Chapter 21
Social Change
By Boundless
Social movement theories seek to explain how social movements form and develop.
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Social change is influenced by random as well as systematic factors, such as government, available resources, and natural environment.
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The Four Social Revolutions refer to the identification of social change through modes of subsistence.
Gemeinschaft describes groups in which the community takes precedence over the individual; gesellschaft prioritizes the individual.
Sociologists Weber, Marx and Durkheim envisioned different impacts the Industrial Revolution would have on both the individual and society.
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Over time, the concept of culture has transformed into a more inclusive concept.
Social cycle theories argue that historical events and the different stages of society generally go through recurring cycles.
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William F. Ogburn's theory suggests that technology is the primary engine of progress.
Social movements are broad alliances of people connected through a shared interest in either stopping or instigating social change.
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Social movements occur when large groups of individuals or organizations work for or against change in social and/or political matters.
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Mass media can be employed to manipulate populations to further the power elite's agenda.
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Social movements typically follow a process by which they emerge, coalesce, and bureaucratize, leading to their success or failure.
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Social scientists have cited 'relative deprivation' as a potential cause of social movements and deviance.
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The resource-mobilization approach is a theory that seeks to explain the emergence of social movements.
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The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns on issues pertaining to women, such as reproductive rights and women's suffrage.
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New social movements focus on issues related to human rights, rather than on materialistic concerns, such as economic development.