Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region VII, Central Visayas
Division of Bohol
DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES
FIRST QUARTER: WEEK 3
Competency : ● Explain the major events and its contribution that led to the emergence of
the social science disciplines

Reference : Arthur S. Abulencia, et al. Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences.
Teachers Guide. Pasig City. Deped-BLR.2017 Edition. Pp 10, 16. Reader
Guide.pp 6-9.

Copyright For classroom use only

EMERGENCE OF ANTHROPOLOGY,
LESSON 1: ECONOMICS, GEOGRAPHY, AND
HISTORY AS A SOCIAL SCIENCE
DISCIPLINE

❖ ANTHROPOLOGY

Anthropology refers to the study of humans. As a social science discipline, it examines all
aspects of human life and culture. It seeks to understand human origins and adaptation, and the diversity
of cultures and worldviews. The word anthropology itself tells the basic story--from the Greek Anthropos
("human") and logia ("study “). Franz Boas is considered as Father of modern Anthropology. It was
Edward Burnett Taylor coined first the term “culture”.
Anthropology has been defined as that branch of knowledge which deals with the scientific study
of man, his works, his body, his behavior in values, in time and space. It is the study of physical, social
and cultural development and behavior of human beings since their appearance on earth.
How it emerged?
Anthropology emerged out of the New Imperialism of nineteenth-century Europe. During this
time, European explorers came into contact with diverse groups and societies in the Americas and Asia.
In the twentieth century, anthropology became increasingly specialized and professionalized as a social
science.
❖ ECONOMICS

Economics studies the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and
services. It is derived from the Greek word “oikos” which means Household and “Nomos” which mean
management. Therefore, it is the study of household management. The term may also refer to the
financial aspects of something, as in “the economics of managing a business.
How it emerged?
The effective birth of economics as a separate discipline may be traced to the year  1776, when the
Scottish philosopher Adam Smith published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of
Nations. Adam Smith was an 18th-century Scottish economist, philosopher, and author who is
considered the “Father of Modern Economics”. Smith argued against mercantilism and was a major
proponent of laissez-faire economic policies. In his first book, "The Theory of Moral Sentiments," Smith
proposed the idea of an invisible hand—the tendency of free markets to regulate themselves by means of
competition, supply and demand, and self-interest. Became a separate discipline with the publication of
Adams Smith’s The Wealth of Nations in 1776.
Economics has two branches namely:
Microeconomics – concerned with individual markets and small aspects of the economy.
Macroeconomics – concerned with the whole aggregate economy. Issues such as inflation, economic growth
and trade.

❖ GEOGRAPHY
Geography is the science of place. It is the social science that studies the distribution and
arrangement of all elements of the earth’s surface. Geography studies not only the surface of the earth but
also the location and distribution of its physical as well as cultural features, the patterns that they form,
and the interrelation of these things as they affect people. It deals especially with the relationship between
the environment of the earth’s surface and humans, which involves both physical and cultural geographic
features.
How it emerged?
As people travel, they encounter different environments and peoples. Such variations are
intellectually stimulating: Why do people and places differ? Stores of knowledge were built up about such
new and exotic places, as demonstrated by the Greek philosopher and world traveler Herodotus in the 5th
century BCE. That knowledge became known as geography, a term first used as the title of Eratosthenes
of Cyrene’s book Geographica in the 3rd century BCE.
Eratosthenes of Cyrene (c. 276 BCE–192 or 194 BCE) was an ancient Greek mathematician,
poet, and astronomer who is known as the Father of Geography. Eratosthenes was the first person to use
the word "geography" and other geographical terms that are still in use today, and his efforts to calculate
the circumference of the Earth and the distance from the Earth to the Sun paved the way for our modern
understanding of the cosmos. Became academic discipline in Europe during 18 th and 19 centuries while
many geographic societies were founded in the 19th century.
Geography has two branches, namely:
1. Physical geography is a major branch of the science of geography, and it mainly deals with the study
of the natural characteristics of the Earth. It covers both the ones that are on the Earth’s surface as well as
those near it. Physical geography allows us to chart landmasses, but physical geography is also being used
to see what lies beneath the Earth’s ice caps and oceans. Researchers are using satellite technology to see
the landmass that exists under Antarctica; additionally, there is work that continues to be done to explore
and map the physical makeup of the land underneath our oceans.
2. Human Geography is a main branch in geography and it mainly covers studies of the human race.
This normally involves their backgrounds, how they interact and the perceptions that they have for
various ideologies affecting them. In addition to this, the discipline also studies the way in which the
groups of people that inhabit the Earth organize themselves in the particular regions that they inhabit. As
a matter of fact, many other branches of geography normally fall under human geography. Modern
applications of human geography can include mapping human migration, showing the movement of food
resources and how they impact communities, and the impacts climate change can have on humans living
in vulnerable areas.
Five themes of geography are:
1. Location- Where is it located?
2. Place-What's it like there?
3. Human-Environment Interaction.- What is the relationship between humans and their
environment?
4. Movement- How and why are places connected with one another?
5. Region- How and why is one area similar to another? No one theme can be understood without
the others.

Geography is more than memorizing names and places. Geographers organize space in much the
same way that historians organize time. To help organize space, geographers are concerned with asking
three important questions about things in the world: The themes are connected with one another, as are all
components of our world. No part of our world can be understood in isolation.
 ❖ HISTORY
History is a study of the past, principally how it relates to humans. It describes or narrates and
analyzes human activities in the past and the changes that these had undergone. In its broadest sense,
history is the totality of all past events.
However, a more realistic limitation of its area of inquiry would be ‘the known past.’ History
deals with events which “have happened among mankind, including an account of the rise and fall of
nations, as well as of other great changes which have affected the political and social condition of the
human race.”
How it emerged?
Herodotus is usually referred to as the “Father of History” (first by Cicero). He was a Greek
historian from Halicarnassus (modern day Bodrum, Turkey) who lived in the 5th century BCE. He wrote
a book titled The Histories (historia in ancient Greek means inquiry, research) in which he narrated the
Persian wars along with various earlier and contemporary stories about Greeks and barbarians (non-
Greeks, that is). The Greeks were the first writers of history which is one of the oldest of the social
sciences.

ACTIVITY: Illustrate how the following disciplines emerged as social science disciplines by filling
in the table given below.

Social Science Disciplines How It Emerged?

Anthropology

Economics

Geography

History
 ASSESSMENT

Multiple Choice. Read and analyze the following questions carefully. Choose the letter that corresponds
to the correct answer.

1. Which discipline of social science studies the distribution and arrangement of all elements of the
earth’s surface?
A. Anthropology B. Economics C. Geography D. Sociology

2. When you examine all aspects of human life and culture, which discipline of social science does
it belong?
A. Anthropology B. Economics C. Geography D. Sociology

3. Describing or narrating and analyzing human activities in the past and the changes that these had
undergone refers to which discipline of social science?
A. Economics B. Geography C. History D. Psychology

4. The following are the themes of geography EXCEPT:

A. Location B. Movement C. Place D. State

5. Adam Smith: Father of Modern Economics; ___________: Father of Modern Anthropology

A. Edward Burnett Taylor C. Franz Boas
B. Eratosthenes of Cyrene D. Herodotus
6. ______________: Eratosthenes of Cyrene; Father of History: Herodotus
A. Father of Geography
B. Father of Sociology
C. Father of Modern Economics
D. Father of Modern Anthropology

7. Economics: household management; Anthropology: ________________

A. human behaviors
B. human activities in the past
C. human origins and adaptation
D. relationship between the environment of the earth’s surface and humans

8. While strolling along the beach with your friends, you met a group of tourists. One of them
mentioned that the name of your place was unique. The other one asked you about the reason
behind the origin of your place. Which discipline of social science should you refer?
A. Anthropology B. Geography C. History D. Sociology

9. According to the World Bank, the gross domestic product (GDP) in the Philippines was worth
394.09 billion US dollars in 2021. The GDP value of Philippines represents 0.29 percent of the
world economy. Monitoring the gross domestic product (GDP) of our country showcases which
discipline of social science?
 A. Anthropology B. Economics C. Geography D. Sociology

10. Which of the following is concerned with individual markets and small aspects of the economy?
A. Human Geography
B. Macroeconomics
C. Microeconomics
D. Physical geography

ANSWER KEY:
1) C
2) A
3) C
4) D
5) C
6) A
7) C
8) C
9) B
10) Ck-