Sociology

Course summary

Sociology is the systematic study of groups of people in society. You will study the world in which you live and begin to understand how societies differ. We look at why people behave the way they do and how socialisation (experiences) into a culture impacts on their identity. We will look at the impact that institutions and agencies such as the Government, Education, Media and the Criminal Justice System have on us. We will look at the changing structure of British families today, and the growth of lone and single sex families. We will look at explanations for rises in particular crimes over the past 50 years, especially crime relating to ‘gun and knife culture’. We will look at patterns of offending amongst certain groups differentiated by age, gender, ethnicity or social class. You will learn about sociological research on a variety of social issues such as: how we gain our identity, why some children succeed in the education system and some do not, and racial discrimination in the police force.