Architects of Change: Reconstructing Society And in the end… Architects of Change: Reconstructing Society

What are some of the sources of change in our society? Single dramatic event Cultural and technological innovations Shifting population size Environmental pressures Diffusion from other cultures Media Others? Before listing the bullet points, have students brainstorm a list of sources of change and see how many they find. Then go through each bullet point and have students give examples, either from the text or their own ideas ©Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage Publications, 2008.

Major source of change: Technological advancement Technological change may be one of most accelerated Computers have become indispensable Convenience and access to information Negatives? Loss of privacy Blurring of traditional lines between work and home ©Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage Publications, 2008.

Major source of change: Social Movements social movement Continuous, large-scale, organized collective action motivated by the desire to enact, stop, or reverse change in some area of society Types of movements Reform Movement – define? Countermovement – define? Revolutionary Movement- define? A reform movement attempts to change limited aspects of a society but does not seek to alter or replace major social institutions. Countermovements are designed to prevent or reverse the changes sought or accomplished by an earlier movement. A countermovement is most likely to emerge when the reform movement against which it is reacting becomes large and effective in pursuing its goals and therefore comes to be seen as a threat to personal and social interests (Chafetz & Dworkin, 1987; Mottl, 1980), revolutionary movements attempt to overthrow the entire system itself, whether it is the government or the existing social structure, in order to replace it with another (Skocpol, 1979). American Revolution of 1776, the French Revolution of 1789, the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Iranian Revolution of 1979, and the Afghan Revolution of 1996 are examples of movements that toppled existing governments and created a new social order. ©Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage Publications, 2008.

©Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage Publications, 2008. Rising Expectations When conditions at their worst, many solely focused on survival People more likely to seek social change when living conditions have improved somewhat Chance for change seems possible But some sociologists argue that social movements are actually more likely to arise when social conditions are beginning to improve than when they are at their worst (Brinton, 1965; Davies, 1962). Constant deprivation does not necessarily make people want to revolt. Instead, they are more likely to be preoccupied with daily survival than with demonstrations and street protests. Improvements in living conditions, however, show those who are deprived that their society is capable of being different, ©Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage Publications, 2008.

Sociological Imagination We re-create society not only through acts of defiance and organized social movements but also through our daily interactions society is simultaneously a human creation and a phenomenon that exists independently of us, influencing and controlling our private experiences Through sociology, we can be “aware of the chains that restrict our ‘movements,’ but we also have the tools to break those chains” ©Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage Publications, 2008.