Disciplines of Social Studies with Sample Questions

The following are the categories or major disciplines within social studies. Any topic that you choose must fit within one of these categories. Below is a description of each category and sample driving questions.  

Your topic must involve man and his influences otherwise you may have selected a science topic. Writing about arctic wolves and their habitat would not be a social studies topic. You could write about the influences that man has on the changing habitats of arctic wolves making it hard for these animals to find a safe place to live.

Anthropology: 

Culture developed by people living and thinking together. This deals with the study of man's physical and cultural characteristics, distribution, customs, and social relationships. You might choose a topic related to the following: ancient civilizations, Native Americans, customs, festivals, types of shelter and food, religion, etc

Sample questions:

1. How does the way Muslim women dress affect how they are treated by non-Muslims?

2. How has the Aborigine of Australia been able to keep their culture alive?

3. How were the lives of the earliest citizens of Louisiana the same or different than the ones living in the American Southwest? 

 Economics: 

Wants and needs satisfied by people’s labors. This deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth and with the various related problems of labor, finance, and taxation. You might choose a topic related to the following: money, manufacturing, trade, transportation of goods and services, communication, inflation, stock exchange, Common Market, government budgets, etc.

Sample questions:

1.How does advertising affect the spending habits of students at PFTSTA?

2. How does a country finance a war?

3. What will the USA do when the oil runs out?

 Geography: 

People and nature interact. This deals with the surface of the earth, its divisions, and the climate, plants, animals, natural resources, inhabitants, and industries of those divisions. Your research must reflect how man and nature interact, otherwise you are writing a science paper. You might choose a topic related to the following: ecology, foreign countries, lands and people, maps, flooding, rivers, lakes, cities, conservation, etc.

Sample questions:

1. Who are the Palestinians?

2. What happens to a town when the major business or factory closes?

3. What does drought mean to a region that is mostly agriculture?

 History: 

The continuous narrative of human progress. This concerns what has happened in the life or development of a people, country, or individual. You might choose a topic related to the following: story of mankind, historical events, places, biographies, personalities, wars, etc.

Sample questions:

1. How did the Louisiana flag evolve?

2. How did Jackie Robinson change baseball?

3. Was the U.S. involvement in Vietnam worth it?

Political Science/Law: 

Group living regulated by social control. This concerns the determining of the form of government, choosing the officials, making the laws, and performing the function of one's government. You might choose a topic related to the following: government agencies, FBI, crime, US Constitution, court system, international governments, etc.

Sample questions:

1. Has the rise in voter apathy affected election results?

2. How Bloody Sunday impact the Civil Rights movement?

3. What Is the electoral college and how does it work?

Sociology: 

People living in groups. This deals with the study of the beliefs, values, and relationships of groups and the principles governing social acceptance. You might chose a topic related to the following: families, crime, mental health, propaganda, lifestyles, dreams, television, media, etc.

Sample questions:

1. How has the Black Lives Matter movement affected how police treat suspects of crime?

2. How does divorce affect children?

3. Where can people go to get help if they are hungry?