LOL. That’s a good question. As a former “social sciences” teaching candidate, I have a hard time answering this. A lot of what is called “social studies” is, um, not really directly related to other traditional categories of knowledge. IMO, the content of most of the “social studies” books and courses I’ve seen intended for public schools consists mostly of something one might call “civic awareness” and has today degenerated down to stuff like recycling campaigns and discussing what policemen do. Can you tell I’m not a big fan of “social studies” LOL
What “social studies” replaced were courses in history, geography, government and social sciences like psychology, sociology, civics, current events, etc. So in a way, history might be considered a sub-category of social studies, and one which has really gotten short shrift in most social studies curricula. For example, in the school I was briefly in the education department for, “social studies” in elementary and middle school included:
A little American history; a little history of the state you were in; general civic awareness (policemen, firemen, post offices, etc.); a little basic government (who is the President, etc.); a few bits of geography; some generally useful things like what tax forms are, why you should vote; “responsibility” about things like recycling, keeping population levels low (yes, really!) and stuff like that. Now probably also including things like why President Obama is great, how to save polar bears by razzing your parents about the car they drive, and other useful items. OK, that last part is a little tongue in cheek. I dropped out of the education program at my college because of the vapidity of “social studies” so I sort of have an ax to grind. LOL
Michelle D