SOCI 2001 week 10 Discussion Essay
Social Change
Social change by definition is the transformation of culture and social institutions over time. The key features of social change are the following: it happens all of the time, it is sometimes intentional but is often unplanned, it is controversial, and some changes matter more than others. There are several social changes that have occurred in the past, and social changes will continue to occur.SOCI 2001 week 10 Discussion Essay
Clothing styles, the invention and use of the computer, Genetic Engineering, and the invention of the automobile are all examples of social change.
Clothing styles changing happen all of the time, is sometimes intentional but is sometimes an accident, and doesn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things. The computer was an intentional social change; it was created to better the quality of life, yet it was controversial. Many people had difficulty recognizing that trusting in technology was okay.
Some people feel that using genetic engineering is interfering with God’s natural intentions. The invention of the car was intentional and mattered a lot more than other social changes. Without the invention of the car, cultures would not have developed and expanded at near the rate that they did. Modernization by definition is the process of social change begun by industrialization.SOCI 2001 week 10 Discussion Essay
The key features of modernization are the decline of small, traditional communities, the expansion of personal choice, the increase of social diversity, and orientation toward the future and a growing awareness of time . Religious freedom, individualization, urbanization, and diverse marriages are all example of modernization. The features of these four examples are the expansion of personal choice, and the increase of social diversity. Modernization will continue to occur as the key elements of the key features of modernization occur.
Social change is a phenomenon that is constantly encountered in our daily lives. This is because the society we live in is itself changing all the time. The concept of social transformation is very closely linked to social change. Sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably.SOCI 2001 week 10 Discussion Essay
Sociologists have been trying to answer and explain, in main, three basic questions of social change. First, the question of whether social change is good or bad; second, the causal factors of social change; and third, the impact of social change to society. Modern sociology helps’ us understand and provide with explanation the complex set of changes that societies experience in the process of human history.
There are a number of ways in which social change has been understood and defined. It can be attributed to differences in perceptions and perspective of the concept and variation in labeling weight age to the idea and nature of social change.
However, it is generally agreed among sociologists that the focus in the discourse of social change is the aspect of occurrence of significant alterations in the organization and/or structure and functions of social life rather than the regular, short term, and predictable re occurrences.SOCI 2001 week 10 Discussion Essay
A working definition of social change incorporates the aspects of significant changes in the various patterns of social relationships social processes, social patterns, action and interaction, the rules of relationships and conduct (norms), values, symbols and cultural products. The concept of social change also refers to variations over time in both the material and non-material aspects of culture.
These changes take place both from within the societies (endogenous forces) and from without (exogenous forces) that is brought about by external forces. The concepts of social transformation social change are closely interlinked. Social transformation is a relatively novel term that has gained some popularity in the recent decades in the discourse of the social sciences.
In fact, social transformation is a radical form of social change. It is a rather sudden change of a society and/ or state, usually with a larger scale, through agents such as revolution. The concept signifies the idea of a particularly deep and far-reaching change that alters the way of life of the people within a limited span of time.
However, social change is essentially concerned with minor and persistent changes in the social organization and/or social structure of a society such as changes brought about in the patterns of family, marriage, and educational institution. Social change as connoting both the persistent changes (social change) and the radical and abrupt changes (social transformation) unless specific mention is made.SOCI 2001 week 10 Discussion Essay
Social change is a concept many of us take for granted or don’t really even understand. No society has ever remained the same. Change is always happening. We accept change as inevitable, and it is, end of story, right? Well, not exactly.
Sociologists define social change as changes in human interactions and relationships that transform cultural and social institutions. These changes occur over time and often have profound and long-term consequences for society. Well known examples of such change have resulted from social movements in civil rights, women’s rights, and LBGTQ rights, to name just a few. Relationships have changed, institutions have changed, and cultural norms have changed as a result of these social change movements. That’s pretty heady stuff. Don’t you think?
What interests me, and what I hope interests you, is our collective power to influence social change. While we accept that change is constant, we do not have to accept that we are powerless in its wake. It is the extent to which we care about the direction of social change that we can try to shape it and help to create the kind of “change we wish to see in the world.” Whether or not Gandhi actually uttered these words doesn’t matter. What matters is that the phrase begs the question, what kind of change do we wish to see in the world? SOCI 2001 week 10 Discussion Essay