Social Change

•Meaning, definitions and features of social change

Meaning:

•Change is the only one permanent phenomenon in the society

• Change is the law of nature and it is on going process.

• Every society and culture, no matter  how traditional and conservative , is constantly undergoing change.

• the term social change  is used to  indicate  the change  that take place  in human interactions and interrelation.

•Society is web of social relationship and hence  social change  obviously means a change  in the system of social relationship.

•Change in the s Definition:

•Social change is a term  used to  describe  variations in,  or modifications  of , any  aspect  social process, social patterns,  social interaction or social organization ( M.E Jones).

• Social change may be defined  as a new  fashion or mode, either  modifying  or replacing  the old, in the life of people  or in the operation in the society( Majumdar, H. T)

• Social change refers to  social change  in the human relationships ( Maclver)

•To change in the nature, the social institutions, the social behaviour or the social relations of a society, community of people, or other social structures ocial institutions, the rules of social behavior, value systems or the social relations of a society or community

• Nature or features of social change

1.Social change is continuous

2. Social change is temporal

3. Social change is environmental: it must take place  within a geographic or physical and cultural context.

4. Social change is human change.

5. Social change results from interaction of number of factors like physical, biological, cultural and others.

6. social change may create chain reaction

7. Social change   may be planned or unplanned

8. short versus long- run change

9.Social change is an objective term.

Characteristics of Change

•Direction of Change –positive or negative?

•Rate of Change – slow, moderate, or fast?  What factors are affecting rate?

 •Sources – what factors are behind change?  Exogenous (from another society) or

Endogenous (from within the society)

•Controllability – look at the degree to which social change can be controlled or 

engineered (e.g. eliminating racism and discrimination)