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The recent increase in American divorce rates has aroused a great deal of media publicity, popular discussion, and social science research. Several recent works have begun to reexamine the origins, trends, and implications of divorce in American history. This paper presents systematic data concerning the extent of divorce in three North Central states for the 1810-60 period. The findings establish the incidence of mass divorce for a considerable period prior to official divorce statistics. Major patterns are analyzed and compared to late 19th-century data from the first governmental studies of divorce for the 1870-1900 decades. While some urban-rural differences are found, changing laws and norms played the principal role in the increase in divorce rates during the 1800s. The final part of the paper discusses the implications of these findings for understanding marital disruption in social-historical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon insights from the social movement literature as well as leadership experience in a successful social movement organization, this paper suggests aspects of a framework for integrating traditional and contemporary approaches. The case history of JUST (Johnstowners United to Stop another Tragedy) is used to illustrate the interaction of grievances and structures in the career of a social movement organization. In addition to helping fill a lacuna in the literature on the internal dynamics of such organizations, this analysis also demonstrates the importance of the nature of the grievance as well as the target group's structural entrenchment. The paper focuses upon a relatively anomalous case for U.S. social movement organizations: an SMO which was successful despite displacement goals. The final section of the paper includes a summary diagram of the factors involved in JUSTs successful protest effort as well as broader generalizations suggesting the conditions under which grievances or infrastructures are more salient in explaining social movement phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing replies from a selected sample of contributors to the literature of symbolic interactionism, this paper examines the nature and extent of institutional ties among respondents holding similar views as to appropriate methodology in sociology. The specific institutional ties examined are those as: (1) fellow graduate students, (2) teachers and students, and (3) departmental colleagues. The methodological differences between the Chicago and Iowa schools, described in other studies, manifest themselves in the present sample, as do other views not neatly classifiable within either of these schools of symbolic interactionism. The more unconventional the conception of methodology held by a respondent, the more likely is the respondent to have been a fellow graduate student, a departmental colleague, and/or involved in a teacher-student relationship with other symbolic interactionists favoring the same conception. Respondents preferring the more orthodox methodological stances in modern sociology are less likely to have shared in such institutional flea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to describe the model for a poverty intervention program that purports to work largely inside the system as an organization funded by the Office of Economic Opportunity, yet intends to bring together presently disparate intrasystem and extrasystem components of the community into a single program for social change. This social action approach, conceptualized here as the Overlap model, will be outlined and then for further clarification compared with Saul Alinsky's approach as summarized by Riessman. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper integrates the political opportunity and framing paradigms to analyze the discursive processes that were involved in the demobilization of a peasant land struggle in El Salvador. The framing paradigm provides a basis for analyzing how activist rhetoric shapes interpretations of opportunities and grievances among social movement participants to alter the goals and intensity of grassroots protest. As the land struggle demonstrates, leaders communicating with grassroots participants in a process of struggle may, over time, underemphasize shifts occurring in some dimensions of political opportunities, while framing more stable dimensions as having changed. They may also alter their framing of grievances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we propose a macro level model for analyzing the creation of deviance rules. We begin by placing the phenomenon within the context of the social factist and social definitionist sociological traditions, identifying the insights and difficulties the social problems literature presents for explaining deviance rule creation. We suggest that the theoretical difficulties can be resolved by placing the process within a sociology of knowledge framework. The consequent dialectical model of deviance designation is based on the assumption that society is composed of a number of general interests in varying degrees of conflict with prevailing definitions of deviance representing outcomes of previous contests. This balance or accommodation becomes vulnerable with the introduction or increase in strain which is a potential resource for interest groups desiring a new definition. The outcome of the ensuing conflict is seen as dependent on the ability of the combatants to employ resources in the battle. We conclude by identifying the advantages the model has for studying the deviance rule creation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relative deprivation perspective was widely employed in the social movement literature :of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In spite of the growing popularity of some newer approaches which criticize the relative deprivation perspective (resource mobilization or resource management perspectives), there have been no attempts to analyze 'and evaluate the relative deprivation perspective in any systematic fashion. The purpose of this paper is to review some of the "classic" relative deprivation literature in order to critically assess the perspective on the basis of its theoretical coherence and clarity and its empirical validity. The general conclusion reached is that while the relative deprivation perspective was an advance over earlier approaches which viewed social movements as resulting from the expression of irrational impulses, the relative deprivation perspective is itself affected by too many serious conceptual, theoretical, and empirical weaknesses to be useful in accounting for the emergence and development of social movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important contributions of recent social problems theory is the insight that social problems are inherently political phenomena. Existing scholarship on this characteristic has not dealt systematically with (1) the degree of overt politicality of social issues, or (2) the dynamic element of this politicality. This paper first reviews recent literature in the "medicalization of deviant behavior," and suggests that this literature illustrates how the political element of social problem phenomena can be suppressed and replaced with a seemingly apolitical and technical perspective. Then it is proposed that interpretive social problems theory might deal more adequately with this pattern by incorporating a continuum ranging from "open" to "closed" social problems and analyzing the dynamics of social problem "enclosure," and that certain sorts of claims—cognitive as opposed to normative—are especially conducive to the depoliticization and enclosure of social problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has two purposes: (1) to show how previous work in complex organizations, social movements and political development converges to predict routinization of successful social movement organizations, and (2) to explore the Chinese experiment in organization as a deviant case for the "law" of routinization. First, theories from three substantive areas are shown to predict routinization of social movement organizations. Next, an alternative model of organization, the Maoist model, is presented. Then, recent social history of China is examined to see if the model has been implemented. Lastly, several generalizations about the routinization process are drawn from the Chinese case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of existing literature assumes that social movement organizations will inevitably become more ideologically and tactically conservative over time. This paper presents a couterargument to this position, suggesting that many movement organizations can be shown to have grown more radical as they have developed. A definition of movement radicalization is constructed, and eight propositions concerning factors which seem to increase the likelihood that a movement organization will radicalize are presented. These factors include repressive action by the agents of social control, changes in the ideological and tactical orientations of the movement organization's constituency, codification of a radicalizing movement's ideology, a reduced likelihood of co-optation, certain aspects of the structural character of the larger society, weak internal controls over the group's members, and the presence of individual radical leaders. Each proposition is illustrated by reference to the career of a North Irish group known as the People's Democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rationality that guides the sociological community has generated principles to evaluate members' work. Under the sway of these principles, Georg Simmel surfaces either as a peripheral member of the community or as an outright failure. His critics have argued that his work is "fragmented," that he begins without having formulated "guiding statements," that he is "unsystematic" and "undisciplined." Yet we can discover in Simmel's writings a distinct rationality that upsets this criticism by its transcendence of it. Had these particular critics read his work more carefully they might have discovered that Simmel had anticipated their criticism and had carefully reevaluated its source of authority. In this paper 1 address the problems of discipline and systematic unity in sociological writing in order to unmask the rationality held within the sociological community and to formulate Simmel's unique contribution as a member of that community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The late 1960s saw the emergence of a few "super gangs" whose political and economic activities attracted much attention. More recently, gangs apparently similar to those of the 1950s have become newsworthy again in several major cities. This paper surveys these developments against the background of a variety of macro- and microsociological processes. Research conducted in Chicago and elsewhere during the late 1950s and early 60s suggests that delinquent gangs were rather "innocent" participants in the broad social trends of the times and that most gang members were relatively unaffected by the ideological currents associated with them. The primary effect on gangs was indirect, by changing the perceptions and attitudes of others toward gangs, and their behavior in relation to them. Gang life for most members of most gangs, individually and collectively, appears to have changed little in recent years. The prospects for channeling the energies of gangs into socially constructive programs seem bleak, because of the operation of group processes, and the limited experiences and social abilities of most gang members. Basic structural limitations on opportunities for the poor and the powerless to achieve economic and political power provide the framework within which these processes operate today as in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural history, observational, and interview data from a study of two anti-pornography crusades and the social movement organizations which created and directed them are used to assess nine propositions formulated by Zald and Ash (1966) concerning the structure and dynamics of social movement organizations. The Zald-Ash propositions were formulated from the literature on national, established social movement organizations. This paper explores the applicability of the propositions to those organizations which are small and emerging. The propositions are generally supported. Discrepancies are accounted for by the significant influence of leadership orientation, goal specificity, and incentive structure in determining other structural and dynamic characteristics of small or emerging social movement organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the consequences of urbanization, industrialization and increasing societal complexity upon the social relations and social roles of certain community members (Winch and Blumberg, 1968). The generalizations are based on primary and secondary analyses of the life styles of widows aged 65 and over, who are located in different types of communities in various societies. The assumption is made that sociological understanding of life styles of widows in rapidly urbanizing countries will contribute to knowledge of the changes occurring not only in family roles, but in other social relations as well. The shortage of data about widows all over the world necessitates the positing of these generalizations as exploratory rather than as final statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in the diffusion of innovations has, in the last twenty years, produced a plethora of research findings, which have been summarized by a number of writers (e.g., Lionberger, 1960; Rogers, 1962, 1967 and 1968; Katz et al., 1963; Jones, 1967; Bohlen, 1064). However, these summaries are basically taxonomic and programmatic rather than theoretic in nature. As the paucity of theoretical work in diffusion studies has been well recognized (cf. Bogers, 1962:300; Robinson and Bailey, 1965:332), there exists a real need for us to search for a general theory pertinent to this field. The aim of the present paper is to discuss a recurrent theme running through many diffusion studies, namely the old concept of adopter-innovation compatibility, and to show how this concept looms as highly suggestive of its utility as a theoretical approach to the studies in the diffusion of innovations and social change. The notion of adopter-innovation compatibility has been utilized in recent diffusion research in two general ways: explicitly and implicitly. We shall therefore discuss first these two different modes in which it has been used and then its implications as a general theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to bridge the present gap between ideas and the testing of them, rather than offering original explanations of delinquency or suggesting more sophisticated techniques for handling data. The material presented here empirically testing some causal propositions about the etiology of delinquency is a different approach from the traditional correlational study with its cautions about deducing causation. Because of their utility in guiding policy decisions and in constructing and advancing theory, causal models should be attempted even though many weaknesses exist when conventional data are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost without exception, students of community life have held that the neighborhood as a basis for association disappears as the degree of urbanization increases. Simmel and Park provided the early theoretical basis; Bernard, McClenhan, Roper, Sweetser, and others, conducted early empirical studies which provided the factual basis for Wirth's later restatement of the Simmel-Park position. After this initial research, which could be characterized as "Chicago style," interest in the problem waned. Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in the problems of urbanization including studies of neighboring as well as other forms of social participation. On the basis of these theoretical statements and empirical studies, most students of the community have continued to point out that contacts with neighbors are less frequent and more superficial in the city than they are in the country. Unfortunately, however well conceived and well executed the empirical studies in this area have been, they do not provide a factual basis for the comparative statements given in most urban-sociology textbooks. The research has been confined to studies of one neighborhood, or two or more neighborhoods in the same city. In addition, none of the studies uses the same "valid" scale for populations from various points on a rural-urban continuum. The problem of testing the above hypothesis, i.e., that there is a negative relationship between urbanism and frequency or quality of neighborhood contacts, is two-fold: to develop a "valid" scale applicable to people located at any point along the urbanism continuum; and to interview a sample of people located at various points along that continuum. Work that tests this hypothesis and is aimed at solving both the problems outlined above is the interest of this paper. Because of the resurgence of interest in the area and a possibly wider use for the scale, it was decided to report these results even though the full work was completed almost eleven years ago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses the case of Iceland to study how neoliberal globalization impacts class discourse in the political field and broader perceptions of class division. Analyzing a leading newspaper and parliamentary debates from 1986-2012, I show how neoliberal globalization-especially by increasing economic inequality-created a disjuncture between an increasingly differentiated social space and a national habitus cultivated in a small, homogeneous, and egalitarian society. This undermined taken-for-granted assumptions of relative classlessness and heightened perceptions of class division during a neoliberal ascendancy period from 1995 to Iceland's economic collapse in September 2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the multilevel determinants of intimate partner violence ( IPV) against women in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. We focus on village tolerance of abuse and its ability to regulate the effects of individual and village-level women's status and social capital. Using individual and village data from the 1998 to 1999 India National Family Health Survey, we find that village tolerance and women's status at individual and village levels help explain the risk of IPV. Village tolerance of abuse also moderates the ability of village-level women's status and social capital to protect women from IPV. Results underscore the need to understand processes that sustain and/or challenge violence-legitimating norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contradiction between capital accumulation in a global economy and political legitimation within the nation-state has shaped the contentious politics of citizenship and exclusion in postcolonial Africa. A historical analysis of the early postcolonial, state socialist, and neoliberal eras in the African nation-state of Tanzania reveals that this contradiction generated conflicts within the country's political elite over various public policies, which defined inclusion and exclusion from the community of the nation, and defined the rights of citizens and noncitizens. Political contention over these policies concerned who should be allowed access to citizenship, what rights should be granted to foreigners, and whether all citizens should be granted the same rights regardless of race. Although the institutional expression of the contradiction varied over time, a key divide was between central government administrators who prioritized economic growth in a global economy, and political party leaders and members of parliament (MPs) who were more focused on securing political legitimacy and electoral support within the nation-state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a nationally representative sample of college women, we evaluate the effect of campus sex ratios on women's relationship attitudes and behaviors. Our results suggest that women on campuses where they comprise a higher proportion of the student body give more negative appraisals of campus men and relationships, go on fewer traditional dates, are less likely to have had a college boyfriend, and are more likely to be sexually active. These effects appear to stem both from decreased dyadic power among women on campuses where they are more numerous and from their increased difficulty locating a partner on such campuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article on low-income “one-parent mothers” in Israel is based on 32 in-depth interviews and supportive data from a longitudinal study. Findings problematize scholarly treatments of “single mothers” as a universal category, showing it to be culturally specific and polysemic. It is argued that low-income one-parent mothers embody a central tension in the Israeli male-breadwinner/female-caretaker gender contract, as its initial class bias is exacerbated by the dissolution of marriage. By simultaneously adopting and reformulating the hegemonic schema that frames their femininity as deficient, they expose the dual character of the contract as resistant to change and dynamic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I focus on problem substance use as one outcome of an underlying, "slow-motion disaster" caused by the long-term collision between corrosive structural processes, counterproductive social policies, and vulnerable populations. Using the city of Detroit as an illustration, I offer an original conceptual model for linking the causes and cascading consequences of slow-motion disasters. This model highlights the embedded connections between structural factors, such as racial segregation and systemic unemployment, and multiple destructive outcomes, including health and crime disparities, as well as problem substance use. Finally, I conclude that sociological researchers must engage with broader publics and diverse coalitions if they are to contribute to an alternative social policy--a holistic, regional "disaster response"--that takes multiple layers of causality into account, and addresses the core of vulnerabilities that make such disasters possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Borrowing from the systemic model of social disorganization theory as well as from theories of human ecology and urban geography, we examine the effects of land use on community rates of violence and burglary. We posit that community crime is differentially affected by distinct nonresidential physical spaces in a neighborhood- distinct in terms of whether they are adult-centered, "business-oriented" public spaces versus spaces that are public yet still "resident centered," especially toward community youth (e.g., educational and recreational spaces). We examine potential main, mediating, and moderating effects of neighborhood social structure, resident- centered versus business-oriented public land use, and neighborhood-level processes, including neighboring and physical incivility, using data from 100 Seattle census tracts. Results suggest that the effects of schools on community violence are largely direct, while the effect of business places on violent crime is mediated substantially, but not completely, by physical disorder. In contrast, the effect of playgrounds on violence is moderated by residential instability. Regarding burglary, presence of schools is nonsignificant. Presence of businesses increases burglary, though the effect is partially mediated again by physical disorder. The effect of businesses is also moderated by residential (in)stability. Presence of playgrounds increases burglary risk regardless of neighborhood social-structural characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers an overview and assessment of the utility of new social movement theories for analyzing contemporary forms of collective action. The article begins with a brief overview of the origins of new social movement theory and a description of some of the general tenets of this approach. Next, I consider the contributions of our major theorists (Castells, Touraine, Habermas, and Melucci) to this paradigm. The heart of the article provides a critical discussion of the central debates that have emerged within this paradigm. I then propose a typological distinction between "political" and "cultural" versions of new social movement theory. In the conclusion, I assess new social movement theory as a whole and situate the paradigm with reference to other paradigms for the study of social movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociology as an academic discipline has always undergone change and modification in theory, method and substance. This article addresses some of the changes in many substantive area of sociology. Some special aspects that have characterized American sociology was discussed. The diversity in styles of sociological work was recognized. In order to provide a broader context for sociological work, it is necessary to go back to the turn of the century,a period of marked social change in America. There are two major influence on how academic sociology would respond to change the development of pragmatism in American philosophy and sociologists' belief in empiricism.There are some similarities between the concerns of European sociologists of the last century and the American sociologists of the early decades of the century.

This study examines neighborhood density and other social factors which limit environmental control. It is hypothesized that the combined effects of high density and low social control result in the least resident satisfaction. Lower and higher densities are thus considered in combination with differences in tenure status, income levels, and life cycle status. National survey items which evaluate the residence, social life, and well-being are analyzed. The results offer only limited evidence of interaction effects between dense neighborhoods and the predicted low social control dimensions of renting, low income, and having children. There is, however, support for the choice of these environmental control factors when the additive effects of neighborhood density and each social control variable on resident dissatisfaction are considered. The contributions to the crowding literature and suggestions for new research are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many behavioral science studies of religious fundamentalism are seriously hampered by conceptual confusion. The major source of much of this confusion is the lack of a coherent sociological definition and theoretical context for the term fundamentalism. We propose a Parsonian definition of Fundamentalism, which is interpreted in the context of a theory of evolutionary social change. The methodological implications of this approach are identified and then applied in a survey research study of the lay leaders of two historically related denominations, the Disciples of Christ and the Church of Christ. Our factor analysis of 25 questionnaire items suggests there are three types of Fundamentalism. Socio-economic variables explain some of the variation in the Fundamentalism scores, but denominational affiliation explains more. Our findings suggest that future research should use denomination-specific indices of Fundamentalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state controls many matters of conflict between labor and management. This study attempts to identify the social conditions that lead to laws which favor either side in their ongoing struggle for influence. Using a cross-sectional ecological design I found that political systems with more blacks were least likely to have public policies in the interest of the working class. Other relevant factors which had less consistent effects were the type of enterprise and the level of resources in an area. Generally, the results are consistent with theories that racial antagonisms undermine the political efforts of workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of warranting interpretations of social action is discussed in terms of the controversy over aktuelles Verstehen. Warriner's solution is presented and criticized from the perspective of ethnomethodology. From ordinary language philosophy an alternative solution is proposed which furnishes a probable warrant for interpretations while recognizing the reflexivity and indexicality of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upper-class directors of major industrial companies are directors of more corporations than arc the non-upper-class directors, but they arc less likely to serve on executive committees of corporate boards. This may indicate that there is a class-based division of labor in which the upper-class directors are more concerned with inter-organizational relationships and with the functioning of the economy as a whole, and that non-upper-class directors are concerned with day-to-day operations of individual companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While a great deal of sociological attention has been given to phenomena identified as social problems, a general theory of social problems has yet to be presented. The describing and categorizing of social problems has dominated such inquiry, with little attention given to the process of problem creation and maintenance within the context of power, interests, and politics. We must look to the arena of political, social, and economic power, and identify those varying interests vying to define certain phenomena as problematic and those attempting to counter such recognition. The emergence of the "drug problem" in the early twentieth century provides an excellent example of the political nature of problem identification and definition. Early entrepreneurs and their organizations brought about the institutionalization of the problem through the passage of drug laws. While medical interests were victorious in protecting their practice in the Harrison Act of 1914, subsequent efforts by enforcement agencies, among others, brought about the criminalization of the user. The criminalization of the "drug problem" was aided by a change in the image of the user. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Merton has made an important distinction between the "history" any "systematics" of sociological theory, and outlined the valuable functions of the former. Most histories of sociology, however, have been "presentist" or "Whiggish" in perspective; we propose an "historicist" alternative. Within this perspective, Durkheim's response to Spencer is analyzed in three areas: (1) the relation between "individual" and "society;" (2) evolution and social change; and (3) the scope and method of sociology. In these areas, Durkheim's critical style reveals a repetitive theme which is termed "inversion." The essay concludes by re-affirming Merton's distinction and urging that the "historicist" perspective is the most valid and useful approach to the history of sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A source of social movement transformation which has been relatively neglected by researchers involves the effect of factors in the pre-movement environment which reemerge sporadically throughout the careers of social movements. Their reemergence may account for the direction of the transformation process and, specifically, for the differential transformations which characterize some movements at various points in their careers. A case study illustrating this effect is presented, followed by a more general consideration of when this phenomenon may be expected to occur and what movement-related factors facilitate its effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manifold factors have been identified as causal mechanisms in social change, but an important one—temporality—has been neglected. Temporality is the social time that characterizes any society, and that social time is consequential for the rate and direction of change. The three dimensions of temporality are temporal pattern, temporal orientation, and temporal perspective. The differences between the Japanese and Chinese along these three dimensions help explain their differential responses to the 19th century Western challenge. Specifically, two propositions are examined in the light of the historical data: a society's temporality limits the range of adaptive responses to new circumstances, and the symbols of social time act as a mechanism of social control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A social movement is a dynamic phenomenon that necessitates an appropriate theoretical perspective for adequate analysis. An interactionist perspective provides a useful dynamic mode of analysis. Following a historical resumé of the LSD movement led by Timothy Leary, the genesis of the movement, the development of its ideology and program, and motivational factors involved in the recruitment of adherents are analyzed from an interactionist perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forms of social change are myriad: a revolutionary movement overthrows a ruling elite, an empire falls to barbarians, the rise of a business class transforms a traditional society, a criminal organization gains control over the life of a community, patterns of romantic love replace arranged marriage, intergroup hostility rises and falls. In such ways do the basic patterns of social life change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In The Sociological Imagination, C. Wright Mills attempted to point the way toward a more nearly viable sociology by identifying and defining the horns of the dilemma upon which the discipline was, in his estimation, caught. These horns were those of grand theory and abstracted empiricism. On the one hand, Mills believed, are those sociologists whose writings are on such a generalized level that they are unrelated to the sociological and social problems of the empirical world. On the other hand, are those sociologists whose work is so tied to picayune fact-grubbing that the results of their research have no theoretical orientation, are not cumulative, and, therefore, also are not relevant nor of value to the student of public affairs. The Millsian solution to the sociological dilemma was characteristic. He not only demolished its horns but also suggested that sociology could find a greater relevance in the world of affairs if it would follow an imaginative course through their remains. The sociological imagination, derived as it is from American pragmatism, became at once a method for research into empirical reality and for theoretical ordering of the data from that research. The models thus created from historical and contemporary data became open-ended ones of process, dynamic assessment, and strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An area of research in which sociologists and historians would seem to share a rather obvious concern is that of social change. In his presidential address before the joint meeting of the Canadian Historical and Canadian Political Science Association, S. D. Clark emphasized this. "We cannot become students of change," he said, "without becoming historians. It is only by looking at what has happened to societies of the past, and over time, that the sociologist can derive the data on which to build his principles of social change." That is to say that the study of social change requires recognition of processes in time and must deal, insofar as time past is involved, with evidence that is historical. The student of social change must become a historian and the historian, insofar as he is interested in understanding and interpreting general processes, must become a social scientist. When, however, one searches the literature for particular studies of historical social change, one's findings are meager indeed, especially if one's standards, theoretically and methodologically, are reflective of those of contemporary social science, and one's historiographical standards, of contemporary history. If, in addition, one is searching for social change studies of a particular national history, then the material is even more limited. For this reason I have expanded this review, which was originally concerned with the American nineteenth century only, to include two studies of English history, because these two studies include important theoretical and methodological contributions to the study of history and social change in America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses sociologist Howard Becker's approach to the study of social change. Howard Becker made social dominant and central problem of sociological inquiry. In view of the apparent reappearance of a concern with the general problem of social dynamics in American sociology, an examination of the main features of Becker's approach to the study of social change would seem to be appropriate. A first characteristic of that approach is the relatively abstract, comprehensive and general level at which the problem of social change was initially and subsequently conceived. A second feature of Becker's approach to the study of change is his persistent adherence to a nomothetic view of science, which is methodologically implemented by a constant resort to culture case study, constructed types and the comparative method. A third characteristic of Becker's scheme for studying change is the conceptualization of sacred and secular as evaluations of change and their use as constructs for classifying value-systems. A fourth characteristic of Becker's approach to change is his sacred-secular evaluation continuum, which became an important part of his analytical scheme late in his career.

This article reports on some interrelationships between urbanization and social change in Japan since 1600. Japan is proposed for investigation of some possible interrelationships between urbanization and social change for several reasons. In the first place, Japan is the most highly industrialized and urbanized of the major nations of Asia. In Asia lives the bulk of the world's population, a population that is now in the midst of major social, economic and political transformations of enormous consequence to the rest of the world. In the second place, Japan lends itself to the testing of hypotheses regarding social and cultural change, which have been primarily documented with data on European, and European-dominated peoples. Third, Japan is an appropriate concern of American scholars because of close past and present relationships between the two countries. It is the central argument of this article that Japanese history since 1600 may profitably be regarded in terms of three remarkable experiments in planned social change undertaken by powerful, centralized governments which were relatively free to exercise unlimited authority. In each of these three instances the regime consciously set out to fashion Japan's national life after a preconceived pattern and in each case the planned change was in substantial degree realized.