How has UK society changed over time? Choose three changes referred to in the course which you think are particularly significant, and write an essay which:
1 Describes each of them in turn
2 Indicates why one of the examples you have chosen is particularly important.
(Approximately 1000 words in total)
The UK society has changed over time in many different dimensions, such as cultural, geographical, political, technological, social and economic. This essay shows how family life has changed in the last 200 years and demonstrates the emergence of feminism as a social movement. It will also explain the development of globalisation and effects upon global trade. And finally it will investigate how migration has increased and the factors that have caused this trend.
More than 200 years ago family life was more about survival. As the years went on and agricultural work shifted towards industrial work, women were gradually given more domestic tasks and the men would earn the wage. Women took the title of ‘the housewife’ whilst men were considered to be ‘the breadwinners’ and family providers. In most circumstances it was not possible for women to work outside the house. There were not work opportunities for women and they did not have the support in a male dominated working environment. Due to this, women stayed at home with the children and done the domestic tasks, however sometimes women may have also had a part-time job for extra income. In the late 18th century feminism began to take shape. Feminism explains gender divisions and inequalities. This social movement works for equal opportunities for men and women. As a result of feminism women had more educational and employment opportunities.
Now the domestic division of labour which include cooking, cleaning and caring changes yet again and is split more equally between men and women. Nevertheless it still depends on the family forms and shapes.
During the last 50 years family forms had changed. Before that families consisted of two parents and their offspring. In these days the household consisting of a married or unmarried, same sex or opposite sex couples with their children, just one parent with children or couples with their children from previous relationships.
The society in the UK has also been greatly affected by globalisation. As trends and the shape of the market in the world had changed it has had an impact on the UK. More than 50 years ago not much came from abroad, but due to globalisation; which in this case represents markets trading all over the world, goods from other countries can now be bought in local supermarkets.
Trade has always been influenced by markets. These markets begin by people who exchanged goods with each other in a particular place. However over time rules and procedures were put in place that were rather complexed. These markets grew into companies which trade goods from all over the world.
As consumers became accustom to these new exotic products, the supply had to be greater for the demand. Supply and demand is responsible for the price of the product.
Global trade comes with negative and positive effects. Consumers benefit from increased global trade because it has created a market where they can get what they want, when they want, with very little afford and at times with good prices.
Some commentators argue that as the trade increases the dominant countries involved in the market experience greater wealth, however it is often at the expense of less influential countries whose are not as dominant as the market.
As the dominant countries get richer their governments also became more powerful. This means they have a greater influence on world events. This is not the same as the developing countries whose see less benefits.
As globalisation has increased there has also being an increase in migration. Migration is a movement of people, who leave their countries to find a better place to live and work. From the view of a social scientist, migration is often explained as a complex combination of economic and political forces that both ‘push’ and ‘pull’ the process. (Sheratt et al., 2004, p.69)
People have been always migratory. In the past they were moving from place to place because of two main reasons; they needed more food, which was not available at the certain place of just because they were under pressure from more powerful groups.
As Britain’s wealth had growth there were increase in slavery. As an example could be sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Britain was manufacturing goods such as clothing and guns, which were taken to the Africa to be sold. People from Africa were imprisoned and sold as slaves and transported to the Americas to work in the new sugar and cotton growing industries. Sugar and cotton were then transported back to Britain to be sold on the home market. (Sheratt et al., 2004,p.69) In this case slaves were forced to move, they could not to choose to migrate for work.
Research by Mitchell and Pain, 2003 “shows that,” over the last 20 years there has been a gradual increase in migration into the UK, from around 200,000 people a year in the early 1980s to 350,000 in the late 1990s.” This source of information was gathered by airline passengers entering the UK, who were classed as inward migrants. On the other hand it is harder to say what the numbers of illegal migrant entering the UK are, however some research estimate that it could be around 100,00 migrants each year. (Sheratt et al.,2004 p.73)
These are high numbers and it may be an exaggeration, it could be an example of modern migration. Modern migration is when people move willingly from their countries to more developed countries. Usually the idea of better life and work is the main purpose why people move.
Particularly important for the UK society would be migration. The UK same as many others western countries needs skilled or unskilled workers. If the developed country does not have enough employee for specific job, there is opportunity for people from developing countries.
Another positive effect of migration may be cultural forms. The UK society has always been influenced by different cultures. It may create difficulties and instability, but that make society more dynamic.
Task 2
Write no more than 200 words in total for this task, which covers the past, present and future.
1 Past: give at least on example of a way in which your learning skills have improved during this course.
2 Present: give at least one example of strength and at least one example of a weakness in your learning skills.
3 Future: give at least one example of a way in which you could improve a specific learning skill in future.
During this course I greatly improved my reading and writing skills in an academic way. At the start of the course I found it quite difficult to read the course book but as time passed I started to enjoy it and I now find it much easier. When writing and constructing essays I found it tough at first however as time went on I began to gain more confidence in this area.
My greatest strength when learning is my time management. Due to my work and academic studies I have to be strict with my time, I have to allow two hours each day. One example of a weakness of mine is I find it difficult to make essays plans. I want to start writing straight away and I think this has a negative impact on the structure of my essays.
I want to improve in all areas of my learning. I feel I still have great room for improvement. However I would like to really concentrate on my writing skills and create well structured, comprehensive essays. One way of improving my writing skills would be to improve my essay planning ability. I believe it will greatly benefit my essays.
