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DAINA S EGLITIS: Virtually no onepredicted some of the most important social changes thathave taken place in the last 30 years.[DAINA S EGLITIS, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY]Who among historians, sociologists, economists,or political scientists could have predictedthe transformation of the Soviet Unionfrom a centralized authoritarian government controllingvast sections of the world to a country with a free market

DAINA S EGLITIS [continued]: economy no longer occupying Eastern Europe and CentralAsian nations?

WILLIAM J CHAMBLISS: More recently,who foresaw the Arab Spring, in which millionsof people across the Middle East rebelledagainst authoritarian government whose power was unquestionedonly a few years ago?[WILLIAM J CHAMBLISS]

DAINA S EGLITIS: A central core of sociological analysisis the process of social change--how societies are transformed from onepolitical, economic, and social system into another.What is the role of social movements, leadership,outside influences?

WILLIAM J CHAMBLISS: One thing everyoneagrees upon is that social change is builtinto the human experience.Ever since homo sapiens first appeared on Earth,momentous transformations have characterized human lifeon Earth.

DAINA S EGLITIS: We're used to thinking about how technologychanges people's lives.From the invention of the hoe to the creation of the internet,we're all aware of the effect of these changeson our daily lives and the lives of those who came before us.

WILLIAM J CHAMBLISS: Less well recognized,however, is the importance of social movementsand other forms of collective action on our lives.

DAINA S EGLITIS: Take, for instance,how fundamentally changed our worldwas as a result of the suffrage movement.Women who sacrificed their lives in order tohave the right to vote.

WILLIAM J CHAMBLISS: Or the Civil Rights Movement,the antiwar movement, and the so-called cultural revolutionof the 1960s and 1970s.

DAINA S EGLITIS: Understanding social changedriven by collective action, which is sometimes carefullyplanned and at other times spontaneous,is fundamental to understanding society.In this chapter, we present various perspectivesthrough which social change can be analyzed and explained.[MUSIC PLAYING]