Theories of Cultural Change
Various scholars have proposed different theories of cultural change. Thomas R. Rochon proposed a differentiation between three modes of cultural change:
- value conversion – the replacement of existing cultural values with new ones (ex. changing views of slavery as an acceptable practice to an abhorrent one)
- value creation – the development of new ideas to apply to new situations (ex. emergence of the environmental issues or concepts such as sexual harassment)
- value connection – the development of a conceptual link between phenomena previously thought unconnected or connected in a different way
Read more about this topic: Transformation Of Culture
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