UNIT-2

DISCIPLINARY AREAS

What is a Discipline?
An academic investigation of the concept of ‘disciplinarity’ starts off with
an exploration of the etymology of the term ‘discipline’. The term
‘discipline’ originates from the Latin word ‘discipulus’- which means pupil,
and ‘disciplina’ - which means teaching (noun). As a verb it means training
someone to follow a rigorous set of instructions, but also enforcing
obedience (Krishnan, 2009)
A discipline is an organised body of knowledge with a logical structure. It
is a network of concepts and generalisations which explain the
relationships among a body of facts. We learn by seeing relationships
among different events and processes, and by generalizing about them.
We see relationships among different facts and events with the aid of
concepts and conceptualize by classifying them. We link concepts
belonging to a class together and form conceptual structure of the
concepts. It is these conceptual structures that constitute disciplines. A
discipline is an organised body of knowledge, characterized by a domain, a
method, and a tradition.
Michel Foucault (1991) has famously interpreted ‘discipline’ as a violent
political force and practice that is brought to bear on individuals for
producing ‘docile bodies’ and minds. Foucault uses the term ‘discipline’ in
a very general and also fairly specific sense; it clearly includes the
academic disciplines and their contributions to bringing about
‘discipline’in society.

Characteristics of a Discipline
The characteristics of a discipline are the following:

❖ Every discipline has a history. It implies the development of that

particular discipline and the chronology of its growth and
modification.
❖ Each discipline has certain domain of knowledge (cognitive, affective
and psychomotor)
❖ Discipline has a particular object of research, though the object of
research may be shared with another discipline.
❖ Discipline has a substantial body of knowledge and research, which
is specific to it and not generally shared with another discipline.
❖ Discipline has theories and concepts that organise the accumulated
knowledge effectively.
❖ Discipline uses specific terminologies or a specific technical language
to define and explain the concepts and facts included in that
discipline.
❖ Discipline has developed specific research methods according to its
specific research requirements.
❖ Discipline must have some institutional manifestation in the form of
subjects taught at universities or colleges, respective academic
departments and professional associations connected to it.
❖ A discipline has a group of intellectual followers, who have strong
belief in that discipline. They conduct new researches in that
discipline, and bring changes in that discipline with new facts and
innovations
Changes in Social Science, Natural Science and Linguistics
Social Science
Introduction In recent years STEM (science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics) sciences have received the majority of investment
and support from government, universities, etc., while these subjects
 are no doubt important, the importance of social sciences should not
be ignored. In fact, in areas such as social and primary care, the justice
system, and business, to name just a few, social science is extremely
important and necessary. It is therefore very important that this
educational imbalance to be addressed and more support provided to
the social sciences.
Meaning and Concept of Social Science
While for many people the words “social sciences” may bring to mind
the images of social workers or teachers, this is a gross misunderstanding
of the range of roles available within this discipline, as well as the impact
that it has on the wider world. In general, social sciences focus on the
study of society and the relationship among individuals within society.
Social science covers a wide spectrum of subjects, including economics,
political science, sociology, history, archaeology, anthropology, and law. In
comparison to STEM sciences, social science is able to provide insight into
how science and innovation work – in effect it is the science of science. In
particular, social scientists are equipped with the analytical and
communication skills that are important throughout many industries and
organizations.
What do social scientists do?
Social scientists are involved with solving many of the world’s biggest
issues, such as violent crime, alternative energy, and cyber security.
They have had profound effects on every part of society. The choice
between STEM and the social sciences is really a false one; society
needs people trained in both. In order to formulate effective solutions
for society and to understand the implications of those solutions, a
mix of both STEM and social sciences will be required. Social science is
already increasingly engaged in collaborative cross-disciplinary work
in diverse fields such as engineering, medicine, computing, biology,
and mathematics. It is clear that no subject area can stand alone,
 walled off from the outside, and that social science can play an
important role in all fields.
Subfield of Social Science
It is more useful to understand the social sciences in terms of the
focus of the knowledge it stimulates. The social sciences are an
inherent outcome of the emergence of western modernityand its
associated ways of seeing the dynamics human relationships and
interactions - a process of transition from a pre-modern traditional
social order to a secular rational one. The range of contributors to the
development of the social sciences characterized the terminology and
nature of this transition in different ways community to society
(Tonnies), traditional to rational legal authority (Weber), feudalism to
capitalism (Marx).
This history set the stage for the emergence of the range of issues, and
hence to some extent the range of issues studied by the social sciences.
History: focusing on a narrative of the dynamics of collective entities -
institutions, communities’ nation states, the international order
Politics: focusing on the way that power and influence is articulated,
particularly within the governing institution of nation states.
Sociology: focusing on how our humanity is shaped and constrained by
social context within which we live our lives
Anthropology: initially differentiated from sociology in its focus on pre-
modern communities, but now more characterized by its research
traditions of immersive fieldwork and symbolic meanings more broadly.
Social geography: focusing on the spatial organization of human
communities’
Political economy: focusing on how human societies and the
international order are shaped by its processes of material production and
distribution.
 Business studies
 Communication studies
 Criminology
 Demography
 Development studies
 Economics
 Education
 Geography
 History
 Industrial relations
 Law
 Linguistics
 Media studies
 Methodology
 Philosophy
 Political science
 Psychology
 Public administration
 Sociology
 Legal Management
 Paralegal studies
 International studies
 Library Science
 Information Science

a) Natural Science
 Meaning and Definition of Natural Science Science is a set of tools
and systematic methods for studying the natural world through
observation and experimentation. Or more simply, science is a way of
exploring and understanding the physical world.
We humans love to find patterns, and we've been looking for patterns in
the world as long as we've existed. Our brains, however, are not very
reliable when it comes to identifying and explaining those patterns.
In fact, we can be pretty terrible at it. We get sick, and we assume it was
the last thing we ate, even though it almost never is. We see a cold winter
and call climate change a hoax. So, many of our instincts are objectively
wrong. Science is a way of avoiding that by using a systematic method
called the scientific method: identify the problem, gather data, create a
hypothesis, test the hypothesis, does the new data agree with the
hypothesis?
 Branches of Science
The branches of science (also referred to as "sciences", "scientific
fields", or "scientific disciplines") are commonly divided into three
major groups:
• Natural Science: the study of natural phenomena (including
fundamental forces and biological life).
• Formal Science: the study of mathematics and logic, as opposed to
factual methodology)
. • Social Science: the study of human behaviour and science. Natural,
social,
and formal science makes up the fundamental science, which form
the basis of interdisciplinary and applied sciences such as engineering and
medicine.

Specialized scientific disciplines that exist in multiple categories may

include parts of other scientific disciplines but often possess their own
terminologies and expertise.

Natural science
is a branch of science that seeks to elucidate the rules that govern the
natural world by applying an empirical and scientific method to the study
of the universe. The term natural sciences is used to distinguish it from the
social science, which apply the scientific method to study human behaviour
and social patterns; the humanities, which use a critical or analytical
method to the study of the human conditions and the formal science.
 Physical science
Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural
science and science that study non-living systems, in contrast to the life
sciences. However, the term "physical" creates an unintended, somewhat
arbitrary distinction, since many branches of physical science also study
biological phenomena. There is a difference between physical science and
physics.

Physics
Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines, perhaps
the oldest through its inclusion of astronomy. Over the last two millennia,
physics was a part of natural philosophy along with chemistry certain
branches of mathematics and biology, but during the Scientific Revolution
in the 16th century, the natural sciences, emerged as unique research
programs in their own right. Certain research areas are interdisciplinary,
such as biophysics and quantum chemistry, which means that the
boundaries of physics are not rigidly defined. In the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries physics emerged as a major unifying feature of the
philosophy of science as physics provides fundamental explanations for
every observed natural phenomenon. New ideas in physics often explain
the fundamental mechanisms of other sciences, while opening to new
research areas in mathematics and philosophy.
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter and the changes it
undergoes. The science of matter is also addressed by physics, but while
physics takes a more general and fundamental approach, chemistry is
more specialized, being concerned by the composition, behavior (or
reaction), structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it
undergoes during chemical reactions. It is a physical science which studies
various substances, atoms, molecules and matter (especially carbon
based); biochemistry, the study of substances found in biological
organisms, physical chemistry, the study of chemical processes using
physical concepts such as thermodynamics and quantum mechanics, and
analytical chemistry, the analysis of material samples to gain an
understanding of their chemical composition and structure.

Earth Science
Earth science (also known as geosciences, the geosciences or the Earth
sciences) is an allembracing term for the sciences related to the planet
earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the
only known life-bearing planet. There are, both reductionist and holistic
approaches to Earth sciences. The formal discipline of Earth sciences may
include the study of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, oceans and biosphere,
as well as the solid earth.
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relationships that living organism
have with each other and with their abiotic environment. Topics of
interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount
(biomass), number, and changing states of organisms within and among
ecosystem.
Oceanography
Oceanography, or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that
studies the ocean. It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organism and
ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate
tectonic and the geology of the sea floor; and fluxes of various chemical
substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its
boundaries. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that
oceanographers blend to further knowledge of the World Ocean and
understanding of processes within it: biology, chemistry, geology,
meteorology, and physics as well as geography.

Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid earth the rocks of
which it is composed, and the processes by which they change. Geology
can also refer generally to the study of the solid features of any celestial body
(such as the geology of moon or geology of mars). Geology gives insight
into the history of Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate
tectonic, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates. In modern
times, geology is commercially important for minerals and hydrocarbon
exploration and exploitation and for evaluating water resources. It is
publicly important for the prediction and understanding of natural
hazards, the remediation of environmental problems, and for providing
insights into past climate change. Geology plays a role in geotechnical
engineering and is a major academic discipline.
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere.
Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in
meteorology did not occur until the 17th century. The 19th century saw
breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several
countries. After the development of the computer in the latter half of the
20th century, breakthroughs in weather casting were achieved.
Space Science or Astronomy
Space science or Astronomy is the study of everything in outer space.
This has sometimes been called astronomy, but recently astronomy has
come to be regarded as a division of broader space science, which has
grown to include other related fields, such as studying issues related to
space travel and space exploration (including space medicine), space
archelogy and science performed in outer space.

Life Science
Life science comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific
study of living organisms, like plants, animals, and human beings.
However, the study of behaviour of organisms, such as practiced in
ethology and psychology, is only included in as much as it involves a
clearly biological aspect. While biology remains the centrepiece of life
science, technological advances in molecular biology and biotechnology
have led to a burgeoning of specializations and new, often
interdisciplinary, fields.
Biology
Biology is the branch of natural science concerned with the study
of life and living organisms, including their structure, function,
growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a
vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines
Zoology
Zoology is the
branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom,
including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification,
habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct.
Human Biology
Human biology is an interdisciplinary academic field of biology,
biological anthropology, nutrition and medicine which focuses on
humans; it is closely related to primate biology, and a number of
other fields.
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that
involves the scientific study of plant life. Botany covers a wide range
of scientific disciplines including structure, growth, reproduction,
metabolism, development, diseases, chemical properties, and
evolutionary relationships among taxonomic groups. Botany began
with early human efforts to identify edible, medicinal and
poisonous plants, making it one of the oldest sciences. Today
botanists study over 550,000 species of living organisms

Linguistics
Definition, Meaning and Concept of Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language as a universal human
phenomenon. Linguists investigate the structure of language, its
relationship to other systems of communication, the acquisition of first
and second languages, language in its social context, the causes and
effects of language change, and universal properties of language. Process
of Linguistic Theoretical linguistics concerns itself with the question of
what it means to know a language, to learn a language, and to use a
language. Answers to these questions not only provide us with a better
understanding of the structure of human languages, but also with an
understanding of the properties that define the human language ability.
Since language is central to most human activity, questions and answers
arising from theoretical developments in linguistics often have significant
impact far beyond the limits of the discipline of Linguistics.

Subfields of Linguistic
 The following subfields of linguistics play an important role in the
curriculum of the Linguistics discipline,
Phonetics
The branch of linguistics which studies the characteristics of human
speech sounds and provides methods for their description, classification,
and transcription. Students will become familiar with the International
Phonetic Alphabet, which represents the sounds of any human language.
For example, the word "baked" would be transcribed as [bejkt].
Phonology
The branch of linguistics which studies the sound systems and sound
patterns of languages. Students will become familiar with the rules that
govern how we pronounce words. For example, the 'l' sound in the word
"lie" is different than in the word "play" and different again in the word
"fall".
Morphology
The branch of linguistics which studies the structure of words. Students
will become familiar with the processes of word formation. For example,
they will learn why we can produce words like "whiten" and "soften", but
not "bluen" or "slowen".
Syntax
The branch of linguistics which studies the structure of sentences.
Students will become familiar with the principles governing the way
words are combined into sentences. For example, they will learn why
sentences like "What did you eat eggs with?" sound fine, but sentences
like "What did you eat eggs and?" sound bad.
Semantics
The branch of linguistics devoted to the study of meaning in language.
Students will become familiar with the ways in which language is used to
 convey information. For example, they will learn why the word "himself"
in the sentence "The boy's uncle admired himself" can refer only to the
uncle and not to the boy.
Historical Linguistics
The branch of linguistics which investigates language change. Students
will become familiar with the ways in which a language can change over
time. For example, they will learn how the earlier Germanic word "musi"
became Modern English "mice."
Language Acquisition
The branch of linguistics which studies how children and adults learn
languages. Students will become familiar with the characteristics of first
and second language acquisition. For example, they will learn why
children produce sentences like "I go to outside."
Linguistics as Interdisciplinary
Linguistics is by nature an interdisciplinary field. By interdisciplinary
we mean that it is a field that crosses the boundaries of many academic
fields. The discipline has its roots in philosophy and philology, and it
interfaces comfortably with anthropology, archaeology, modern
languages, psychology, and sociology, to name a few areas. Language is a
defining characteristic of human beings. As adults, we have a mental
representation of the grammar for the language that we speak. Linguistics
is concerned with the characteristics of this mental representation, and
with how it is acquired. As a result, linguistic theories of learning and
theories of mind interact with those developed in psychology and
philosophy. A human language, though, is much more than a mental
representation. We use language to communicate in a social context.
Therefore, linguistics interacts with the disciplines of sociology and
anthropology, which inform us about ways of studying society and culture
 Aside from language structure, other perspectives on language are
represented in specialized or interdisciplinary branches as follows,
 Historical Linguistics
 Sociolinguistics
 Psycholinguistics
 Ethnolinguistics (Anthropological Linguistics)
 Dialectology
 Computational Linguistics
 Psycholinguistics
As language is such a central feature of being a human, Linguistics has
intellectual connections and overlaps with many other disciplines in the
humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. Some of the
closest connections are with Philosophy, Literature, Language Pedagogy,
Psychology, Sociology, Physics (acoustics), Biology (anatomy,
neuroscience), Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Health
Sciences (Aphasia, Speech Therapy) and neurolinguistics