1. Sources of Social/Cultural Change
Lesson 5

2. Essential Questions: What are the main sources of social change?
What factors lead people to resist social change?
Define:
Ideology, social movement, technology, diffusion, reformulation, cultural lag

3. All Cultures change
Pace of change is closely related to the total number of culture traits that a culture has at a particular time.
The more culture traits the faster the culture can change.
Invention of the car
New form of transportation
New employment
New patterns of shopping
New patterns of urbanization
New leisure time activities

4. 6 factors that stimulate change
Values and beliefs
Technology
Population
Diffusion
Physical Environment
Wars and Conquests

5. Values and beliefs Society is a system of interrelated parts
A change in one part of the system forces changes in another
Ideology: system of beliefs or ideas that justifies the social, moral, religious, political, or economic interests held by a society
Social Movement: a long-term conscious effort to promote or prevent social change; usually fueled by ideology
Social movements usually involve large numbers of people.

6. Social Movements
Prohibition, women’s rights, peace, civil rights, gay rights, environment
What impact did these movements have on our society?
How has our culture changed as a result of these movements?

7. Technology
Social change also occurs when people find new ways to manipulate their environment
2 ways new technology comes about: discovery and invention
Discoveries: atomic fusion, chewing gum, oil shale
Inventions (material objects, ideas or patterns of behavior):
Material: gadget to take the pits out of cherries
Nonmaterial: political movements, new hobbies, religious movements

8. Population A change in population may bring about changes
Since the early 1990s the U.S. population has been increasing
Population increases and decreases affect the economy
An increase in population also means that there are more people occupying the same space
Change in the age of the population brings about cultural changes

9. Diffusion
People often borrow ideas, beliefs, and material objects from other societies
The more contact a society has with other societies the more culture traits it will borrow.
Constant diffusion takes place through radio, television, the telephone, and the internet
In general, societies accept material culture and technology more freely than beliefs and ideas
Reformulation: borrowing cultural traits and then adapting them to fit their needs

10. The Physical environment
The environment provides unscheduled events that affect culture
Drought, flood, earthquake, tornado, tidal wave, hurricane
Change in the supply of natural resources
Gas prices
Cement
Groceries

11. Wars and conquests
These bring about the greatest changes in the shortest amount of time
Loss of lives
Destruction of property
New cities and towns
Changes in economy
Advances in technology and medicine
Changes in government and new rules
What happened to our country directly after Sept. 11, 2001?

12. Opposing social change
Cultural change rarely happens without some opposition
Social change often results from a compromise between opposing forces
Over time, some people may accept a change they initially rejected
The role of women in the work place

13. Resisting change Ethnocentrism
Change that comes from outside a society usually meets with strong resistance
“Buy American” campaign of the 1970s
Target was the importation of Japanese cars
Promoters claimed buying imported cars put Americans out of work
They would demolish Japanese cars in demonstrations
Today, some Japanese cars are made by American workers on American soil

14. Cultural lag Some cultural traits take a long time to be accepted
Material culture changes at a faster rate
Often, technological change results in cultural lag
The traditional school year had a long summer break so children could help with the harvest; today year- round schooling is still met with resistance
Computer and technology has a lot to offer schools; the price tag is too steep for some school districts and many schools are deficient in technology
Privacy issues are not a heated debate because the internet can store information about users

15. Vested interests
If a person is satisfied with the way things are now, they are likely to resist change; specifically if they perceive the change will threaten their security or standard of living
Workers may oppose technology if they fear the technology will replace them
The oil companies are notorious for protecting their “vested interests” and keeping us dependent upon them so they can earn billions

16. Assignment
Using the information from this lesson, write an essay about how the U.S. has changed in reaction to one of the following:
Natural disaster
Act of war or terror
Corporations with vested interests (i.e. oil)
Immigration to certain regions
Your essay should be about two pages long, double spaced, TNR, 12 pt font. Use a comparison/contrast format. Use at least two sources in addition to your experiences and memories. The sources should be listed at the end of the paper.