Cultural studies are part of the field of social sciences.
The social sciences bring together all scientific disciplines whose object of study is linked to the activities and behavior of human beings. These sciences, therefore, analyze the manifestations of society , both material and symbolic.
Hence, for example, in general it is common for the concept of social sciences to be used as a synonym for human sciences .
Social science methodology
The social sciences study social facts : behaviors, ways of feeling and thoughts that are external to consciousness. Its intention is to produce scientific knowledge from these facts, collecting and analyzing data.
Documentation and surveys are two of the resources of social sciences to generate new knowledge. In any case, they can also appeal to experimentation and observation as other sciences do.
Differences with natural sciences
It could be said that the social sciences study that which is not the concern of the natural sciences . People have consciousness and the ability to develop abstract representations that influence their behavior. That is why social interaction is governed by various supposed rules and norms.
The natural sciences, on the other hand, work with factual objects and use the scientific method with greater rigor. Social sciences, in general, cannot postulate universal laws.
The social sciences provide knowledge for urban planning and urbanism in general.
Learning social sciences
Nowadays we have to emphasize that social sciences have become a fundamental part of education in any country. Thus, students in primary education and secondary education have subjects that deal with them.
In some regions, there is a subject or subject called, precisely, Social Sciences . In these classes, students learn notions of History , Geography and other areas.
In the same way, we cannot forget the fact that in several countries these sciences are also very present in higher education . A clear example of this is the University of Buenos Aires ( UBA ), which has its own Faculty of Social Sciences. It studies careers such as Social Work , Communication Sciences , Sociology , Political Science and Labor Relations , among others. But the latter is not the only case, in Salamanca there is also the Faculty of Social Sciences .
Division according to the object of study
The social sciences can be divided into those dedicated to the study of the evolution of societies ( archaeology , history , demography ), social interaction ( economics , sociology , anthropology ) or the cognitive system ( psychology , linguistics ).
One can also speak of applied social sciences ( law , pedagogy ) and other social sciences grouped in the generic group of humanities ( political sciences , philosophy , semiology , communication sciences ).
It should be noted that social sciences can study people's declared and conscious intentions, but also observed behavior .
The anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss , the philosopher and political scientist Antonio Gramsci , the philosopher Michel Foucault , the economist and philosopher Adam Smith , the economist John Maynard Keynes , the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud , the sociologist Émile Durkheim , the political scientist and sociologist Max Weber and the Philosopher, sociologist and economist Karl Marx are some of the leading social scientists of the last few centuries.
The public administration must resort to experts in social sciences to develop its policies.
Topics of interest in the social sciences
The topics of interest in the social sciences are numerous. This is because the disciplines are very different from each other, beyond their common points.
Gender studies , migration , social inequality , human rights , economic policy , international relations and ethics , for example, are some of the topics that these sciences address.
If we take the case of migration , it can be approached from history (in which historical periods the most important migratory movements were recorded), demography (how the population of a region changes with immigrants and emigrants), the economy (analyzing the economic impact of the phenomenon), psychology (seeing the emotional consequences) or law (legal protection of the rights of migrants). Globalization studies or national identity studies can be developed to produce knowledge about migration, to mention other possibilities.
The case of sociology
Diversity does not only appear when observing the multiple social sciences. Within these fields of knowledge, numerous areas, divisions and specializations can also be found.
Sociology , dedicated to the study of societies, is a reflection of this reality. In this social science there are dozens of branches, such as the sociology of knowledge , the sociology of education , the sociology of religion , the sociology of sports , the sociology of health , economic sociology and rural sociology , among many others. Each focuses on a specific issue in society, although obviously interacting with other divisions of sociology.
Focusing on the sociology of religion or religious sociology , its experts examine the structures and roles of religions in a community, also analyzing how religious practices and precepts influence collective behavior. In this way, this sociological branch provides knowledge of a specific field.