Theory of Social Change - 2017/18

The course gives a general overview about topics, theories and findings of the sociology of social change. It provides introductions in:

1. essential notions for analyzing and describing changing social realities;

2. approaches of how to understand causes and driving- forces of social change;

3. basic methods of exploring social change;

4. crucial phenomena and characteristic patterns of social change in selected fields with special reference to some far-reaching megatrends,

5. the research area of changing attitudes, life styles, attentions and living conditions in the sequence of past, present and future generations,

6. substantial lines of social criticism and time-diagnosis and how they correspond with particular notions for describing contemporary society;

7. the question what all of that has to do with design, with its framings of problems and solutions as well as with its challenges and faculties.