* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Unit #2 – Social Change
Survey
Document related concepts
Social network (sociolinguistics) wikipedia , lookup
Political economy in anthropology wikipedia , lookup
Social theory wikipedia , lookup
History of the social sciences wikipedia , lookup
Development theory wikipedia , lookup
Sociocultural evolution wikipedia , lookup
Anthropology of development wikipedia , lookup
Philosophy of history wikipedia , lookup
Structural functionalism wikipedia , lookup
Sociological theory wikipedia , lookup
Parametric determinism wikipedia , lookup
Transtheoretical model wikipedia , lookup
Ecogovernmentality wikipedia , lookup
Name change wikipedia , lookup
Transcript
Social Change – Sociological Questions Sociological View of Change – while anthropologists look at culture and change and psychologists look at the nature of change in terms of people’s attitudes and behaviours; sociologists will usually look at the considerable shifts in the attitudes and behaviours of society at large. Early Approaches – in the past (early 19th century) sociologists considered three main contributors to social change: Decay, Cycles of Growth and Decay, and Progress 1. Decay – the idea here is a somewhat negative (often religious-based) belief. The belief was that societies started off in an ideal state (think Adam and Eve). Change then occurred as a result of a decay or degeneration in society (think apple). Using this approach sociologists believed that as societies decayed (became more interested in material items) they would become less spiritual and less able to provide for and protect their citizens. 2. Cycles of Growth and Decay – somewhat more positive, this approach took from the idea of decay but instead focused on the idea that societies changed by drifting between growth (in morality and justice for example) and decay. 3. Progress – this approach looks at societal change from the idea that each society builds upon what was learned from its predecessors. By building on the experience of what worked (and what did not work) society could move forward and change in a more positive manner. To Ponder: “Does progress necessarily mean positive change?” Late 19th Century – the debate among sociologists shifted and focused upon whether social change was the result of a single, or multiple factors. Reductionist – to the reductionist social change was the result of a single factor. That which influences social change could be ‘reduced’ to a single factor. Determinist – determinists build on the ideas of the reductionist in that they see a specific factor as that which will determine the nature of the social change that is taking place. Eg: Feminist theory would be deterministic as is focuses on the idea that society is set up as a patriarchy and in order to change society we must admit this and then look at ways to change it.