Ucsp

• Social Science is engaged in the study of phenomena relating to human groups and their socio physical environment.
• Aristotle (384-322 BCE) emphasized the importance of education in imparting knowledge of the state, the world, democratic values, good citizenship, and the lesson of cooperation and tolerance.
• Social Science implies two important contexts: it involves the scientific process and it inquires about the social space.
• Disciplines of Social Science include Anthropology, Economics, Geography, History, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Demography.
• Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science are disciplines under Social Sciences that deal with the study of people within the context of their social relationship within institutions and natural environment, political systems and cultures.
• The subject Understanding Culture, Society and Politics is a multi/interdisciplinary course that integrates and combines the contents, methods and theories of Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science.
• Anthropology comes from the Greek words anthropos (human) and logos (study) and is defined as the study of human beings and their ancestors; it produces the knowledge about what makes people different from one another and what they all share in common.
• Franz Boas is considered as the “father of modern American anthropology” and argued that culture is not a by-product of a human group’s physical characteristics, but of social learning affected by various factors like the environment and history.
• Edward Burnett Tylor, considered as one of the most influential ethnographers in the 20th century, defined culture as a complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, laws, customs and anything acquired by man as a member of the society.
• Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski, considered as one of the most influential ethnographers in the 20th century, is known for his work on the Trobriand Islands.
• Sociology aims to provide a vivid awareness of the relationship between private experience and the wider society.
• Sociology is the systematic study of society and social behavior.
• Sociology is of great importance in the solution of social problems.
• Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown, an English social anthropologist who developed the theory of structural functionalism, is also known for his work on the Trobriand Islands.
• Plato, an Ancient Greek philosopher, was influenced by a just state or republic and his political philosophy reflects this influence.
• Harriet Martieau, considered as the “mother of sociology,” is an important figure in the discipline of sociology.
• The present world is suffering from various social problems which can be solved through the scientific study of society.
• Emile Durkheim, a French sociologist, is the pioneer of functionalism in sociology.
• The scientific study of human affairs will ultimately provide the knowledge and principles that will enable us to control the conditions of social life and improve them.
• For Plato, justice is achieved when each person acts according to the functions of his class and that corruption occurs when a person acts in a manner opposite to what is required from his class.
• Politics, derived from the Greek word politikos meaning “of, for, or relating to citizens,” is defined as the study of political power relations, behaviour, and activities as well as systems of government from a domestic, international, and comparative perspective.
• Aristotle, a student of Plato, believed that self-interest must give way to the common interest in order for a society to exist.
• Aristotle claimed that it is the government’s duty to protect the common interest of its people.
• In the narrow sense, politics is the principle of organizing control over a people, community, or state.
• Auguste Comte, a French philosopher and mathematician, is the founding father of sociology.
• Anthropology combines the different disciplines in a holistic study of humans and the place of humans in the world around us.
• Humans are biological creatures inhabiting planet Earth and have an intellect that marks their superiority compared with animals.
• Humans have the same biological features from head to toe, but each individual is unique and different due to their genetic make-up.
• Humans have always lived and survived collectively as Cultural-beings, Social-beings, and Political-beings.
• This distinctiveness is believed to be expressed in language, music, values, art, styles, literature, family life, religion, ritual, food, naming, public life, and material culture.
• State jurisdiction over the person is the same as the protection by the state.
• Ethnicity is the identification of a group based on a perceived cultural distinctiveness that makes the group into a "people".
• Culture refers to the complex whole which encompasses beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a person learns and shares as a member of the society.
• Studying Culture broadens our perspectives on how we value our own and other’s cultures, gives us a background on how diverse and complex other’s customs, traditions and cultural practices are, and teaches us the value of religious tolerance, respect for people with different race, gender and political background.
• As a Cultural being, we carry our ancestors tradition and beliefs, speak the language of our parents, practice faith and the distinct way of life of our community, create or showcase the arts and heritage of our people, and transmit some, if not all, of these to the next generation.
• Society refers to an organized group/s of people who generally share a common territory, language and culture, and who act together for collective survival and well-being.
• Studying Society gives us a full understanding on how social groups affect our thinking and behaviour, acknowledges that social institutions (family, education, business, government) shape and affect how we live our life and what we could become as members of the society.
• Politics refers to the theory, art, and practice of government.
• Nationality is the legal relationship that binds between a person and a country.
• Gender identities include Heterosexual, Homosexual, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender.