What is Social Science

It is very difficult to answer the question what is social science, because there are numerous subjects that are directly or indirectly related to it. In fact, to understand what subjects form an integral part of social sciences, it is essential to understand the basic definition of social sciences. In essence, social science is hailed to be a scholastic and scientific discipline that studies the origin, growth and development of human society, as a whole. Generally, barring the subjects of natural sciences, rest everything is covered in social sciences. Categorizing sciences based on subjects studied was done in the 18th century.

Natural sciences, for instance, were subjects that developed after deep experiments and results. Physics, chemistry and mathematics are some of the examples of natural sciences. Social sciences on the other hand, developed and evolved from moral philosophy. The subjects that are studied and researched in it study human interaction with society. Roots of social sciences can be found in ancient philosophy, from which various branches of social science research evolved and developed. In fact, social sciences in one of the philosophy topics with varied interpretations and meanings.

Types of Social Sciences

There are various disciplines in social sciences and almost all of them are main subjects of humanities that are taught at University and college levels.

• Anthropology: It is a field of social science that studies the growth and evolution of human beings. It studies basic features of Homo Sapiens, about their ancestors and about cultures prevailing in numerous human civilizations all across the world. In the US, anthropology is further divided into several branches. Social scientists in this field study how religions, cultures and languages develop all across the world.
• Economics: It is the study of wealth and money flow in society. How does the society and its members earn money? What type of trading and businesses are practiced in various societies? Economics also studies steps various governments take to maintain market economy and keep a balance of demand and supply.
• History: History is the study of world cultures and heritage, past human civilizations, its emperors, architecture and events that have been significant in transforming the world.
• Political Science: In political science, one is able to study about different types of governments and politics that prevailed in various civilizations, cultures and countries. It also studies how politics and governments have contributed in societal development.
• Psychology: Psychology deals with the study of human behavior, its thinking patterns, intellectual development, emotional evolution and other aspects related to human mind and relationships with the things in the world.
• Law: Existence of every society has been possible due to some laws or code of conducts. The study of law is promoted to bring justice to people and create a society where there is fairness and justice for all. Law is the most extensive branch of social sciences.
• Linguistics: It is the study of cognitive as well as social aspects of various human languages. Even this field is divided into number of branches and it studies growth and evolution of various languages.
• Sociology: Sociology itself is a study of the society and various things related to it. Socialization skills and union of communities all across the world is studied in sociology.
• Education: Imparting knowledge is one of the most sacred traditions in almost all civilizations. Education is a field of social science in which the knowledge gained by one generation is passed onto the others.
• Geography: Geography is broadly divided into two parts, physical and human geography. Physical geography deals with the study of weather, climate, landscape, mountains, climate, vegetation, Earth Science and Universe. Human geography, on the other hand is concerned with the study of transportation, health, military operations and other facets related to social field.

Owing to tremendous growth opportunities in the field of social research, a social science degree is considered to be a rewarding career option. So if you're wondering what can you do with a sociology degree, then there are numerous career options to choose from, and there are even numerous jobs in existence. A social science major can work in numerous fields related to criminal justice, teaching jobs, the marketing field and government jobs. He can also work in fields related to marketing and market research as the scope of research and understanding consumer behavior is vast.