What Is, or, What Are the Social Studies?

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, and natural sciences. The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.

National Council for the Social Studies

Is/Are "the social studies" singular or plural? One thing or many? A coherent vision or a patchwork? As we close the course, that is the question I would like you to grapple with. We will attempt to do this one text, Ron Evan's book on the history of the social studies in the United States, The Social Studies Wars: What Should We Teach the Children?

Evans book is quite good, and not much introduction is needed. That said, there are two additional points I wish to make.

First: Despite the four camps that Evans identifies, scholars have long identified about three main trends in social studies education. Those often boil down to something like this: traditional, disciplinary, and progressive. "Traditionalists" want to use social studies to promote patriotism and pride in nation through stories of great national heroes, such as the Founding Fathers. Their methods are also often traditional, relying on lecture and textbook readings. "Disciplinarians" want to use the social studies to teach "the structures of the discipline"--to teach students to "think like a historian," or a geographer, or an economist. The teaching methods here rely heavily on the methods of the discipline, such as primary document analysis. Finally, there are the "progressives," who want to use the social studies to improve society, connecting the interests of children to the great social problems of the day. Their methods could take many form, but would usually culminate in some form of social action.

For a classic formulation of this view of the social studies, one could consult the book by Barr, Barth and Shermis, Defining the Social Studies.

Second, Evans' book is a bit too focused on white actors. There is not enough attention given to curricular debates in the Black community, nor on the way in which social studies was used as a tool for "Americanization" of immigrants and indigenous Americans. Indeed, the committee which created the report often credited as founding the social studies, the 1916 "The Social Studies in Secondary Education," was chaired by Thomas Jesse Jones. Jones is famous for his work at Hampton Institute, a school first opened by missionaries for newly-freed enslaved persons. While at Hampton, Jones worked to create a social curriculum that he thought was more fitting to the "less civilized" races.

This, then, is also a story we can tell about the history of the social studies. For those of you interested in the relationship between W.E.B. Du Bois, Thomas Jesse Jones, and the history of the social studies, please refer to this article by Donald Johnson.

I hope you enjoy this book. I look forward to reading your thoughts!