Social Movements

The term social movements in sociology refer to actions taken by groups of individuals or organizations or agents for achieving certain goals. These movements need not be coordinated effort, but they do have certain issues in mind that bring out social change. According to Charles Tilly, social movements to bring out social change could be through campaigns by ordinary people who take a collective decision for target audience to take necessary steps in that direction. Besides, groups could take up a rally or a demonstration for issue pamphlets in order to bring about social change. Another note worthy way to show a collective participation for a cause is to display unity in number by a whole lot of people from different constituencies working together for the fulfillment of the goal. Such a strong solidarity for a common cause by the public would be great challenge for the authorities to deny and the needed change would be implemented without much delay. The people behind the western movements of the 19^th century felt that education that promotes freedom of expression and speech, industrialization that fosters economic independence and the internet that has access to large amount of people and material and modern technology that has enable these to happen are responsible for the growth of large number of social movements that came into existence during this period. For instance, the Borgen Project that fights global poverty mobilizes people and fund globally for this purpose and works towards eradicating this class in the society. Another famous social movement of the 20^th century was the American Civil Rights Movement that gave the blacks an equal footing with the whites. Martin Luther King's famous speech I Have a Dream in front of Lincoln Memorial is another apt illustrate with regard to social movements .