This book brings together social sciencists to create an interdisciplinary dialogueon the topic of social change as a cultural process. Culture is as much aboutnovelty as it is about tradition, as much about change as it is about stability. Thisdynamic tension is analyzed in collective protests, intergroup dynamics,language, mass media, science, community participation, art, and socialtransitions to capitalism, among other contexts. These diverse cases illustrate anumber of key factors that can propel, slow-down and retract social change. Anemancipatory and integrative social science is developed in this book, whichoffers a new explanatory model of human behavior and thought under conditions of institutional and societalchange.