Chapter – 2

Social Change and Social Order in Rural and Urban Society

In this post we have given the detailed notes of Class 11 Sociology Chapter 2 (Social Change and Social Order in Rural and Urban Society) in English. These notes are useful for the students who are going to appear in Class 11 board exams.

Printed Books Are Available Now!

Chapter 2: Social Change and Social Order in Rural and Urban Society

Introduction

• Change is a constant feature of society, especially in modern times.  
• Sociology emerged to understand the rapid changes in Western European society.  
• Social change is a relatively recent phenomenon, accelerating in the last 100 years.  

The Clock of Human History

• Human existence: 500,000 years  
• Agriculture: 12,000 years old  
• Civilizations: 6,000 years old  
• Modern societies: Developed very recently  
• Rapid change: Concentrated in the last 30 seconds of this metaphorical day  

Social Change

• Definition: Significant changes altering the underlying structure of society over time.  
• Characteristics:
  • Intensive and extensive impact  
  • Classified by causes, nature, and speed  
• Types:
  • Evolutionary: Slow, gradual change over long periods.
    • Example: Darwin’s theory of evolution  
  • Revolutionary: Rapid, sudden, and transformative change.
    • Example: French Revolution, Industrial Revolution  
  • Structural: Changes in institutions and rules governing them.
    • Example: Emergence of paper money  
  • Changes in values and beliefs: Shifts in ideas and attitudes.
    • Example: Changing concepts of childhood and child labor  

Sources of Social Change

• Environmental: Natural disasters, resource discoveries, and ecological factors.  
• Technological and Economic: Technological advancements and economic shifts.  
• Political: Warfare, political movements, and changes in power structures.  
• Cultural: Changes in ideas, values, beliefs, and religion.  

Social Order

• Definition: The tendency within social systems to resist and regulate change.  
• Importance: Maintains stability, ensures predictability, and reproduces social relations.  
• Mechanisms:
  • Spontaneous Consent: Shared values and norms internalized through socialization.  
  • Power and Coercion: Dominant groups and institutions use power to enforce norms.  

Domination, Authority, and Law

• Domination: Stable and settled power relations, often involving unequal distribution of costs and benefits.  
• Authority: Legitimate power, accepted as justified and proper.  
• Law: Explicitly codified norms and rules governing society.  

Contestation, Crime, and Violence

• Contestation: Broad forms of insistent disagreement, including dissent, protest, and competition.  
• Crime: Acts violating existing laws, regardless of moral worth.  
• Violence: Illegal use of force, a challenge to state authority and an indicator of social tensions.  

Social Change and Order in Rural and Urban Areas

• Rural Areas:

  • Small, personalized relationships.  
  • Traditional social structures.  
  • Slower social change due to strong social order and limited dissent.  
  • Change is often linked to agriculture and related social relations.  

• Urban Areas:

  • Large, dense populations.  
  • Challenges of spatial viability and managing diverse populations.  
  • Rapid social change due to dynamic environment and diverse influences.  

• Social order in urban areas:

  • Focuses on managing space and ensuring the city’s functionality.
  • Involves organizing housing, transportation, land use, and public services.
  • Complicated by social divisions and inequalities.

• Challenges to social order in urban areas:

  • Housing: Homelessness, slums, and gated communities.
  • Transportation: Traffic congestion, pollution, and commuting challenges.
  • Maintaining social order: Balancing diverse needs and interests, managing resources, and addressing inequalities.

• Social change in urban areas:

  • Ups and downs of neighbourhoods, including gentrification and urban renewal.
  • Changes in mass transit systems and their impact on city life.
  • Coping with population growth and migration.

Conclusion

• Social change is a complex and multi-faceted process.
• Understanding social change requires considering various factors and their interrelationships.
• The pace of change in modern times necessitates awareness and preparedness.

Glossary

• Customs Duties, Tariffs: Taxes on goods entering or leaving a country.  
• Dominant Castes: Landowning intermediate castes with significant social and political power in rural areas.  
• Gated Communities: Affluent urban neighborhoods separated from their surroundings by walls and gates.  
• Gentrification: Conversion of a lower-class neighborhood into a middle or upper-class one.  
• Ghetto, Ghettoisation: Concentration of people with a common identity in a specific neighborhood.
• Legitimation: The process of making something accepted as proper and justified.  
• Mass Transit: Fast transportation systems for large numbers of people in cities.  

We hope that Class 11 Sociology Book 2 Chapter 2 (Social Change and Social Order in Rural and Urban Society) notes in English helped you. If you have any query about Class 11 Sociology Book 2 Chapter 2 (Social Change and Social Order in Rural and Urban Society) notes in Hindi or about any other notes of Class 11 Sociology in English, so you can comment below. We will reach you as soon as possible…