Sociology

Sociology is the study of society and how it works - how people interact in groups.

A level Sociology examines social behaviour from a variety of perspectives: how it originates and then develops, and the ways people are organised into groups according to distinctions such as class, gender and race.

The compulsory content of the A Level course is:

• Theory and Methods
• Education with Methods in Context
• Crime and Deviance

We also study the optional topics of:

• Sociology of Health
• Beliefs in Society

Mrs K Huggins
khuggins@brimsham.com

The following Resources will support you in your A-Level Sociology studies:

Films - Selma

Film chronicling the tumultuous three-month period in 1965 when Dr Martin Luther King Jr led a campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition, culminating in the epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, which led President Johnson to sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement that forever altered history. Useful for the Beliefs unit. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04xv91w/selma

Louis Theroux documentaries

Transgender Kids documentary. Louis travels to San Francisco where medical professionals are helping children with gender dysphoria transition from boy to girl or girl to boy. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05qkzt2

Linking to Crime and Deviance - Behind Bars – Louis travels to California to spend two weeks in the notorious San Quentin State Prison. Built in 1852, San Quentin is dangerously overcrowded. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008qjh0

Linking to the Belief unit - Louis Theroux struggles to come to terms with the infamous Phelps family from Topeka, Kansas, who picket countrywide as a protest against an America that tolerates homosexuality. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007clvf and revisiting them 4 years later https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0107zhy

TED Talks

Gender Roles in Society https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz-hlV8o3y8&safe=active

How Economic Inequality Harms Societies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFOEe6M2VT4&safe=active

Do schools kill creativity https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?language=en

Bring on the learning revolution https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_learning_revolution

What if students controlled their own learning? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMxqEkg3wQ0&safe=active

Why education not punishment is a solution to reducing crime https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_4zW6y69l0&safe=active

Global criminal network https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO1Me-MY-Q0&safe=active

Exam Board: AQA Specification: Sociology 7191

How am I examined in this subject?

Sociology is assessed through three exam papers.

• Paper 1 – Education with Theory and Methods: this exam is worth 33.3% of your A-Level, is out of 80 and is 2 hours long. It is divided into three sections: Education, Methods in Context and Theory and Methods.
• Paper 2 – Topics in Sociology: this exam is worth 33.3% of your A-Level, it is out of 80 and is 2 hours long. It is divided into two sections: Health and Belief.
• Paper 3 – Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods: This exam is worth 33.3% of you’re a-Level, is out of 80 and is 2 hours long. It is divided into two sections: Crime and Deviance and Theory and Methods.

How are my responses assessed?

In each essay you write, you are assessed on three separate assessment objectives:

AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of: sociological theories, concepts and evidence and sociological research methods. (44%)

AO2: Apply sociological theories, concepts, evidence and research methods to a range of issues. (31%)

AO3: Analyse and evaluate sociological theories, concepts, evidence and research methods in order to: present arguments, make judgements and draw conclusions. (25%)