Chapter 16: Social Change: Modern and Postmodern Societies

Question 1

What are the 4 defining characteristics of social change?

Answer 1

1. social change happens all the time
2. social change is sometimes intentional but often unplanned
3. social change is controversial
4. some changes matter more than others

Question 2

What are the three sources of cultural change?

Answer 2

1. invention produces new objects, ideas, social patterns (e.g. creation of spacecraft allowing for space travel)
2. discovery of existing elements of the world
3. diffusion: products, people, and information spread from one society to another

Question 3

How does conflict drive change?

Answer 3

Karl Marx: class conflict drives societies from one historical era to another

struggle between capitalists and workers pushes society toward a socialist system of production

Question 4

How do ideas contribute to social change?

Answer 4

Weber: people with charisma can communicate a message to change society; early Protestants’ ideas set the stage for industrial capitalism (work ethic); ideas direct social movements

Question 5

What are some main demographic changes in Canada?

Answer 5

typical Canadian household dropped from 5.6 people (1871) to 2.4 people (today)

2016: more seniors (5.9 million) than children aged 14 and under (5.8 milion)

By 2031: seniors will make up 23% of the population

1870 to 1930: millions of immigrants entered industrial cities, thousands from rural areas too
–> farm communities declined, cities expanded, Canada became predominantly urban

Question 6

What is collective behaviour?

Answer 6

activity involving a large number of people that is unplanned, often controversial, and can bring about change

Question 7

What is a crowd?

Answer 7

a temporary gathering of people who share a common focus of attention and who influence one another

Question 8

What is a mob?

Answer 8

a highly emotional crowd that pursues a violent or destructive goal

Question 9

What is a riot?

Answer 9

a social eruption that is highly emotional, violent, and undirected

usually no clear goal, as compared with a mob

to express deep dissatisfaction with the way society is operating

Question 10

What is rumour?

Answer 10

Can guide collective behaviour

unconfirmed information that people spread informally, by word of mouth or by using electronic devices

Question 11

What is fashion?

Answer 11

social patterns favoured by a large number of people (e.g. clothing, music, cars, political ideas)

Question 12

What is a fad?

Answer 12

unconventional social pattern that people embrace briefly but enthusiastically

Question 13

What is a social movement?

Answer 13

an organized activity in which people set out to encourage or discourage social change

Question 14

What are the 4 types of social movements?

Answer 14

1. alterative social movements: limited change in only part of the population (mothers against drunk drivers)
2. redemptive social movements: radical change for specific individuals (alcoholics anonymous)
3. reformative social movements: limited change for everyone (same-sex marriage, labour movement)
4. revolutionary social movements: major transformation for an entire society (rejecting existing social institutions as flawed in favour of a radically new alternative)

Question 15

What is claims making?

Answer 15

the process of trying to convince the public and public officials of the importance of joining a social movement to address a particular issue

Question 16

What is relative deprivation?

Answer 16

a perceived disadvantage arising from specific comparison

Question 17

What is deprivation theory?

Answer 17

social movements arise among people who feel deprived of something (e.g. income, safe working conditions, political rights)

Question 18

What is mass-society theory?

Answer 18

social movements attract socially isolated people who join a movement in order to gain a sense of belonging, identity, purpose

Question 19

What is culture theory?

Answer 19

social movements depend not only on money and other material resources but also on cultural symbols

Question 20

What is resource mobilization theory?

Answer 20

no social movement is likely to succeed without substantial resources (e.g. money, human labour, office and communications equipment, access to the social and mass media, positive public image)

Question 21

What is the political-economy theory?

Answer 21

Marxist approach

social movements arise in opposition to the capitalist economic system, which fails to meet the needs of the majority of people

Question 22

What is the new social movements theory?

Answer 22

the distinctive character of recent social movements in post-industrial societies

non-unified, leaderless, and expressive –> “awareness-raising rather than monopolizing the control of power”

addresses various types of oppression

people are linked by the mass media and new information technology

Question 23

What are the 4 stages of social movements?

Answer 23

1. emergence: people begin to think that all is not well
2. coalescence: the social movement defines itself and develops a strategy for attracting new members and “going public”
3. bureaucratization: depends more on professional staff than charisma/talent of a few leaders for long-term survival
4. decline: resources dry up, faces overwhelming repression, leadership is bought off by offers or money or power, or when members achieve their goals

Question 24

What is a disaster?

Answer 24

an event, generally unexpected, that causes extensive harm to people and damage to property

Question 25

What are the three types of disasters?

Answer 25

1. natural disasters: floods, earthquakes, forest fires, hurricanes
2. technological disaster: inability to control technology (e.g. Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant leak)
3. intentional disaster: one or more organized groups deliberately harm others