Exploring Social Change

by Harper, Charles L.; Leicht, Kevin T.

• ISBN13: 9780130918383
• ISBN10: 0130918385
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Summary

This introduction to social change focuses on theories that explain social change, innovation, social movements, and revolutions. The last part of the book shifts explicitly to the global level to analyze population and environmental issues and globalization. Within this framework, the book discusses topics about change and its problems familiar in sociology and social science.

Table of Contents

Preface	viii
By Way of Introduction	1	(12)
What Is Social Change?	4	(6)
Sociology and Social Change	10	(1)
What You Can Expect from This Book and How It Is Organized	10	(3)
PART ONE SOCIAL CHANGE IN THE UNITED STATES
American Social Trends	13	(14)
Structural Trends	14	(4)
Changing Cultural Themes	18	(4)
Countertrends and Reactions: Anti- and Postmodernism	22	(2)
In Conclusion	24	(1)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	25	(2)
Change and the Settings of Everyday Life: Population, Families, and Work	27	(19)
Demographic Change	27	(5)
Changing Families	32	(6)
Transforming Work	38	(6)
In Conclusion	44	(1)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	44	(2)
Economics, Politics, and the American Prospect	46	(24)
The Changing Economy	46	(6)
Change in the Political System	52	(9)
Change, Problems, and the American Prospect	61	(4)
In Conclusion	65	(3)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	68	(2)
PART TWO EXPLAINING CHANGE
The Causes and Patterns of Change	70	(29)
Theory in Sociology	71	(1)
The Causes of Change	72	(1)
Materialistic Perspectives	72	(3)
Idealistic Perspectives	75	(6)
Patterns of Change	81	(15)
In Conclusion	96	(1)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	97	(2)
Social Theory and Social Change	99	(28)
Functionalist Theory	100	(6)
Conflict Theory	106	(9)
Interpretive Theory	115	(8)
Multiple Perspectives and Change: Reconciling Agency and Structure	123	(2)
In Conclusion: Large-Scale Change and Human Agency	125	(1)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	125	(2)
PART THREE PROCESSES OF SOCIAL CHANGE
Social Movements	127	(24)
What Are Social Movements?	128	(2)
Types of Social Movements	130	(2)
Explaining the Origins of Social Movements	132	(17)
In Conclusion	149	(1)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	149	(2)
American Reform Movements and Social Change	151	(27)
The Social Context of Twentieth-Century American Reform Movements	151	(2)
Social Class and Reform Movements at the Turn of the Twentieth Century	153	(9)
Social Status and Reform Movements at Mid-Twentieth Century	162	(12)
In Conclusion: What Kinds of Change Do Reform Movements Accomplish?	174	(2)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	176	(2)
Revolutions	178	(32)
What Is a Social Revolution?	178	(1)
Theories of Revolution?	179	(11)
The Outcomes of Revolution	190	(1)
A World Revolution: The Collapse of the Communist System	190	(16)
In Conclusion: But Was It a Revolution?	206	(2)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	208	(2)
Technology, Innovation, and Networks	210	(26)
Innovation as a Change Process	210	(2)
The Act of Innovation	212	(2)
Sources of Innovation: Social and Cultural	214	(6)
Diffusion: How Innovations Spread	220	(5)
Adoption of Innovation: Social Systems and Individuals	225	(1)
Institutional Change and the Spread of Innovations	226	(2)
Social Networks	228	(4)
In Conclusion: Back at the Information Technology Revolution	232	(3)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	235	(1)
Creating Change	236	(28)
Creating Change in Omaha: Muddling Through and Planning	238	(5)
Basic Change Strategies	243	(4)
The Role of Violence in Creating Change	247	(3)
Mixed and Complex Strategies	250	(4)
Being a Change Agent	254	(4)
The Ethics of Inducing Change	258	(2)
In Conclusion: Some Final Thoughts about the Feasibility of Creating Change	260	(2)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	262	(2)
PART FOUR GLOBAL CHANGE
The Emerging Global System: Development and Globalization	264	(30)
Two Worlds	265	(2)
What Is Development?	267	(1)
Uneven Development	268	(4)
Developmentalist Thinking: Perspectives and Dimensions	272	(5)
Explaining Failed Development	277	(1)
Dependency and World Systems Theory	278	(2)
Structure and Dynamics of the World System	280	(6)
Globalization	286	(5)
In Conclusion: Development, Globalization, and Human Progress	291	(2)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	293	(1)
Society, Environment, and Change	294	(24)
Ecological Perspectives on Change and Problems	294	(3)
Aspects of Ecological Change and Problems	297	(9)
Human Impacts and Global Environmental Change	306	(7)
In Conclusion: Societies, Environment, and Global Stability	313	(3)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	316	(2)
World Futures	318	(26)
New World Order or New World Chaos?	319	(1)
Looking at the Next Fifty Years	320	(11)
Prophetic Visions: Some Longer Views	331	(9)
In Conclusion: The Third Revolution	340	(3)
Thinking Personally about Social Change	343	(1)
Epilogue: Living in a Rapidly Changing World	344	(4)
References	348	(32)
Author Index	380	(3)
Subject Index	383

Excerpts

This is a book for all those who are curious about social change. It is also about how sociologists study change. It is about the substance of social change in the United States and the contemporary world; it is also about the usefulness of sociological ideas for, understanding change and methods of inquiry that have been used to understand social change. We think the topic of social change is of intrinsic interest to everyone, since its pervasive impact is felt by all and is often the cause of considerable perplexity. Sociological perspectives are uniquely suited to illuminate social change because of their holistic treatment of the different aspects of social life that other disciplines (politics, law, economics) address in a more partial way. Sociology is also a lively and contentious discipline, and we have not ignored sociological controversies or omitted complex ideas that defy oversimplification. The book requires some background, but we have tried to write a book for relative newcomers to sociology, avoiding the most arcane jargon and professional idiom for what we hope are clear language and fertile examples. It is about "big" issues, but we have tried to write in a way that engages the life experience of individuals. The topics of the book are based on what we think is important to communicate about social change based on years of teaching and thinking about it. Others may not agree. It begins with a synoptic overview of recent change in American society.Americahere refers to the United States, and when we refer to other Western Hemispheric nations, we will use their proper names, or other terms likeNorth AmericaorLatin America.Middle chapters deal with selected change processes and with sociological theories of change. The later chapters are about global change processes in the modern world. A more descriptive overview of the chapter topics and organization of the book occurs at the end of Chapter 1, so we won't elaborate more here. Writing a book involves the minds and energies of many people besides the authors. Harper would like to acknowledge his indebtedness to five teachers who have been particularly influential in his intellectual development: Ray Cuzzort, Ernest Manheim, Oscar Eggers, Jerry Cloyd, and Jack Siegman. He would also like to thank his students and colleagues at Creighton University who put up with him over the years through several editions, especially the diverse contributions of Tom Mans, Sue Crawford, and James T. Ault. Harper also thanks Barbara Braden, Dean of the Creighton University Graduate College, for her material support during the completion of the fourth edition. He also thanks professional colleagues for their support and critical feedback over the years, including Prentice Hall reviewers Gerry Cox of Black Hills State University; David Swift of the University of Hawaii; Mark Mantyh of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; and Becky M. Trigg of the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Leicht first and foremost owes an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Charles Harper for his capable guidance and friendship over the past twenty years. He also owes a great deal to James T. Ault for taking a Nebraska boy who was a little wet behind the ears and turning him into a productive member of the social science community. When he was offered the opportunity to help with the revision of this text, he jumped at the chance in part because of the experiences he had as an undergraduate at Creighton University. He sincerely hopes that this text inspires others to think critically about the world around them, whether they decide to become sociologists or not. We owe a special debt of gratitude to the editorial staff of Prentice Hall, particularly Sharon Chambliss, the supportive and congenial "editor in charge" of the project, and Nancy Roberts, Publisher, who has been a constant source of unobtrusive encouragement and the most human face in a distant cor