Social Change
Explanations of social change
What is Social Change?

Social change refers to CHANGING the way a
society is organized and the beliefs and practices
of the people who live in it. (def. sheet)

You can expect social changes to happen in your
lifetime. What do you predict? In groups of two
or three, discuss and predict what social changes
you think could occur in the next 50 years. Be
prepared to share your ideas AND reasons with
the class.
Some examples:

Religion

Politics

The Environment

School

Parenting

The workforce

War

Freedom

Gender/sexuality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1BQPV-iCkU
Ten commandments for
Changing the World!

In the same groups, come up with a strong, short
action statement and a quick explanation of an
action and how it could change the world.

Example: Challenge authority. Don’t be afraid to
question authority. The ‘experts’ are proven wrong. They
used to believe the earth was flat!

We are going to come up with a list of ten (if we
can!) and compare it to an existing list.
Ten Commandments that
can change the world

1. You gotta believe. Have hope, passion and confidence that valuable
change does happen because individuals take bold initiative.

2. Challenge authority. Don’t be afraid to question authority. The
‘experts’ are often proven wrong (they used to believe the earth was
flat!)

3. Know the system. Learn how decisions are made. How is the
bureaucracy structured? Who are the key players? Where do they eat
lunch? Go there and talk with them. Get to know their executive
assistants. Attend public meetings.

4. Take action. Do something- anything is better than nothing. Bounce
your ideas around with friends, and then act.

5. Use the media. Letters to the editor of your local newspaper are read
by thousands. Stage a dramatic event and invite the media- they love an
event that gives them an interesting angle or a good photo.

6. Build alliances. Seek out common allies. The system wins through
‘divide and conquer’ tactics so do the opposite!

7. Apply constant pressure. Persevere- it drives those in power crazy. Be as
creative as possible in getting your perspective heard. Use the media,
phone your politicians, send letters and faxes with graphics and images.
Be concise. Ask specific questions and give a deadline for when you want
a response. Stay in their faces.

8. Teach alternatives. Propose and articulate intelligent alternatives to
the status quo.

9. Learn from your mistakes. You’re gonna make mistakes; we all do.
Critique- in a positive way- yourself, the movement and the
opposition.

10. Take care of yourself and each other. Maintain balance. Eat well
and get regular exercise. Avoid burnout by delegating tasks, sharing
responsibility, and maintaining an open process. Have fun!
Remember, you’re not alone.
Adapted from “Ten Commandments for a changing World” (2001)
Anthropological view of
social change

Anthropologists would ask questions such as: what causes change in
‘developing countries’? Do international aid agencies work effectively?
Is change in these countries even desirable? What can different nations
learn from each other and how can they communicate effectively?

Anthropologists believe that there are three major sources of cultural
change.

Invention: new products, ideas and social patterns that affect the way
people live. Think of some examples of how inventions have changed
our lives.

Discovery: finding something that was previously unknown to a
culture.

Diffusion: spreading ideas, methods and tools from one culture to
another. Think of some examples of when Diffusion has not worked
or has not been welcomed.

Watch “we were children”

Complete chart with information from pages 41-63 of the text in
duotang
Psychological view of
social change

Focus on people’s behaviours and attitudes.

Questions include: What must people to to change their
behaviours?What factors make behaviour modification
programs successful? Do people need help to change?
What kind of help do people need? Are people more
receptive to logical or emotional arguments?

This is one theory that could be an IMPEDIMENT to
social change or could HELP social change.
Cognitive Dissonance
 Cognitive
dissonance theory: when
what you do conflicts with what you
think.
EXAMPLES???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp39qSdyTc4 (song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zP0FU46PcE (9/11)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=korGK0yGIDo (Zimbardo)

Read articles on Cognitive Dissonance and complete worksheets.
Sociological view of social
change

Sociologists look at the shifts of attitudes and behaviours of whole
societies. They want to know whether change is arbitrary, predictable
or irregular.
Leaders of Social Change

On your chart paper;
1. come up with some names of people who are/were leaders in social
change. Take some brief notes about them and what they did. Try
to come up with at least five names.
2. make a list of personal qualities that you think a leader needs to
facilitate social change.
3. outline some of the conditions in society that are needed for social
change.
4. list some of the tools that people could use to facilitate social change

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32GPv32hkHE

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/society/awards/2013/10
/2013-young-conservationist-of-the-year-linh-do
Pay it Forward

Watch movie ‘Pay it Forward”

Do internet assignment- exploring grassroots movements and
NGO’s
Project- Leaders of Social
Change

See assignment (two library periods, three presentation classes)
Social Change around the world-
Spotlight, The fall of the Berlin wall.

The Berlin wall existed from 1961 to 1989, when it was destroyed by
German citizens.

The wall was constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR,
East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off (by
land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East
Berlin The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete
walls,[3] which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death
strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches and other defenses.

The Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was erected to protect its
population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the
people" in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the
Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and that marked East
Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War
II period.

In 1989, a series of political changes occurred in the Eastern Bloc,
associated with the erosion of political power in the pro-Soviet
governments in nearby Poland and Hungary.

After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government
announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West
Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed
onto the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory
atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, euphoric public and souvenir
hunters chipped away parts of the wall; the governments later used
industrial equipment to remove most of what was left. Contrary to
popular belief the wall's actual demolition did not begin until Summer
1990 and was not completed until 1992.[1] The fall of the Berlin Wall
paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded
on 3 October 1990.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsqACUvNSgY

Read article: The Berlin Wall: A Lesson in Change

Complete article summary sheet
Spotlight- The Arab Spring

The Arab Spring is a wave of demonstrations and protests (both
non-violent and violent), riots, and civil wars in the Arab world that
began on 18 December 2010 and spread throughout the countries of
the Arab League and surroundings.

Initial protests had slowed down by 2012.

By December 2013, rulers had been forced from power in Tunisia,
Egypt, Lybia, and Yemen; civil uprisings had erupted in Bahrain
and Syria; major protests had broken out in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan,
Kuwait, Morocco, Israel and Sudan; and minor protests had
occurred in Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Western
Sahara, and Palestine.
Arab Spring con’t

The protests have shared some techniques of civil resistance in
sustained campaigns involving strikes, demonstrations, marches, and
rallies, as well as the effective use of social media to organize,
communicate, and raise awareness in the face of state attempts at
repression and Internet censorship.

Many Arab Spring demonstrations were met with violent responses
from authorities, as well as from pro-government militias and
counter-demonstrators. These attacks have been answered with
violence from protestors in some cases. A major slogan of the
demonstrators in the Arab world has been Ash-sha`b yurid isqat annizam ("the people want to bring down the regime").
Twitter Revolution

The term Twitter Revolution refer to different revolutions and protests, all
of which were coordinated using the social networking site Twitter to plan
the protests, mobilize the demonstrators and update the news to all around
the world:

2009 Moldova civil unrest, claiming that the elections, which saw the governing Party of
Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) win a majority of seats, were fraudulent

2009–2010 Iranian election protests, also known as Green Revolution and Facebook
Revolution, following the 2009 Iranian presidential election

2010–2011 Tunisian revolution, also known as Jasmine Revolution and Wikileaks Revolution,
in which the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ended after 23 years

Egyptian Revolution of 2011, in which the regime of Hosni Mubarak was ended after 30 years

Euromaidan Revolution in Ukraine, beginning in November 2013.

In the "Twitter revolution", the relationship between the new media
and social movement has three distinct characteristics:

1) Twitter helps many different people interact

2) Using Twitter helped to control the situation through more
communication

3) Twitter became a new form of social movement

Positive influence
According to the study of the Egyptian revolution, American Scholar
Linz put forward that there are three ways affect collective action:

Make the disgruntled citizens more coordinated take some public
action;

through the information cascade: improve the predictive chance of
success

Increase the other regional and global public attention.

http://www.slideshare.net/AileenYe/the-arab-spring-and-socialrevolution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpQC-DJL_Ho

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25212247

(ten unexpected outcomes of the arab spring)
Bascha
Posh
Spotlight- Bacha Posh

Read article on Bacha Posh, New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/world/asia/21gender.html?
pagewanted=all&_r=1&

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5w3_eFfz5E

Bacha Posh- there is so much change going on in this situation. We
would most likely think of most of this change as psychological but
what about looking at this story from both an anthropological and
sociological view point? Complete the organizer and discuss with
the person sitting beside you. Be prepared to share your ideas.
Wrap it up!

Social change in Berlin occurred when the wall was PUT UP in
1961 and when it was TAKEN DOWN in 1989. Change affected
the people of Germany in many ways including: economically
(paying taxes), socially (finally seeing families again!), emotionally
(where do we belong?)- and affected Germany as a whole who had
to figure out how to reunify, affecting many many institutions.

Social change occurred during the Arab Spring thanks to the use of
social media sites like facebook and Twitter. These communication
tools allowed people to communicate and gather together in a more
organized way. The protests in the middle east during this time were
generally successful, though there is still a lot of work to do.

Search for a picture of an ostrich

Search the definition of ‘technology’

Search for a picture of Jennifer Aniston

Search for a video on youtube about sociology
Wrap it up con’t

Complete organizer for all three issues

Article on technology in the class room and activity (test students to
summarize a paragraph that I read to them while finding something
specific on their phone and then without)

Do #instafame survey.

Find a picture of a penguin

Look up the definition of technology

Look up a photo of Jennifer Aniston from the Friends days

Look up the definition of ‘rambunctious’
Technology as an agent of
Social Change

In groups, look through and make statistics on what you have found.
Record information on the board an put all information together. We
will eventually make statistics from all three classes.

Write paragraph about findings. Record general impressions, critically
think through results of information.

#instafame activity – look through website and discuss

http://www.hashtaginstafame.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trPh9E_8KbI
Social Construction of
Technology (SCOT)

This theory was created by sociologists who subscribe to the social
constructivist school of thought. Before understanding SCOT, we should
understand social constructionism.

Social constructionism is the sociological school of thought that looks at
the development of how humans jointly understand the world. It assumes
that meaning and significance are not developed alone, but in
coordination with other people.

The main assumptions are that humans make sense of their experiences
by creating a model of the social world and how it functions; and that
language is the most essential system through which humans construct
reality.

Now…how does this relate to technology??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkUlDxZNdOY

(5 mins)
SCOT con’t…

SCOT states that technology does not determine
human action but that human action dictates
technology.

The ways technology is used cannot be understood
without how technology is used in a social context.

The sociologists who came up with this theory are
Weibe Bijker and Trevor Pinch in their 1987 book
entitled The Social Construction of Technological
Systems: New Directions in the Sociology and
History of Technology.

Those who seek to understand the reasons for acceptance or
rejection of a technology should look to the social world. It is
not enough, according to SCOT, to explain a technology's
success by saying that it is "the best"—researchers must look at
how the criteria of being "the best" is defined and what groups
and stakeholders participate in defining it. In particular, they
must ask who defines the technical criteria success is measured
by, why technical criteria are defined this way, and who is
included or excluded.

SCOT is not only a theory, but also a methodology: it
formalizes the steps and principles to follow when one wants to
analyze the causes of technological failures or successes.
10 pieces of technology
that failed miserably!

http://listverse.com/2013/01/12/10-innovative-pieces-of-technologythat-failed-miserably/
Interpretive flexibility

Interpretative Flexibility means that each technological
desgin has different meanings and interpretations for
various groups.

Bijker and Pinch show that the air tire of the bicycle meant
a more convenient mode of transportation for some
people, whereas it meant technical nuisances, traction
problems and ugly aesthetics to other.

These alternative interpretations generate different problems
to be solved. How should aesthetics, convenience, and
speed be prioritized? What is the "best" tradeoff between
traction and speed?
Definition of social groups

The most basic relevant groups are the users and
the producers of the technological artifact, but
most often many subgroups can be delineated users with different socioeconomic status,
competing producers, etc.

Sometimes there are relevant groups who are
neither users, nor producers of the technology, for
example, journalists, politicians, and civil
organizations.
Public Service Announcements &
Media affecting social change

(Gangs)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2EgundG6bY&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL9
F1F057659969725

(United Way)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kdFd49mLxw

partipaction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXA4d1aU9RY

(Give a hoot, don’t pollute)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZB7gSQRIuM

Campaigns for social change- psa’s – study one in depth, figure out
if/how it worked, how it changed society in some way and why

Do a short presentation on it

Make your own psa- how do you expect it to produce social change
and why

How is our behaviour changed by advertisers? What are the
psychological theories behind this change?