ATS1365 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Gay Liberation, Status Quo, Cultural Revolution
8 May 2018
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INTRO TO SOCIOLOGY: LECTURE 6
Social Change & Social Movements
Last Time
1. Social stratification
2. Class as a method of stratification
3. Social inequality, using Australia as an example
Today
1. Social change
a. Causes of social change
b. Theories about social change
2. Social movements
Social Change
• Social change comes from transformations in the culture, behaviour, social
institutions and social structure of a society over time
• Individualism
What causes social change?
• Environmental change
• How people live in spaces can cause social environmental change
• Population change
• Populations get bigger and more diversified, less homogenous
• Technological change
• Rapid changes in technology have enormous impacts on social change
• Cultural change
• Changes in our behaviours, but also changes in the everyday life
• Also happens when we change our traditional ways of thinking (eg. marriage
equality)
• Abandoning old ways that are no longer appropriate
• Begin thinking for ourselves more than we do about the collective expectations
• Interaction with other societies
Theories about social change:
Functionalism
• Society in a state of equilibrium and gradual change is necessary and desirable
• Change comes from population growth, technological advances, interaction with
other societies
• Theory criticised for being too positive about social change and not realising that
social change can have negative consequences
• Everything in society works in a functional way – from reproduction to the jobs done
• Societies evolve, and new roles develop and cater to this evolution
• Soiet ist i a fied state, it is alas hagig
Conflict Theory
• Status quo is not good for society
• Sudden change through protest and revolution is desirable and necessary
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Last time: social stratification, class as a method of stratification, social inequality, using australia as an example. Today: social change, causes of social change, theories about social change, social movements. Social change: social change comes from transformations in the culture, behaviour, social institutions and social structure of a society over time. Reactionary/resistance movements: reactionary/resistance movements seek to impede social change, or reverse implemented change, aims to stop change from happening, examples, anti-abortion movement, far-right/nationalist movements. How do social movements lead to social change: building momentum through visible acts (protests, campaigns, educating mass populace about issues of concern, when chance for change seems possible, arts cuts movement at monash. American people are treated by the system: ma(cid:396)(cid:396)iage e(cid:395)ualit(cid:455) (cid:894)ea(cid:396)l(cid:455) (cid:1006)(cid:1004)(cid:1004)(cid:1004)(cid:859)s 2017) Joh(cid:374) ho(cid:449)a(cid:396)d(cid:859)s government changed the law to make marriage exclusively between a man and a woman. Next week: module 2: gender and society begins with professor janemaree maher.
