ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a background for the examination of social change in the context of the ever-expanding use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The first category of societal evolution theories examines the locus or physical site of human communities. The archeological and historical records clearly indicate a major transition in the spatial settings of societies humans evolved from nomadic hunter and gatherer societies to ones in which sustained agricultural activities occurred in a fixed location. These theoretical perspectives examine the transitions from agricultural to manufacturing to knowledge-based economies and their attendant political systems. Many historians and social theorists point to literacy as a major transformative factor in societal evolution. Literacy allows for the intergenerational transmission of culture and thus the accumulation of knowledge, a major step in the creation of civilization. Western Civilization and will be useful in the explorations of ICTs and their effect on the trends of change in major societal institutions.
