOLOGY
INTRODUCTION: DEFINITION, FIELDS AND
METHODS OF INQUIRY
ETYMOLOGICAL MEANING:

◦“Anthropos” (human) + “Logos” (study of).

◦This etymology relates to the scope of
anthropology as a discipline, which includes
everything about humans--- from their biological
and evolutionary past, to ways of life and
traditions that they uphold.
DEFINITION
◦It is a branch of knowledge which deals with
the scientific study of man, his work, his body,
his behaviour and values, in time and space.
◦It is the exploration and study of human diversity
around the world. It gathers and analyzes data
on cross-cultural and inter- societal differences
in social institutions, cultural beliefs and
practices, and communication styles.
Anthropologist?
◦ Anthropologist seeks answers to an enormous
variety of questions about humans. They are
interested in discovering when, where, and why
humans appeared on the earth, how and why
they have changed since then, and how and
why modern human populations vary in certain
physical features.
◦ Anthropologist also compare humans with other
animals (most often, other primates like monkeys
and chimpanzees) to see what we have in
common with them and what makes us unique.
Four (4) fields of
Anthropology
PHYSICAL/BIOLOGICAL
◦ Is the field that is engaged in understanding humans
and their nature as an animal aspects. It examines
humans variation, evolution and physical
characteristics.
◦ This field also studies the human’s closest relative like the
bonobo chimpanzees in one of its subfield called
primatology.
◦ Biological Anthropologist seek to
understand how humans adapt to
different environments, what causes
disease and early death, and how
humans evolved from animals. They are
also interested in explaining the
similarities and differences that are found
among humans across the world. (the
evolution of our species, fossil and
skeletal evidence).
ARCHAEOLOGY
◦ is the study of the ancient and recent human past through
material remains.
◦ It attempts to reconstruct the cultures of past civilizations
and human groups by dealing with fossils and artifacts.
Fossils are the biological remains of plants, animals and
human species, while artifacts are the man-made material
remains that human groups left such as clothing and tools.
◦Archaeology helps us understand not only
where and when people lived on the
earth, but also why and how they have
lived, examining the changes and causes
of changes that have occurred in human
cultures overtime.
 Linguistic Anthropology
◦ Examines then relationship of the language and culture of a group or people. It
works within the premise that language reflects the core components of a society’s
culture.
◦ Examines then relationship of the language
and culture of a group or people. It works
within the premise that language reflects the
core components of a society’s culture.
◦ There are three subfields in linguistics anthropology:
◦ Historical linguistics- traces the development and
evolution of languages.
◦ Descriptive linguistics- focuses on understanding
the syntax and grammar of a particular language.
◦ Social linguistics- identifies how words and their
usage represent the cultural norms of a society.
◦Studies the lifeways and traditions of
human groups which may include their
belief system, economic activities, material
culture, and even political system.
◦Studies cultures and societies of human
beings and their very recent past.
◦ Socio-cultural anthropologist explore how
people in different places live and
understand the world around them. They
want to know what people think is important
and the rules they make about how they
should interact with one another. They try to
understand the perspective, practices, and
social organization of other groups whose
values and lifeways may be very different
from their own.
METHODS OF
INQUIRY
ETHNOGRAPHY
◦- Anthropologists describes a culture, or one of its
segment, based on interviews, and through
participation and observation of the local’s
lifeways and beliefs. In doing ethnography,
some anthropologists review the existing material
culture of a society, while others engage with
the informants through interview and by living in
the field.
◦ Key informant interview- the researcher collects data
from individuals (belonging to a particular culture or
society) who are knowledgeable in the topic. The
research will use judgement sampling method in
identifying the subject informant.
◦ Participant observation- entails the process of actual
daily encounters with the locals of an anthropologist’s
area of study. This method requires a lengthy amount of
time in the field, which ranges from a minimum of six
months to a full year.
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