Continuity and Change (Byte Size Skills Course)
Course
In Bude
Description
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Type
Course
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Location
Bude
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Start date
Different dates available
Continuity and Change Course
In this Course, we consider change and transition and the reasons for this process of change, particularly as it affects the organisations and institutions of our society. If we were somehow transported in time back to the mid-nineteenth century, we know that many things would be unfamiliar, strange or unusual. While nineteenth-century Britain would be unmistakably "British", many things such as transport, patterns of behaviour and other structures and processes would be virtually unrecognisable.
Similarly, if we were projected into the twenty-third century, many of the current institutions, structures and processes with which we are familiar would have changed beyond all recognition or have ceased to exist altogether.
When you have completed this course, you should be able to understand why change occurs in a society and to illustrate the process of change by examples from trade unions and work organisations. You should also be able to appreciate the major change processes affecting organisations and society as well as being able to identify and explain "post-industrialism" and "post-modernism" as central concepts of change.
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
define change.
identify significant features of two theories of social change - social evolutionism and historical materialism.
discuss and give examples of the influence upon social change of the physical environment, political organisation and cultural factors.
describe the origins and implications of the "agency" and "structure" approaches of social change.
indicate the limitations of both "agency" and "structure" approaches to social change and illustrate how the two can be seen as complementary.
explain what we mean by a social movement and give examples of different types.
discuss the features, development and dynamics of social movements and their relation to change with reference to the work of Smelser and Touraine.
Facilities
Location
Start date
Start date
Reviews
Subjects
- Social Movements
- Social Change
- IT
- Skills and Training
Course programme
Syllabus
Introduction
Objectives
Section 1: Change
Defining change
Theories of social change
Influences on change
Change in the recent past
Section 2: Action versus Structure
Agency or structure: the essential question
The first image of society
The second image of society
Summary propositions
Section 3: Social Movements: an Introduction
Definition
Classifying social movements
Theories of social movements
Structural and social action approaches
Some conclusions
Section 4: From Industrialism to Post-Industrialism
Directions of change
From industrialism to post-industrialism and beyond
Contributions of Castells and Gorz
Post-industrialism: conclusions
Section 5: From Modernity to Post-Modernity
Modernism
Post-modernism
Post-Fordism and post-modernism
Summary
Tutor-marked Question Paper
Basic premises
Study HoursThis is only an approximate figure and is dependant upon how much time you can dedicate to your studies and how well you grasp the learning concepts in the course material. Furthermore, at the end of each lesson there is a question paper that needs to be completed and returned to your tutor. You should allow at least 1 - 2 hours of study to complete each question paper.
The approximate amount of time required to complete the course is: 20 hrs.
Continuity and Change (Byte Size Skills Course)