16.1 & 16.2 Flashcards
Social Change
The transformation of culture and scial institutions over time
4 Major Characteristics of Social Change
- It happens all the time
- It is sometimes intentional but often unplanned
- It is controversial
- Some changes matter more than others
What are three important sources of cultrual change?
- Invention: new objects, ideas, social patterns
-Discovery: people take notice of existing elements of the world (medical advances)
-Diffusion: products, people, information spreading from one society to another
Other causes of change
Inequality and conflict
Karl Marx on social change
Saw class conflict as the thing that drives society from one historical era to another.
Believed the stuggle between cpaitlaists and workers pushed society towards a socialist system.
Max Weber on social change
Agreed conflict could bring change, but thought ideas were the at the roots of social change
How is our population changing?
- Typical Canadian household is shrinking
- people are having fewer children
- more people are living alone
- people are goriwng older and accounting for more of the population
- migration within societies (between 1870 and 1930s was formative for Canada)
Collective behaviour
Activity involving a large number of people that is unplanned, often controversial, and can bring about change
Crowd
A temporary gathering of people who share a common focus of attention and who influence one another
Mob
A highly emotional crowd that pursues a violent or destructive goal
Lynching after the civil war is a notorious example of mob behaviour
Riot
A social eruption that is highly emotional, violent, and undirected
What does a riot accomplish?
- allows ordinary people to gin power
- can challenge the status quo
Rumour
Unconfirmed information that people spread informally, by word of mouth or by using electronic devices
Fashion
Social patterns favoured by a large number of people
Fad
An unconventional social pattern that people embrace briefly but enthusiastically
What is the difference between fads and fashions?
Fads tend to be more short lived, fashions tend to become a more lasting part of pop culture
Social Movement
An organized activity in which people set out to encourage or discourage social change
