Social Change
Defined
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Social change means any significant
alteration in a social structure. Thus, any
changes of norms, values, and cultural
products is considered social change. It
excludes changes in fads and fashions.
Sources of Change
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Technology
Cultural change
Geography and history
Theories of Social Change
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Evolutionary theory – Spencer
Durkheim – fundamental social change
is the shift from a society based on
mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity
Conflict theory – Marx
Cyclical (rise and fall) theory – Oswald
Spengler – Every society moves through
4 stages of development: Childhood,
youth, maturity, and old age.
Resistance to Change
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Vested interests
Innovation that run counter to moral
values – abortion and birth control pills.
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Other than food production, how are
other aspects of society being
“McDonalized”?
Social change among the Amish
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Although the Amish have retained many
of their traditions, the article points out
that there are changes in the 5 major
social institutions due to various
pressures. Why have the Amish resisted
change? Do you think they will be able to
continue resisting change? How do you
think the Amish will be 20 years from
today?
Population
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Malthus theorem
The New Malthusians – (quarter million
births a day.) One billion in the year 1800,
130 years for 2nd billion, 30 years for 3rd
billion, 15 years for 4th billion, 12 years for 5th
billion, 12 years for 6th billion and 10 years for
7 billion.
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The Anti-Malthusians – take a closer
look at demographic transition.
Stages of population
growth/decline
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Stage 1 – stable population – births and
deaths are balanced
Stage 2 – rapidly growing population
Stage 3 – Stable population
Stage 4 – Shrinking population
Births in 67 of the world’s nations have
dropped so low that they no longer
produce enough children to maintain
their population.
Extremes in childbirth
Fewest Children
⚫ Bulgaria 1.1
⚫ Latvia 1.1
⚫ Czech 1.2
⚫ Estonia 1.2
⚫ Italy 1.2
⚫ Macao 1.2
⚫ Russia 1.2
⚫ San Marino 1.2
⚫ Slovenia 1.2
⚫ Spain 1.2
Most Children
⚫ Niger 7.5
⚫ Oman7.1
⚫ Ethiopia 7.0
⚫ Gaza 7.0
⚫ Uganda 6.9
⚫ Angola 6.8
⚫ Somalia 6.8
⚫ Western Sahara 6.8
⚫ Mali 6.7
⚫ Yemen 6.7
Why are people starving??
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The amount of food produced for each person
in the world has more than doubled since
1950.
Although the population has doubled improved
methods have made more food available for
each person on earth.
Starvation occurs because particular places
lack food. They have wars, inefficient farming
techniques, and droughts.
The U.S. government pays farmers to reduce
their crops.
Why do poor countries have high
population? – More children?
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The status of parenthood is prized
Children are seen as a sign of Gods’
blessing.
Children are economic assets. Caring for
chickens, younger children, cattle,
fetching water, cutting fodder, harvesting
rice, working for wages, hoeing, etc.
Most Populated Cities
City
2000
City
2015
1
Tokyo
26.4
Tokyo
26.4
2
Mexico City
18.1
Mumbai
26.1
3
Mumbai
18.1
Lagos
23.2
4
Sao Paulo
17.8
Dhaka
21.1
5
New York
16.6
Sao Paulo
20.4
Most Populated Cities
City
2000
City
2015
6
Lagos
13.4
19.2
7
Los Angeles
13.1
8
9
Calcutta
Shanghai 9
12.9
12.9
Karachi
Mexico
City
New York
Jakarta
12.6
Calcutta
17.3
10 Buenos Aires
19.2
17.4
17.3
Urbanization Concepts
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Development of cities
Industrial revolution and size of cities
Urbanization, metropolis, and
megalopolis
Edge cities
Problems
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Deconcentration
Relocation of industries
Gentrification
Financial problems
Poverty and homelessness
Alienation
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What are the advantages and
disadvantages of living in cities? Would
you prefer to live in a small town or a
large metropolis? Why?
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Why does the United States not take
radical steps to solve the problems of
homelessness?
Religion
Religion can be defined as a unified
system of beliefs and practices that
focuses on sacred things and serves to
create a community of worshippers
(Durkheim).
⚫ Religion is an institution of shared beliefs
and practices created by us as a response
to forces we cannot understand rationally,
and that we believe give ultimate meaning
to our lives.
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The Functions of Religion
Answers questions - ultimate meaning
⚫ Provides emotional comfort
⚫ Gives social solidarity
⚫ Guidelines for everyday life
⚫ Support for the government
⚫ Social change
⚫ Dysfunctions – War and Justification for
persecution
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Symbolic Interaction
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Religious symbols – cross, star, moon,
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Rituals
⚫ Beliefs
⚫ Religious experience – born again
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The Conflict Perspective
Religion is the sigh of the oppressed
creature, the sentiment of a heartless
world……The opium of the people – Marx
⚫ Show social inequality – men and women
⚫ Legitimation of social inequalities – king,
caste system
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Max Weber
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The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism
Major Religions
Christianity
⚫ Islam
⚫ Hinduism
⚫ Buddhism
⚫ Judaism
⚫ Cults – Branch Davidian, Heaven’s Gate,
Jim Jones, etc.
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Buddhism
Four Noble Truths
1. Suffering: Birth is suffering, aging is
suffering, illness is suffering, death is
suffering; union with what is displeasing is
suffering; separation from what is pleasing is
suffering; not to get what one wants is
suffering.
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2. The cause of suffering: Desire which
leads to renewed existence (rebirth) (the
cycle of samsara)
3. The cessation of suffering: The cessation
of desire.
4. The way leading to the cessation of
suffering: The Noble Eightfold Path
The eight-fold path
Right Speech - One speaks in a non
hurtful, not exaggerated, truthful way
⚫ Right Actions - Wholesome action,
avoiding action that would do harm
⚫ Right Livelihood - One's way of livelihood
does not harm in any way oneself or
others; directly or indirectly
⚫ Right Effort
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Right Mindfulness/Awareness - Mental
ability to see things for what they are with
clear consciousness
⚫ Right Concentration - Being aware of the
present reality within oneself, without any
craving or aversion.
⚫ Right Thoughts - Change in the pattern of
thinking.
⚫ Right Understanding - Understanding
reality as it is, not just as it appears to be.
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Voodoo
Voodoo in S. Florida
⚫ Voodoo in Florida
⚫ State Religion
⚫ Voodoo Day
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The God Delusion
Richard Dawkins
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You have been appointed the Campus
Director of Minority Graduation. Review
what the article "Upward Mobility Through
Sport" says about the chances for African
American athletes to graduate from
college. You are aware that this principle
applies to other groups. Come up with a
plan on how to increase the graduation
rates of African American youth.
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Why the cow is considered sacred in
India? Harris mentions that we have a
"sacred" car. List the functions of the
Americans' "sacred" car in the same way
that Harris does with the functions of the
Indians' sacred cow.
Medicine
◼ Whenever a doctor cannot do good, he must
be kept from doing harm. – Hippocrates
◼ Percent of population with bachelor’s degrees
Iatrogenic Disease, Breast Cancer,
&Doctors too Tired for Safety
◼ Iatrogenic Disease
◼ 25 Shocking Medical Mistakes
◼ Tired Doctors
◼ Fruits and Vegetables
◼ Medicine is a major social institution. It is a
society’s organized ways of dealing with
sickness and injury.
Perspectives of health and illness
◼ The role of culture in defining health and
sickness – dyschromic spirochetosis
◼ The sick role
◼ The professionalization of medicine
◼ The monopoly of medicine - midwives
Issues in health care
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Medical care: A right or a commodity?
Social inequality
Malpractice suits
Medical incompetence 44,000 and 98,000
Depersonalization
Conflict of interest
Medical fraud
Sexism in medicine
Euthanasia
Threats to Health
◼ AIDS over 35 million people have AIDS
◼ Globalization of disease
◼ Alcohol and nicotine
◼ Experiments – Tuskegee, radiation
Alternative medicines
Education
If you think in terms of a year, plant a
seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees;
if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.
- Confucius
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Earnings by Degree
Highest Level of Education:
Individuals 25 and Older
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Percent of population with bachelor’s
degrees
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Education is the deliberate, formal transfer
of learning, skills, and values from one
person to another. It is an institution for
socialization by which a cultural heritage is
transmitted from generation to
generation.
Functions of Education
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Cultural transmission
Social control – conserve social values and
prevent moral decline
Transmission of knowledge and academic
skills
Tracking and sorting people
Advancement of knowledge
Development of social skills
Hidden Curriculum
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Punctuality
Obedience
Rational goal oriented behavior
Competition
Discuss the following
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Returning students seek second degree
for job security
SAT and other college entrance scores on
the decline
What can they do with a liberal arts
degree?
Digital divide threatens societal integration
IQ Tests - Discrimination
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A symphony is to a composer as a book is
to a(an) _______
Paper, Sculptor, Musician, Author, or Man
Education and socioeconomic
status
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How is educational attainment correlated
with socioeconomic status? With race?
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How do you think classroom size affects
the quality of education?
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What are your views on “Online classes”?
Unionization
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“My contractual responsibilities end
precisely at 5:00 pm”
Teacher strike
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If education is such a priority issue in
American society, why should a teacher be
paid a salary that is commensurate with
an executive secretary rather than a
physician or a lawyer?
Why are teachers’ salaries low?
Teachers don’t care about money; they
only care about their students and the
learning process, so why should we pay
them more?
Learning the student role - Gracey
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Discuss
The benefits to schools and society of having
children learn the student role – conforming,
lining up, following directions, not interrupting,
etc.
The costs or negative consequences of learning
the student role.
What the classroom would be like (including
this) if students did not follow the student role?
Are there alternatives to stifling individuality,
initiative, independence, and creativity?
Work and Bureaucracy
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He who learns but does not think, is lost!
He who thinks but does not learn is in great
danger. - Confucius
Our Economy
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The state of the economy
⚫ Older Workers Left Behind
Bureaucracy
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An organization designed to accomplish
large-scale tasks by systematically
coordinating the work of many individuals
is called a bureaucracy.
Characteristics of
Bureaucracy
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Division of labor
⚫ Hierarchy of authority
⚫ Impersonality
⚫ Rules and regulations
⚫ Written records and communications
Authority
There are 3 types of legitimate authority
⚫ Traditional (kings)
⚫ Charismatic (Stalin, Dalai Lama, Gandhi)
⚫ Rational (managers)
Problems of Bureaucracy
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Lack of communication between units
⚫ Red tape – a rule is a rule
⚫ Conflict between line and staff
⚫ Bureaucratic incompetence - The Peter
Principle
Advantages of Bureaucracy
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Reliable
⚫ Efficient
⚫ Impartial
⚫ Discourages corruption
Problems of Work
Control of workers – Scientific Management
⚫ Alienation
⚫ Alienation refers to the separation of human
beings from each other, from themselves, and
from the products they create. It is manifested by
high dissatisfaction, absenteeism, disruption in the
workplace, alcohol and other drug abuse.
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Structural Transformation
of the Economy
Three fundamental turning points
Around 8,000 BC the agricultural revolution.
Around 1780 the industrial revolution
Currently the second industrial revolution
The Second Industrial Revolution
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Technological breakthroughs in
microelectronics.
⚫ The globalization of the economy.
⚫ Capital flight.
⚫ The shift from manufacturing to
information and services.
Will Work for Free
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Human Kinda
Attacking Nicely
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Discuss how saleswomen have
changed the business of selling cars.
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The reason the editor chose "Over the
Counter at McDonald's" was to stress the
rationalization of everyday life. Review the
article's introduction for an explanation of
this phrase. Explain how everyday life is
being rationalized.
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