Definition of the Situation: The Thomas Theorem

The Thomas Theorem, created by W.I.Thomas and his wife Dorothy (The Child in America, 1928), is a simple and interesting way to introduce students to the social constructionist / Interactionist approach in Sociology, for a couple of reasons: Firstly, the Theorem – “It is not important whether or not the interpretation is correct, if we […]

Structuration: A Bluffer’s Guide

Anthony Giddens (LSE)

While A-level students are usually well-versed in the difference between structural and action approaches, a lot less time, effort and teaching tends to given-over to alternative perspectives, such as Structuration. Which is a national disgrace bit disappointing. To remedy this potential learning deficit I’ve put together this quick ‘n’ dirty guide to the main features […]

Podcasts with Pictures: Learning Academy

Another in the “Podcasts with Pictures” series designed to bring to your attention video materials you or your students might find useful. In this instance we have a series of “video lessons” created by The Learning Academy. Each of the 14 lessons lasts between 10 and 15 minutes and consists of someone talking about a […]

Explanations for Crime and Deviance: 3. Interactionism

A quick’n’dirty overview of the Interactionist perspective on crime and deviance. Two ideas closely associated with Interactionist approaches are those of deviance as both relative and socially constructed. Relativity refers to the idea that the same behaviour can be considered deviant in one context (or society) but non-deviant in another. A simple example here might […]

Theory Summaries

I was going to tack this on to one or other of my previous Knowledge Organiser posts but then thought better of it because it’s more a classroom presentation than an Organiser per se. Originally a 2019 PowerPoint Presentation by Colette Cradock (I’m assuming – that’s what the metadata says but whether she is the […]

Crime and Deviance Study Guides

The great Crime Clear-Out continues with 3 Study Guides that I probably half-inched at some point from the Queen Elizabeth High School Moodle site (which is okay because whoever put them there – along with some other crime-related bits-and-bobs – seems to have got them from Greenhead College). From what I can gather the Guides […]

Even More A-level Sociology Organisers

A little like the iconic red buses of yore, you wait a couple of years for a new batch of a-level sociology knowledge organisers and then two come along at once. Or a few days later at any rate. Bit like red buses when you come to think about it. Still, a gift horse is […]

Family PowerPoints Bundle

This collection of PowerPoints for Families and Households comes from a variety of sources, only one of whom I know personally. Like all of the other Presentations, however, I know not from where it came. The Presentations cover a range of family-related issues and ideas, from different family perspectives, through the role of the family […]

Crime and Criminology: Free the Texts

Although criminology is a unique field of study focused on all things crime and criminal (yes, really), it invariably incorporates all kinds of sociological and psychological ideas, concepts and theories that makes criminology texts a potentially useful source of information. Mainly for teachers but, in some instances, a-level students as well. For this reason – […]

Sociology Video Tutorials

These short video tutorials are basically a variant on “podcasts with pictures”: a talking head tutor in one corner of the screen explains something while the occasional picture or real-time whiteboard illustration is displayed. In other words, the 40+ films available here are relatively simple video lectures of the “listen and learn” variety – which […]

One-Minute Interactionism: The Animated Version

A few months ago we posted an animated version of our One-Minute Strain Theory film and since it generally seemed to get a relatively welcoming reception we thought we’d go ahead with some further conversions of films in the “One-Minute” series. This month’s free animated offering, therefore, is a 1-Minute explanation of Labelling Theory that […]

Sociology Flipbooks

A Flipbook is a way of displaying a pdf document online so that it has the look-and-feel of a paper-based magazine, one whose pages you can turn using a mouse (desktop) or finger (mobile). That’s it, really. I could talk about stuff like whether this creates a greater sense of engagement among students than the […]

Crime and Deviance Theories

A little while back (maybe 5 or 6 years ago – I lose track) I created 3 Crime and Deviance Presentations that were, I like to think, quite ground-breaking at the time for their combination of text, graphics, audio and video – and while they may be looking a little dated now they still have […]