What are the Humanities and Social Sciences
According to the free online dictionary, humanities refers to the branch of knowledge, such
as Philosophy, Literature, and Art concerned with human thought and culture; the liberal
arts. Studies intend to provide general knowledge and intellectual skills (rather than
occupational or professional skills.
Disciplines in Humanities and Social Sciences (according to The Ohio Humanities
Council)
*¯ƒ History, Anthropology and Archaeology study human social, political, and cultural
development.
*¯ƒ Literature, languages, and Linguistics explore how we communicate with each other
and how our ideas and thoughts on the human experience are expressed and interpreted.
*¯ƒ Philosophy, Ethics, and Comparative Religion consider ideas about meaning of life
and reason for our thoughts and actions.
*¯ƒ Jurisprudence examines the values and principles inform our laws.
*¯ƒ Historical, Critical, and Theoretical Approaches to the Arts reflect upon and analyze
the creative process.
*¯ƒ The study of social studies encompasses a broad base of knowledge consisting of the
different branches of social science such as anthropology, geography, history, civics,
economics, political science, culture and sociology. Social studies is described as the study
of a variety of fields that deal with human behavior and interactions of the past and the
present.
What is Social Studies?
According to the NCSS, Social Studies is the integrated study of the social sciences and
humanities to promote civic competence.” Within the school program, social studies
provides coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such disciplines as anthropology,
archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology,
religion, and sociology, as well as appropriate content from the humanities, mathematics,
