...Technology has been a primary driver of social change for thousands of years. In particular, four technological innovations were responsible for social revolutions: The domestication of plants and animals over ten thousand years ago, the invention of the plow, the invention of the steam engine, and the invention of the computer all led to massive social change (Henslin 390). The transition from hunting and gathering to a pastoral society changed earlier societies by enabling them to abandon migratory practices and establish fixed residences. The invention of the plow revolutionized agricultural techniques and increased yields, allowing societies to sustain larger populations. The invention of the steam engine in the 18th century transformed the transportation capabilities of society and spurred further innovation as people and materials could be quickly transported on land for distances previously unimaginable. Finally, it is difficult to understate the ways in which the microchip and personal computer have fundamentally altered the organization of society; the instant access to and constant flows of information have changed communication, education, and business in modern society. In light of the social change wrought by these technological innovations, sociologist William Ogburn argued that technology was the basic cause of social change. In particular, he identified three processes by which technology drove social change: Invention, discovery, and diffusion. While...
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...the world to many changes. There are four types of technology in particular which led to four social revolutions. These four technologies are: * Animal Domestication and Plant Cultivation * The invention of the “Plow” * The invention of the “Steam Engine” * The invention of the “Microchip” These technologies not only caused changes in society but they also caused several consequences within society. The first technology is Animal Domestication and Plant Cultivation and some of the consequences which led to the first social revolution are as follows. Animal Domestication and Plant Cultivation allowed the supply of food to become more dependable triggering groups to grow larger. As groups became larger a Division of Labor was created because it was no longer necessary for people to work to provide food. Therefore, the business of trade was initiated, due to everyone having a surplus of objects. Afterwards, social inequality began to take place because everyone began to trade and groups began accumulating even more objects. I can imagine that this must have created some form of jealousy within the groups causing feuds and war with one another. As some people accumulated more and more objects, the wealthier and more powerful they became. All the power and wealth which was obtained was then passed down, allowing their descendant’s to inherit all the wealth, which in turn gave then power. The second social revolution was caused by the invention of the plow...
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...described the founding fathers as "rich whites guys who didn't want to pay their taxes." This school of thought cites the fact that the American Revolution was a political revolution rather than a social revolution. Please comment on this statement. Do you think that it is accurate or do you disagree. Please be sure to include arguments or evidence to support your position. Some have described the Founding Fathers as “rich white guys who did not want to pay their taxes”, which would make the American Revolution a political revolution rather than a social revolution. I believe the American Revolution was truly a political revolution and not a social revolution. Some examples of social revolutions occurred in France (1789), Russia (1917), and in China (1949). In a social revolution the foundations of old order are destroyed and power is taken from the ruling elite or royalty and given to a new social group. The American Revolution created the United States by transforming a monarchial society, where the colonists were ruled by British Crown, into a republic. Citizens of a republic are directly involved in the political process. The average citizen such as merchants, farmers, sailors, traders, and villagers now had political significance. It was impossible for elites to openly oppress ordinary people. Before the American Revolution, there was a low percentage of white men participating in politics. Major political offices were held by an exclusive group of wealthy merchants...
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...has led the world to many changes. There are four types of technology in particular which led to four social revolutions. These four technologies are: * Animal Domestication and Plant Cultivation * The invention of the “Plow” * The invention of the “Steam Engine” * The invention of the “Microchip” These technologies not only caused changes in society but they also caused several consequences within society. The first technology is Animal Domestication and Plant Cultivation and some of the consequences which led to the first social revolution are as follows. Animal Domestication and Plant Cultivation allowed the supply of food to become more dependable triggering groups to grow larger. As groups became larger a Division of Labor was created because it was no longer necessary for people to work to provide food. Therefore, the business of trade was initiated, due to everyone having a surplus of objects. Afterwards, social inequality began to take place because everyone began to trade and groups began accumulating even more objects. I can imagine that this must have created some form of jealousy within the groups causing feuds and war with one another. As some people accumulated more and more objects, the wealthier and more powerful they became. All the power and wealth which was obtained was then passed down, allowing their descendant’s to inherit all the wealth, which in turn gave then power. The second social revolution was caused by the invention of the plow. Some...
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...When distribution of power in a society is too unevenly distributed, or when one group abuses their power too greatly to the detriment of others, then the oppressed often find a way to rebel or even initiate revolution. In Metropolis and Nineteen Eighty-Four we see depictions of dystopian societies that provoke rebellion or revolution, though as each text was produced during or shortly after significantly different periods of conflict and upheaval, we ultimately see two different attitudes presented, with very different expectations for the outcome of such actions. Throughout history, the most common social structure to provoke revolution is one with hierarchical social classes. Lang’s depiction of divided social classes in a film encouraging sympathy for the lower class, has parallels with its time, being produced shortly after the German revolution in which the imperial government was replaced by a form of democracy (the Weimar Republic). Lang uses expressionistic imagery, and the strong contrast of light and shade characteristic of German Expressionist Cinema to distinguish the two classes inhabiting the futuristic city. The workers are depicted in uniform black, trudging in synchronised columns into a dark tunnel to their work with the machines. Exiting, they walk at a slower pace suggesting work draws the life out of them, while montages of gears and heavy machinery construct them as part of the machine. This opening sequence is juxtaposed with the light shades and open...
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...“Small Change: Why the Revolution will Not Be Tweeted” by Malcolm Gladwell and “Reforming Egypt in 140 Characters?” by Dennis Baron one may realize that they allude each other in a not so obvious form. The articles share ideas and build of similar points, by reading one article one may take consideration of points that they would have been ignorant to in the past (before reading the first article). Starting by critically reading the article “Reforming Egypt in 140 Characters?” by Dennis Baron after reading the title and the first sentence one can instantly identify that the revolution was not tweeted, a coincidence I think not. The first sentence states, “Western observers have been celebrating the role of Twitter, Facebook, smartphones, and the internet in general in facilitating the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt last week.” Western observers stand for Americans who in no way participated in the revolution. Another point that the author states about how the revolution is not do to Twitter, Facebook and other social media is when he states, “In Cairo’s Tahrir Square continued to grow during the five days that the Mubarak government shut down the internet; that only nineteen percent of Tunisians have online access; that while the Iran protests may have been tweeted round the world, there were few Twitter users actually in-country” The quote shows that even with no internet the protest still continued to grow in size despite the social media being down. ...
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...The Novel Project Your name: Giselle Gonzalez Your Novel: 1984 – George Orwell 1. Explain how the novel represents two or more concerns of its historical time period; these concerns may be economic, political, cultural, social, or moral concerns. Clarify the author’s view on one of the following as s/he presents the concerns: right vs wrong; conservative vs radical, or elite vs commonplace. Orwell published “1984” in 1948 just after the end of World War II. Although at this time, Hitler’s reign was brought to an end, Joseph Stalin, another ruthless leader was still in power. Though they were adversaries during WW II, both men shared acute similarities in their success towards creating a totalitarian government much like the one seen in “Nineteen Eighty-Four.” The ghastly, but impressive ease with which each ruler rose and remained in power is possibly what caused Orwell to focus so heavily on political concerns in his novel. While there are no direct allusions to the Adolf Hitler or Stalin, the political devices used by the Party to control Party members in Oceania are undeniably parallel to the manipulation and brutality that each ruler used to control government. Big Brother for instance, is a fearless leader who is loved by all of the Party members. Though it is never confirmed whether or not he is a real person or just an idea, citizens praise him almost instinctively, posters of him are found in every building, and badmouthing him is not only an act of audacity, but punishable...
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...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15435768 Abstract People often comment on the impact that technology has on people's social skills. Frequently, this lens is used to analyze the limits of social media . However, this paper moves away from simple social skills in seeks out the effects that social media has in generating a greater kind of change, social change. This paper analyzes the impact that social media can have on revolutions in the twenty-first century. I use the Arab Spring as a means to point out the strengths and weakness that social media forums can have on a revolution. Primarily looking at Twitter and the role that Tweets played during the Arab Spring, I outline the role that Social media can play in times of uprising. Like most things, moderation is key. While social media offers many benefits, in excess, it can generate chaos and present an apparent lack of directions. This ultimately raises the question of how will changes in technology change us and how we change humanity. Nathan Willis William Penman Interpretation and Argument December 2, 2013 Not Following the Leader: How Social Media Impacted the Arab Spring Introduction As long as there have been established governments, there have been revolutions to test them. In times past, these revolutions frequently came from people discussing their dissatisfaction with other members of their towns. The advent of the telegram allowed people to overcome the barrier that distance created. Yet, two major...
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... | | | |Introduction to Sociology | | | | | |The Industrial Revolution changed |How it changed the economy |1900 and Today | |The number of people employed in industrial |The use of machines began to spread throughout |Implementation of the production line | |manufacturing (textiles, iron goods, metal, |the world | | |pottery, etc.) | | | |number of people who left the agricultural |New job opportunities |Henry Ford automobile production plant | |field ...
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...In this essay, I will be tracing the development of the French Revolution and its impact by examining the following four phases (all of which led to the development of the other), Constitutional Monarchy/The National Assembly (1789-1791), The Reign of Terror (1792-1794), The Directory (1795-1799), and The Age of Napoleon (1799-1815). In this essay I argue that the French Revolution was caused by the worsening condition of the French monarchy, economic depression, and New Ideas of the Enlightenment Movement and the French Revolution resulted in radical social, economic, and political change throughout France. A Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a king or queen acts as Head of State. The ability to make and pass...
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...Proletarian Revolution was filled of bloodshed and terror in an attempt for a dictator to regain long lost power. This revolution was to undertake the cleansing of political capitalist roaders trying to undermine Communist China. To do so, Mao needed the support of the masses in which he employed millions of students to begin to find capitalist opposition to his ideas, and regain political stature amidst the removal of opposing ideas. This event was to make use of the members of the Communist Red Guard, which Mao created to occupy the strength of teenage masses in china. The Red Guard, although great in strength, had eventually become a major weakness for the revolution. Mao used the Cultural Revolution to regain political stature through the removal of capitalist opposing thought, and did so using the removal of four olds to cover over this. This was significantly effective, but created lasting effects that he struggled to control until his death. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution had begun in 1966. The revolution was based on a sixteen point decision made by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party relating to the removal of capitalists. This decision was to remove all “old ideas, culture, customs and habits” from the bourgeoisie (a social class based on capital) and replace them with the “new ideas, culture, customs and habits of the proletariat to change the mental outlook of the whole of society.” These old ideas and cultures were referred to as the four olds...
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...short span of 55 years between 1865 and 1920 the Industrial Revolution brought vast expansion of big business and a change to the American people. Lad by Henry Ford’s assembly line industrial powers such as Carnegie, Huntington, and Rockefeller emerged and built their empires. Birthed from these industrial empires we witnessed the growth of legislation and laws that where susceptible to manipulation by the development of corrupt politics. With the surge in technology, growth of super powers, environmental issues, government legislation, or corrupt business practices or corrupt government the industrial revolution exploded in a time where change was needed to draw the American eye away from the deadly Civil War, which so many where still attached to, and focus on the theoretical idea “a better way of life”. The Industrial Revolution was sold to the American people with the false since that if you work hard you will acquire wealth. This lie to the populace was met with a flood of American and immigrant workers that swarmed to the workforce for low wages and unhealthy work environments. Imbedding this idea into the American workforce the Industrial Revolution spawned business power houses like Carnegie, Huntington, Ford, and Rockefeller. The Industrial Revolution also bestowed on us the corrupt business and political practices that shaped the laws and regulations that are practiced today. The Industrial Revolution saw itself spawn from three industries that led the way railroads...
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...The Cultural Revolution, formerly known as the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement which occurred from 1966-1976. The revolution came to an end when the leader, Mao Zedong passed away, and the other communist leaders, known as the Gang of Four, all got arrested. Mao Zedong led the revolution in China because his position in the government was weakened after his failed attempt at “The Great Leap Forward” (History.com Staff). His way of trying to regain power was to convince everyone that the current leaders were taking China in the wrong direction and not is not going to improve their living situations, so he decided to change and get rid of many of the traditional aspects in Chinese life and tried a communist...
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...In 500 words 1) Describe the ways in which the Four Revolutions and the two major Abrahamic Traditions tried to correct societies experiencing social injustice. The four revolutions and two Abrahamic Traditions tried to correct societies experiencing social injustice in several ways. When people experience injustices they tend to look for solutions for the unfairness around them. First way, and what I believe is the most important, is spreading the idea that there is life after death, and how we act in this life affects our afterlife. This idea is found in most all the religions, was meant to break the cycle of bad behavior. Then you have people like Confucius who attempted to reform the government though contemplation and critical thinking. He set a good example and expected people to live under the golden rule. Then the birth of Philosophy has people asking questions about what is going on around them and changing laws to make more sense. Judaism started regulating moral behavior, influencing society to do the right thing. 2) What messages were common throughout these ‘revolutions’ and awakenings? A common message throughout these revolutions and awakenings were people were oppressed by the government and during the birth of these people were looking for answers to the universe, life, and death. 3) What problems were they trying to solve? These revolutions and awakenings were ultimately started to solve problems of the...
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...was the Cultural Revolution all about? Why did Mao launch the Cultural Revolution? The Cultural Revolution could be regarded as a nightmare for the generation of my grandparents’ age. It was initiated by Mao Zedong and utilized by the counterrevolutionary clique that led by Lin Biao and Jiang Qing. This leading mistake was an unchangeable disaster to the whole state, the CCP, and all the Chinese people. This struggle lasted for ten years from 1966 to 1976. How could Chinese people endure this ordeal for ten year? We should understand the concept of the Cultural Revolution first according to the required readings. From 1966 to 1969, Mao wanted to change “the bourgeois dictatorship” to “the proletarian dictatorship,” which meant that Mao needed people to destroy the so-called “the capitalists.” The real meaning of the Cultural Revolution for Mao himself was to help the CCP to seize power from the KMP. For him, that meant to snatch the regime from the bourgeois leaders and gave it back to the proletarians. In 1966, the “Sixteen Articles” announced that the party should adjust those in power but took the path of “capitalism ”. The events about seizing power started from January 1967 in Shanghai. And one month later, Lin Biao and Jiang Qing led the counterrevolutionary people frame those older generations of proletarian revolutionaries up to say that the elders were disturbing the CCP by complaining their concerns about the Cultural Revolution. This movement...
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