Introduction to Anthropology – Cultural Change

Introduction to Anthropology – Cultural Change

Toni L. Tobin

Concordia University

Author Note

This report will address what Cultural Change is along with the cause and effect it may have.

Abstract

A society strives its continuity, existence and their lifestyle in line with the environmental conditions of its surrounding. The people within the society have been descending down from generations with the addition of new ideas and items. This dynamic process of society enhances their culture with refreshing and new energy in the progressing era. A stagnant society is useless but there is none these days relating to how it can be. Technological developments and social adjustments in the form of 'evolution' and 'development' of any rate exist as and form of adjustment factors to keep them consistent with the environmental situations. For this reason, the societies and cultures are always having to present a process to adapt to the changes in a continuous manner.

Cultural Changes

 Cultural change is a statement used in public policies that emphasize the impact of cultural capital on an individual and their community behavior. It has been sometimes called repositioning of cultures, which may mean it is the reconstruction of the cultural concept within their society.

Cause of Cultural Change

Cultural change is an idea that denotes some inner and external elements which may lead to changes within the cultural model of societies.

Occasionally contributors of a society are frequently faced by using customs that range from the ones that they are used to, which will lead for them to learn to just and accept those changes. In one of these situations, they adopt some of the new customs, reject others, and observe changed variations of within others; this can probably be referred to cultural eclecticism^[1].

New customs and practices are probably to be willingly adopted based on certain situations: if they represent what is regarded as socially perfect and useful and if they do not clash with rediscovered and nevertheless valued customs and practices.

Cultural can cause in a chain reaction, each time an change is integrated into the lifestyle and will become defined as a ‘social necessity’, new needs emerge, generating the desire for additional changes to complement or supplement the unique change.

Factors

The social alternate is a complicated and multi-faceted phenomenon. There are dual factors  that influence social change endogenous^[2] factors and exogenous^[3] factors.

Environmental Factors

Geological and climatic phenomena like earthquakes, flood, drought, twister, tsunami and so forth, can cause drastic adjustments within the economic system or any important assets of a society, which in turn results in cultural change. There are variances of availability with water assets and mineral assets (e.g. petroleum) also can influence cultural change.

Biotic Factors

Fluctuation in agricultural productiveness, availability of fishery wealth, the unfold of diseases affecting people within their culture, plants and domesticating animals, adjustments in populace shape, sex ratio, age ratio and so forth. Can also contribute to sizeable modifications in lifestyle and thereby in the cultural community.

Cultural Factors

The primary reason for the social trade is the cultural component. The simple elements of lifestyle like language, faith, philosophy, literature, faith, and values will take a long-term to change because they may influence some on the other lifestyles. The co-life of two distinct cultures for an extended length can motive cultural diffusion causing changes in both cultures.

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