Society and Culture HSC examinations term 1: Study notes
Social and cultural change
Fundamental concepts:
1. People
2. Environment
3. Time
4. Society
5. Culture
Contributing concepts:
1. Technology
2. Power
3. Authority
4. Gender
Social change: refers to alterations in social behaviour patterns over time brought by changes to societal structures and social processes.

Societies generally work to maintain stability or continuity.
In a stable society change occurs gradually without altering the culture in any fundamental way.
Issues of process:
Westernisation: A particular form of modernisation in which the methods and values of western industrial capitalism are the basis of the changes that are occurring.
Modernisation: A process of social change resulting from the diffusion and adoption of the characteristics of expansive and apparently more advanced societies through societies that are apparently less advanced.
Industrialisation: Refers to the transition in methods of production that has been responsible for the vastly increased wealth-creating capacity of modern societies compared with traditional systems. It ma refer to manufacturing, agriculture and administration.

Bhutan
Theories of social change: Evolutionary theory

Evolutionary theory is based on the idea of social change being nonlinear
(moving in a single direction), ordered and progressive. It has its origins in
Charles Darwin’s theories explaining biological change, and saw societies evolving along a single path from hunters and gathers through agricultural and industrial phases to post-industrial technology. During the twentieth centaury, the theory has been adapted to allow for multilinear development, and to remove the value judgment that industrial societies were inherently superior to agrarian ones.

The driving mechanism in social change is technology this leads to changes in economic production, social organisation and changes in social behaviour.

Advances in technology, that is the knowledge of tools used to manipulate the environment are often seen as inevitable. As people develop new skills or innovation, they are often put into practice and these developments bring about changes, some intended and some unintended.

Bhutan has experienced a form of ‘secondary innovations’- which refers to something new that result from the deliberate application of known principles. This type corresponds most closely to Western culture’s model of change as predictable and determined.
Beliefs, values and lifestyle
Beliefs Mahayana Buddhism was the state religion, and

Introduction of new technologies and change in values has shaken the belief system that Bhutan used to hold. Buddhists comprised about 70 percent of the population in the early 1990s. Although originating from
Television has influenced new concepts and ideas on ways of life.
Buddhism, which is the national

Tibetan Buddhism,
Bhutanese Buddhism differs significantly in its rituals, liturgy, and monastic organization.
( http://news.bbc.co.uk
) religion, has been impacted on by western values.

The biggest problem is the change in the culture of feelings. When youth with interact with outside cultures through media such as television they are influenced by different faiths and

Value and lifestyles

The state religion has long been supported financially by the government through annual subsidies to monasteries, shrines, monks, and nuns.
( www.countrystudies.us/bhuta n )

The Tantric form of
Mahayana Buddhism practiced by the Bhutanese people plays a fundamental role in their lives, instilling a deep respect and love for the natural heritage of their land and for their ancient cultural heritage.
( http://www.ctf.gov.bt/ )
( beliefs.
This is dividing the older age group from the youth. http://www.gpiatlantic.org/conference

Bhutanese academics has carried out its own impact study and found that cable television has caused “dramatic changes” to society, being responsible for increasing crime, corruption, and uncondoned desire for western products and changing attitudes to love and relationships.
(‘Small screen big trouble’-article)
)

Methodologies
 Quantitative research
It involves those methodologies such as closed surveys, structured interviews and sociograms. This enables data to be collected, measured and compared to a standard. Statistics.
 Qualitative research
It involves a phenomenological perspective whereby researches aim to understand, report and evaluate the meaning of events for people in particular situations, that is, how their social world is structured by their participants in it.
Observation.

Interviews
They may be tightly structured, unstructured, in-depth or conversational. It is a methodology that involves the researcher and the interviewee in a one-toone situation.
 Questionnaires
It is an impersonal instrument for collecting information which is conducted on a diverse sample of people. The questionnaire should be designed to fulfil a specific research objective and should thus be brief and the sequence of the questions logical.
 Participant observation
A research method based on observation of a group where the researcher takes part in the group or community being studied. Their role as a researcher isn’t obvious…

Surveys
It is the process of conducting study from representative samples of specific populations.

Action research
It is an informal, qualitative, interpretive and experimental methodology that requires all the participants to be collaborative researchers. Reflect revives, and implement.
 Case study
The case study involves the collection of data related to an individual or small group through observation, interviews and the collection of documentary evidence.

Popular culture depth study
Popular culture: The term refers to the culture that appeals to, or that is most understandable o the general public.
Fundamental concepts:
Access, consumer culture, consumption, cultural identity, globalisation, ideology, localism, mass culture, mythology, and power.
Popular culture covers the range of pursuits that were or are widely practiced, watched, or listened o by main stream Australian society.
It documents the development of activities, past times and forms of entertainment enjoyed by majority of the people, and include the impact of mass media on trends.
Documentaries:
 “merchants of cool”
 “sneakers”
Barbie
(four distinguishing characteristics of a popular culture):
1. Local to national to global
2. commercial products
3. changing and evolving
4. consumer access
5. Future issues: (scrutinized, decline in popularity, “Bratz” and other similar gimmicks taking over the market share)