Essay Instructions: Unit Two Exercise
(due at the end of week four)
CHECKLIST FOR INTERDISCIPLINARIANS
Turn to exercise 4-1 on page 41 of the Augsburg book called, "Checklist for Interdisciplinarians"
Instead of the book directions, please follow these directions:
Evaluate all 21 items listed. Put each trait/characteristic into one of two lists:
Traits/characteristics that you have
Traits/characteriscs that you do not have
Define each trait/characteristic. There is a text book definition for some of these terms, however, do not copy the word for word definition from the book. Read, assimilate, and interpret the information, and then explain it in your own words. Be as comprehensive as possible.
If it is a trait that you have, in addition to the definition, provide personal examples and explain how having this trait helps you.
If it is a trait that you do not have, in addition to the definition, explain why you think you might be lacking this trait and what you can do to obtain it.
College level writing is expected.
Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure are always important. Having someone else read your paper sometimes helps.
Unit Overview
An exploration of the social sciences
Unit two will build a framework of understanding for the social sciences. Some scholars feel that perhaps there has never been an invention that changed society as much as the Gutenberg printing press. Many feel that it changed thinking itself and led to the modern age of technology that we have today.
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Unit Objectives
After completing this unit, students will be able to:
Have a thorough understanding of the Gutenberg printing press and its impacts on society.
Define and understand what the social sciences are.
Understand what critical thinking means and begin to apply it to your evaluation of topics and writing.
Understand and define the traits and characteristics of a successful interdisciplinarian.
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Required Text Book Readings
Please read chapters three and four of Becoming Interdisciplinary.
Read chapter four of Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum - Make sure you have a thorough understanding of synthesis. Synthesizing information is very important in interdisciplinary inquiry.
Read pages 778-779 of Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum on APA documentation basics.
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What do we mean by the social sciences?
Social science is the study of society and social behavior. The social sciences deal with the patterns and interrelationships of human behavior. Obviously, many animals are social, such as bees and wolves; however, the study of the social behavior of non-humans is usually classified as natural science.
We must remember that the different disciplines often overlap and this is particularly the case with the social sciences. Primatology (the study of primates, such as apes and monkeys), for example, often becomes part of anthropology (the study of simpler human cultures.) Oftentimes, as your Liberal Studies courses will prove, the combination of disciplines and methodologies reveals more than utilizing a single discipline and its methodologies.
Social science can use a combination of humanities and natural science methods to evaluate issues. In anthropology, there are cultural anthropologists who study the behaviors of simpler cultures. A cultural anthropologist might take up residence in a community of hunters and gatherers in the Amazon and study their values and patterns of marriage, inheritance, and means of survival. A physical anthropologist, on the other hand, would use “hard science” methods to study the physical characteristics of living or dead people. A forensic anthropologist would be a physical anthropologist who specializes in studying bones and other remains for identification and other legal purposes. An archaeologist is an anthropologist who uses exacting scientific methods, such as carbon-14 dating and pollen analysis, to study the artifacts of past cultures in order to understand their history and social characteristics.
Similarly, although history is usually viewed as one of the traditional humanities, many historians think of themselves as social scientists. The historian who gathers records and recollections of past events in order to interpret them is using the methodology of the humanities. However, the historian who uses a statistical analysis of property ownership during the reign of Henry VIII or analyzes birth rates in colonial Massachusetts, is engaged in methodologies normal to the natural scientist.
In summary, what characterizes the social sciences is the subject of human behavior on a social level. The social sciences often combine the techniques common to the humanities with those common to the natural sciences.
What subjects make up the social sciences?
The subjects normally included in (but not limited to) the social sciences are sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, economics, ethnology, political science, religious studies, gender studies, economics, education, and law.
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Why might some scholars feel that the scientific method doesn't apply very well to the social sciences?
One of the main reasons is that in the scientific method you have a puzzle solving component which includes both scientific predictability and scientific falsification through experimentation guided by a strict set of rules. Yet academic pursuits like psychoanalysis, sociology, and even economics have difficulty in making precise predictions at all, let alone ones that provide for clear confirmation or unambiguous refutation.
Other scholars disagree. They feel that even though social science research doesn't produce the precise results of the natural sciences, it does produce research results that can identify trends and changes. Some scholars also feel that the function of research is different in the social sciences. This research describes behavior and therefore, outcomes are measured and monitored differently.
Here is an article that explores this important issue with the social sciences:
Are the Social Sciences Scientific?
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Critical Thinking Zone - Social sciences food for thought
One of the primary goals of the College of Liberal Studies is to improve your critical thinking skills as you work your way through these courses and the program. Finely tuned critical thinking skills can be a plus in any walk of life, at any stage of life.
Here are examples of the kinds of questions that social science scholars are currently asking and exploring through research:
Sociology - What explains the success of social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace?
Psychology - Why do some people feel so sad around the holidays?
Economics - Why did the housing market go into decline in 2008?
Political Science - What role did the internet play in the 2008 Presidential election?
Religious Studies - Is religion playing a bigger or smaller role in American society?
