2. What do these terms mean?
• “American”
• “Culture”
• “Identity”
• “Public life”
3. Intro the Social Sciences:
Methods and Terminology
Image credit: https://groundviews.org/2017/12/20/reclaiming-social-sciences-and-humanities-notes-from-south-asia/
4. Key Terms in the Social Sciences
Social Sciences – The study of human systems (as opposed to natural or nature-made
systems).
Identity – “A set of behaviors or personal characteristics by which an individual is
recognized as a member of a group” (Dr. Ellen Ginsburg, MCPHS).
Culture – Shared values, norms, beliefs, and customs manifested in rituals, language,
appearance, and behaviors that form communal identity; culture is learned in family and
group settings and preserved in stories, artifacts, and other forms of symbolic expression;
culture is dynamic and evolves in response to both internal and external factors; individuals
may belong to both dominant cultures and subcultures.
Society – A population living within a geographic space that is characterized by social,
economic, political, religious, and familial institutions that function to maintain order;
societies can be conceptualized and studied in larger and smaller arenas (global, national,
regional, and local).
5. Who studies what?
• Sociologists: how we become members of groups and move between groups, and
how being part of different groups affects individuals and the groups in which they
participate. [society/social systems]
• Political Scientists: how we identify ourselves as citizens of a particular nation,
how we participate in our political structures and institutions, how doing so affects
us, and what motivates us to affiliate ourselves with certain points of view or
political parties. [politics/political systems]
• Anthropologists: the rituals and beliefs of a community, their function within a
community, what they reflect about communities, and how they affect the
members of that community. [culture]
• Historians: interpretations of the past, how the affects our views of the present,
and understanding trends or deviations from trends in the past. [history]
Source: http://www.instruction.greenriver.edu/bahl/e127/disciplines.htm
6. Deciphering Sources
Always ask: What kind of source am I examining?
• Primary Sources—offer first-hand accounts of an event or
experience, generally produced at the time that event occurred or
shortly thereafter.
• Examples: newspaper articles, diaries, letters, laws, court documents, oral
interviews, photos, music, recipes, cartoons, films, autobiographies/memoirs.
• Secondary Sources—offer an interpretation of an event or experience
based on analysis of primary sources.
• Examples: journal articles, scholarly monographs (books), documentaries,
literature reviews, reference books, biographies.
7. Evaluating Sources
• How can we tell which sources are “good” (i.e. useful or
revealing)?
• What counts as a “good” source will vary depending on
what you are trying to learn or find out.
• Sources often offer conflicting accounts, interpretations,
or memories of an event or experience.
• Some sources are more “reliable” (trustworthy) than
others.
8. Official Police Report:
“Two officers arrived and located the suspect, a male believed to
be in his 40s, in his car. He was ordered to step from his car.
After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were
able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be
suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance. He
was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by
ambulance where he died a short time later.
At no time were weapons of any type used by anyone involved in
this incident. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
has been called in to investigate this incident at the request of the
Minneapolis Police Department.
No officers were injured in the incident. Body worn cameras
were on and activated during this incident.”
Q: If you only examined this primary source, what might you think or understand about the events it
describes, which occurred on May 25, 2020? What other types of primary sources should you
consult to get a fuller understanding of what happened?
9. Q: If you only examined this primary source, what might you think or understand
about the events of January 6, 2021? What other types of primary sources should we
consult to get a fuller understanding of the events and significance of that day?
10. Factors to Consider in Evaluating Sources:
• Identity: Who made this source?
• Authority: How close was the creator to the event(s) they describe?
• Audience: Who was the source created for? Who was the target audience,
and why?
• Motivations: Why was this source created? Did the creator have
something to gain or lose in influencing how the event would be understood?
• Context: When was the source created? How long after the event? What
else was occurring at that time?
• Accuracy/reliability: Does this source confirm or contradict the story
told by similar sources? If there are conflicting sources, what might that tell
us about how a given event has been studied and who it should be
understood?
Editor's Notes
Sec. G: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1D-YOWGmtRU1brEPdF_-yg3oxWKRL5vrkXdUopWUc2ko/edit?usp=sharing
Sec. F: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19Z_uEu3z18s63vAvNxhfclX5yRG93lf3B1sIuegep-o/edit?usp=sharing
Generally speaking, the social sciences include any academic discipline that seeks to understand human behavior in social or cultural terms. The social sciences emerged in the 20th century, but their roots emerged during earlier periods of human history that sought to understand and address issues concerning human nature (what we will actually refer to as “culture”), government, and morality.
A collection of letters between an immigrant and their family back home can be useful in understanding the experiences of immigration in terms of work, family, and social life, but may be less revealing in terms of the thinking of political leaders or the laws produced in response to rising rates of immigration. Similarly, a study of oral interviews with voters discussing their thoughts on a given election might reveal a lot about why and how members of specific groups choose to participate in the political process, but may be less revealing in terms of the outcome or significance of specific elections.
