Instruction:
There have been many social changes and social movements in the past several decades. The Civil Rights Movement, Black Lives Matter movement, Gay Rights Movement, and the #MeToo movement are just a few examples of social movements that accompanied social change. Sociologists often describe social change as the only constant in society. Your post should explain what they mean by that and provide an example of social change that has occurred during your lifetime. Your post should also address how this social change has impacted or changed society’s understanding of social roles or inequalities.
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Reading and Resources
Textbook: The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, Chapter 16
This chapter will help you understand how social change occurs, including the patterns, processes, and consequences of such change.
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Module Overview
Social Change
Social change, which is the transformation of a culture over time, is often referred to as the only constant in society. Cultures, social norms, social inequalities, social institutions, and all aspects of society experience change. For example, the industrial revolution was a significant period of social change in America. The mechanization of manufacturing shaped the social classes, with the emergence of the middle class, the upper class becoming more well-off, and the creation of leisure time for workers. Beginning in the 1970s and peaking in the mid-1990s, American culture experienced social change, often referred to as the gender revolution, where women began entering the workforce in staggering numbers (England, 2010).
One major driver of social change is social movements, which refers to any social group that is organized, has leadership, and has an ideological commitment to social change (Ferris & Stein, 2020). Social movements may vary greatly in terms of how formally they are organized and led. While not all social change is driven by social movement, it is not uncommon for people to feel connected to a cause and commit to seeking social change for that cause. For example, the past 10 years have seen significant social change for equal marriage rights. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the United States to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In June 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot ban same-sex marriages. While the change to society’s laws happened relatively quickly, the change came as a result of a determined social movement to seek equal marriage rights for all Americans.
