Sociology

Course summary

There are a lot of different social groups living in society (men, women, rich, poor, young and old). Sociology attempts to understand how these social groups are treated and what inequalities they face. For most students, this will be a brand-new subject and for some, they may have studied it at GCSE; either way, it is a great subject and a chance to voice your political opinions. We study lots of topics that really get you to think about people and power in a different way and will certainly question your ideas about why people behave in particular ways in certain situations. Families and households - The role of the family changes to marriage cohabitation and divorce, family diversity, family policy, conjugal roles, childhood, and demographics. Education with theory and methods - The role of education, class differences in educational achievement, education policy, gender differences in educational achievement and subject choice, and ethnic differences in educational achievement. Crime and deviance and theory and methods - Theories of crime and deviance – what causes crime? Patterns of offending and victimization by class, gender and ethnic group, globalization and crime, green crime, state crime, the role of punishment, and representations of crime in the media. Media - Who owns and controls the media? Globalization and popular culture, the news as a manufactured product, new media, media stereotyping of gendered, class, ethnic, sexual, age and disabled groups, the media, and audience effects. Where could it take me? Sociology students go on to study a wide range of degrees. Sociology can be taken at a degree level in combination with a wide range of subjects such as psychology, politics, English, economics and more. Students have progressed into careers such as social worker, prison or police officer, education, journalism and nursing.