The Knowledge in Social Science - Report Example

Topic Seven Knowlegde in Social Science Name Institution Subject Date Question 1:Topic seven: Identify three key words and two key concepts linked to the topic 'Knowledge in Social Science'. Social science is the study of the society and the relationship between two or more individuals within the society. In social science studies, one looks at the political life, the economic, psychological, anthropology, history and sociological life of the people. Any of these areas when studied, encompass social science (Lee January 7, 2004). There are many concepts in the topic of Knowledge in social science; however, the two key concepts that have been identified by many are concepts such as ethnicity, health or social capital. Most of the social science surveys that are carried out around the world measure these concepts at hand. Social science concepts tend to define behavior, attitudes and characterizes of individuals or a certain communities (Williams April 15, 1983). One of the key concepts in social studies is the social capital and ethnicity which play a very important part in human development. Question 2 Topic Seven: Provide the full bibliographic details for one chosen reading for topic seven. The chosen reading for topic seven is by Hall Stuart, ‘The emergence of cultural studies and the crisis of the humanities’ (Stuart October 1990) According to this book, the writer provides an account of the development of the studies of culture while at the Birmingham center for contemporary cultural studies. In his works, the writers open my acknowledging the fact that cultural studies are interconnected and that one cannot do without the other. Cultural studies according to this reading grow from on background to another and due to the fact that they are inter related should thus not be subjected to any form of categorization. As one continues to read the work of Stuart, there is another category of culturalization, and this is the critical nature towards oneself. He continues to argue that cultural studies came to being because of the growing human conflicts and crisis that most of the initial studies have been generated. As one goes through his readings one will realize that he explicitly points out that ‘most of us had to leave the humanities in order to do some serious work on it’. (Stuart, The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities 1990) According to Stuart, humanities are the one that is responsible for resenting the appearance of cultural studies. By doing this, he aims at exposing its false claim of being what is referred to as an integral formation. Question 3- Topic Seven: What are the key terms of this week's reading? The key terms in the weeks reading are as follows: a)Thatcherism, b)Cultureless, c) New times, d) Return to ethnicity and e) Humanity Question 4- Topic Seven: What is the thesis for the chosen reading? The chosen reading is about the development of cultural studies in the growing world. Basically the reading tends to talk about the establishment of the cultural studies during a crisis, the writer extensively talks about the revolution of the English world in terms of their social and cultural values and how this evolved soon after the British war. He describes the social and economic attitudes that surrounded the communities in England which at the same time explains various factors, internal and external that lead to the break up and making up of peoples culture into a whole new life. Question 5- Topic Seven: Summarise the chosen reading and include two (correctly referenced) quotations. According to the reading, the writer notes that the beginning of cultural studies experienced some difficulties and most people including scholars experienced some difficulties having to teach it as a discipline or a new part in the development of knowledge. The development of cultural studies began as a united effort among teachers and scholars that was manifested in the pedagogical methods of the Birmingham School for cultural studies. In his writing, the writer also talks about the importance of knowledge in social and cultural studies as a politically infested atmosphere that joined together with the ‘out there in the dirty world’ (Stuart, The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities October 1990) According to Stuart, the criteria for the work done in cultural studies is work on the things that matter at the moment, these are the things that emerge from the experience of researchers in order to transform the same type of knowledge into practice. According to hall, cultural studies found itself in a state that was defined to as ‘a good candidate for (them) at the Center, because it was not someone who had already engaged with and become committed to a field of inquiry which seemed, to that person, to matter. (The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities October, 1990) However he continues to say that the knowledge in social and cultural studies has been put in place in order to bring the theory of cultural living into practice. As for the other part of the reading about the crisis of humanities, Stuart tries to talk more on what is known as the standards debate. Here he attacks the concept of free public education system as he looks at what is being taught in institute in terms of the developments in social and cultural studies. He adds that most of the schools and institutions lacked the Basic English skills and knowledge of the history of the English country which is highly blamed for the cultural crisis in the past and modern society. Throughout the reading the writer continues to argue that there is an effort by scholars to ‘try to bring to light the ideological assumptions underpinning the practice,’ (Stuart, The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities 1990) and the erosion of the nation-state. In the concept of Thatcherism he attempts to find out who can still be "English", and these "truly English" people are reduced to only a handful of Oxford scholars after Thatcherism excluded virtually everybody, including its own "uneducated" youth. So in order for the English to fight off this critical situation that might make them lose their identity, there should be a development of a national curriculum. Here a standard system should be imposed the humanities are "invoked as the last bastion of the liberal defensive operation". In the development of social and cultural studies under discussion, these concepts were taken to Falkland’s so that they are able to maintain the past and make it become a possible future. The crisis was come to be known as the identity crisis, for this reason most cultural scholars wanted to figure out when it first began. However when it is traced well, it can definitely be concluded that the identity crisis that was experienced in the English country by this times was known as that crisis of British inclusion and exclusion from other parts of Europe. In the reading thus, the reader will be able to find out that the studies in cultural studies is to theorize these processes and find ways for the excluded to have their part in the national culture and community. In concluding thus, it can be said from reading Hall, the knowledge in cultural studies are what can be referred to as exploration of academics from what is on the ground, what people on the ground actually do practice and what is actually in theory or what is ought to be practiced by the people themselves. Question 6: Paraphrasing a complete passage Original passage: ‘’For me, cultural studies really begin with the debate about the nature of social and cultural change in postwar Britain. An attempt to address the manifest break-up of traditional culture, especially traditional class cultures, it set about registering the impact of the new forms of affluence and consumer society on the very hierarchical and pyramidal structure of British society. Trying to come to terms with the fluidity and the undermining impact of the mass media and of an emerging mass society on this old European class society, it registered the cultural impact of the long-delayed entry of the United Kingdom into the modern world.’’ (Stuart, The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities 1990) As can be noted from the phrase above, cultural studies in relation to the thoughts of write Hall Stuart were inspired by the social and cultural life of the people who lived after the war in Britain. It attempts to show how the war broke up the usually lifestyle of the British and tended to explain the New Britain that lived beyond the monarchy, a culture that was influenced by other countries and different religions. The media also played a very great role in this sense as it tended to explain and divide in the same sense the European class society and welcomed the United Kingdom into the modern world. Question 7- Topic Seven: Complete a critical reflection for the topic 'Knowledge in Social Science' From the reading Hall Stuart in it is evident that what is made of cultural development in the British world has been highly influenced by the revolution that occurred after the war. For example the media played a very important role in explaining and introducing new cultures in a country that was so fixated in to the British ways of living as to not accommodate new people. It is evident and agreed upon while reading the book that the topic ‘knowledge in social science’ is a development that tries to join the past and the present. In explaining this we find the writer Hall Stuart saying that knowledge in social science is about the development of the humanities that can only be judged within different transitions in life (Williams April 15, 1983). For this reason social science cannot exist without acknowledgement of the past. This is because the past humanity accounts for the present way of life. When one talks about the present way of life, it is realized that social cultural crisis actually do cut through existing new practices, they look at humanities and the way humanity in its own way has been responsible to the destruction of the careers of difference people, the reading list of different cultures, the growing debate of culture and diversity and how this has come to grow with time. Cultural developed as explained can thus be concluded as to mean the growth or interruption in the peaceful life of humanities from time to time. Throughout people will still seek to understand issues like effects of social and cultural development in politics, economic development, personal development and health. References: Lee, Richard E. Life and Times of Cultural Studies: The Politics and Transformation of the Structures of Knowledge (Philosophy and Postcoloniality). Duke University Press Books , January 7, 2004. Stuart, Hall. "The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities." The Humanities as Social Technology; Vol 53, October 1990: 11-23. Stuart, Hall. "The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities." The Humanities as Social Technology, Vol. 53, 1990: 11. Stuart, Hall. "The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities." The Humanities as Social Technology, Vol. 53, 1990: 12. Stuart, Hall. "The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities." The Humanities as Social Technology, Vol.53, 1990: 6. "The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities." The Humanities as Social Technology, Vol. 53, October, 1990: 8. Williams, Raymond. Culture and Society 1780-1950. Columbia University Press; 2 edition , April 15, 1983. Read More

Question 5- Topic Seven: Summarise the chosen reading and include two (correctly referenced) quotations. According to the reading, the writer notes that the beginning of cultural studies experienced some difficulties and most people including scholars experienced some difficulties having to teach it as a discipline or a new part in the development of knowledge. The development of cultural studies began as a united effort among teachers and scholars that was manifested in the pedagogical methods of the Birmingham School for cultural studies.

In his writing, the writer also talks about the importance of knowledge in social and cultural studies as a politically infested atmosphere that joined together with the ‘out there in the dirty world’ (Stuart, The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities October 1990) According to Stuart, the criteria for the work done in cultural studies is work on the things that matter at the moment, these are the things that emerge from the experience of researchers in order to transform the same type of knowledge into practice.

According to hall, cultural studies found itself in a state that was defined to as ‘a good candidate for (them) at the Center, because it was not someone who had already engaged with and become committed to a field of inquiry which seemed, to that person, to matter. (The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities October, 1990) However he continues to say that the knowledge in social and cultural studies has been put in place in order to bring the theory of cultural living into practice.

As for the other part of the reading about the crisis of humanities, Stuart tries to talk more on what is known as the standards debate. Here he attacks the concept of free public education system as he looks at what is being taught in institute in terms of the developments in social and cultural studies. He adds that most of the schools and institutions lacked the Basic English skills and knowledge of the history of the English country which is highly blamed for the cultural crisis in the past and modern society.

Throughout the reading the writer continues to argue that there is an effort by scholars to ‘try to bring to light the ideological assumptions underpinning the practice,’ (Stuart, The Emergence of Cultural Studies and the Crisis of the Humanities 1990) and the erosion of the nation-state. In the concept of Thatcherism he attempts to find out who can still be "English", and these "truly English" people are reduced to only a handful of Oxford scholars after Thatcherism excluded virtually everybody, including its own "uneducated" youth.

So in order for the English to fight off this critical situation that might make them lose their identity, there should be a development of a national curriculum. Here a standard system should be imposed the humanities are "invoked as the last bastion of the liberal defensive operation". In the development of social and cultural studies under discussion, these concepts were taken to Falkland’s so that they are able to maintain the past and make it become a possible future. The crisis was come to be known as the identity crisis, for this reason most cultural scholars wanted to figure out when it first began.

However when it is traced well, it can definitely be concluded that the identity crisis that was experienced in the English country by this times was known as that crisis of British inclusion and exclusion from other parts of Europe. In the reading thus, the reader will be able to find out that the studies in cultural studies is to theorize these processes and find ways for the excluded to have their part in the national culture and community. In concluding thus, it can be said from reading Hall, the knowledge in cultural studies are what can be referred to as exploration of academics from what is on the ground, what people on the ground actually do practice and what is actually in theory or what is ought to be practiced by the people themselves.

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