Sociology is described as ' the study of society, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture of everyday life'. It is one of the most popular A levels taken in the UK and we believe it is one of the most important. As the world becomes ever smaller it is increasingly necessary for us to understand each other, to enjoy the similarities between us all, to appreciate and value the differences, and to find ways of working together to improve the lives of everyone. Welcome to Audiopi's Sociology!
The series is delivered in three parts: Part 1 includes Education, Methods and Methods in Context, Part 2 covers Families, Households and Beliefs in Society, and Part 3 focuses on Crime and Deviance and Theory. Each part is broken down into a number of topics covering everything required by the course. At the end of each podcast we suggest some types of questions that might be asked in the exams.
The series is written by two brilliant, highly experienced teachers, writers and examiners, Laura Pountney and David Bown.
Simply click on the heading of each series below to listen to the opening podcast in the series for FREE
What is the purpose of education, and what messages does it transmit? In this series we explore the role of education and social policy on education from a range of sociological perspectives. We also discuss evidence of inequalities in education in terms of class, ethnicity and gender, and assess sociological research in these areas. We also examine sociological methodology, exploring what it means to do research as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each method. Finally we will investigate what it is like to actually do research on educational issues, methods in context.
Welcome to our series on Families, Households and Beliefs in Society. In section A, the topic we are preparing for is ‘Family and Households’. What is the role of the family in contemporary society, and how has family life changed over the last 100 years? In this section, we explore the ways in which structures, roles and relationships have changed in relation to the family. Although these podcasts are divided into ‘subtopics’ we will be making sure that you know how to answer questions which often draw from more than one subtopic. The second section explores the changing nature of Beliefs in Society. The three main belief systems, which are science, religion and ideology are explored, with a focus on which belief system conflicts or works alongside the other, and to what extent science is replacing religion. This section also explores the role of religion, which social groups are likely to be more or less religious, the secularisation debate and the changing nature of religious organisations. The final podcasts focus on the effects of globalisation on religion in contemporary society.
What is crime and deviance? In this section, we explore ideas of social order and social control through an examination of the distribution of crime and deviance by ethnicity, gender and social class. Examples will be drawn from sociological research as well as from recent patterns and trends in crime. Crime will be examined in terms of globalisation, green and environmental crime, human rights and state crimes as well as how it is portrayed by the media. Finally, the role of the criminal justice system will be considered in relation to crime control and prevention, surveillance, punishment and victims.
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