About the Book

This introduction to social change covers the momentous and relatively recent changes that have occurred in the human condition, examining not only the major causes and conditions underlying our current situation, but also the main choices and options we face as we strive to shape our individual and collective futures.

This edition of Social Change has been thoroughly updated and revised. Building on previous editions, the book introduces a social scientific approach to change, discusses the components of change and the factors driving them, and examines change on the macro-level, then looks toward the future with a discussion of planned change. Most chapters explore societies of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and include comparative dimensions, especially along First, Second, and Third World lines. The engaging narrative traces several themes, such as the rise of capitalism and the socialist alternative and civil rights movements in the United States and elsewhere, throughout the book.

This edition also features a discussion of the recent economic crisis and the interconnectedness of the global economy, new empirical data on globalization, and updated discussions of the concepts of evolution and altruism. It also incorporates discussion throughout the book of the dramatic changes in India and China.

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Contents

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About the Author / Editor

Jay Weinstein is professor and former head of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology at Eastern Michigan University (EMU). He received his B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois and his M.A. from Washington University, St. Louis. He has taught and conducted research in the fields of demography, social change, and urban sociology at EMU, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Iowa, and was twice Fulbright Professor in India. He has served as president of the North Central Sociological Association, the Society for Applied Sociology, and the Michigan Sociological Association and as chair of the American Sociological Association Council on Sociological Practice. He is the recipient of the John F. Schnabel Award for lifetime Achievements in Teaching Sociology, two EMU Excellence in Teaching Awards, the Charles Horton Cooley Award for Outstanding Contributions to Sociology in Michigan, the Alex Boros Award for contributions to the field of applied sociology, and the Marvin Olsen Award for Service to the Profession.

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