|
Module |
Module Content |
Assessment and weighting |
| AS |
Culture and Identity |
Sociologists believe that human behaviour is significantly influenced by our social environment or culture rather than our biology. How does our social environment influence our behaviour, our social roles and our sense of selves. How do a variety of social institutions such as the family, education and the media influence and construct what sociologists refer to as our ‘social identities’. Our gender, ethnicity, our social class and even our national identities will be discussed and how these institutions manipulate the way we see and feel about ourselves. “How does the family teach us to be male and female?” “How does the education system promote social class inequality?” “To what extent do the media promote a positive sense of multiculturalism?” The unit attempts to understand the impact of culture on an individual’s social identity. |
Written examination 20% |
| AS |
Education |
You will focus in on a specific social institution in more detail namely the education system. Sociologists argue that schools have a very powerful influence on individuals and are not simply places where students gain or do not gain qualifications. For instance as well as regular subjects like Maths and English, schools teach us a ‘hidden curriculum’ of social values designed to keep social order. Here we are taught the value of hard work, respect for authority and punctuality. Schools teach us to conform to society’s rules. Is the education system itself ‘unfair’ in that it doesn’t give all social groups the same opportunities to succeed? For instance you will analyse government statistics to try to investigate why girls outperform boys at every educational level? “Why do Indian Asian groups achieve the most qualifications and Bangladeshi’s the least?” and “Why do more middle class students choose ‘A’ Level courses compared to working class?” This unit also explores the tools sociologists use to gather their sociological data and you will discuss and design your own research into inequality, and institutional racism and sexism in the education system. |
Written examination 30% |
| A2 |
Mass Media |
This unit explores the media’s power to influence how we think, how we behave, and what we buy. How do the media influence our political views, our attitudes towards men and women, and members of ethnic minority groups. The unit will explore the power of media owners and professionals such as editors and journalists to control what we watch on TV, listen to on the radio and read about in newspapers. How is the audience affected by media messages, what media messages are actually transmitted and the extent to which they have an influence on members of the mass audience? You will explore the violence debate and the notion that violence in the media causes violence in society. Finally you will be expected to conduct practical research or ‘content analysis’ and or audience studies to investigate media content and audience attitudes towards the media as an ever increasing and influencing force in society. |
Written examination 20% |
| A2 |
Crime and Deviance |
Does the criminal justice system reproduce social inequalities based on class, racial and gendered lines? Home Office statistics show a disproportionate amount of young, male, Afro-Caribbean offenders. You will use a variety of sociological perspectives in an attempt to explain the social differences in offending rates between social groups. For instance, “Why do more males offend than females?” “Why are Afro-Caribbean men more likely to be in prison than any other ethnic group?” “Why are 80% of offenders working class?” This unit explores the possibility that the criminal justice system maybe intuitionally sexist and racist. How useful are government crime prevention strategies, how does the media construct and influence our perception and fear of crime as well as green crime, state crime and corporate crime? The unit will also allow you to evaluate the methods used by sociologists investigating crime and deviance in contemporary UK society. You will also have an opportunity to conduct your own research investigating people’s attitudes towards crime in society. |
Written examination 30% |
College Prospectus 2010
