Society Now Magazine
“Society Now” is a free full-colour magazine published four times a year by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and features a range of articles that “showcase the impact of the social science research” funded by the Council. Although the magazine includes material that’s not necessarily relevant to a-level sociology – the ERSC funds […]
More Crime and Deviance Learning Tables
A few days ago I did a post on Learning Tables that noted, in passing, that although the numbering system used suggested at least 14 Tables had been created for crime and deviance, I’d only managed to find 10. After a bit of detective work (which sounds a bit mysterious and a touch glamourous until […]
Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes
The 2017 OfCom Report on “Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes” (2017) covers different types of on-and-offline media use by children in the UK and it’s quite a treasure trove of visual and verbal information that will repay careful analysis – although at around 300 pages it may prove a little hard-going for most […]
Gay Best Friends as Consumers and Commodities
If you’re looking for something slightly different to incorporate into your Culture and Identity / Media Sociology teaching this book chapter on “Effeminacy and Expertise, Excess and Equality: Gay Best Friends as Consumers and Commodities in Contemporary Television” by Susie Khamis and Anthony Lambert might well fit the bill. Of particular interest here might be […]
Methods, Mobiles and Media
Research Methods can be a little abstract and dry (teacher-speak for dull), particularly when opportunities to experience and apply what’s being taught are limited by things like time and a lack of easy access to suitable research subjects. This is where Steven Thomas’ “Patterns of Mobile Phone Use” article might help. The research example it […]
Sociology and Issues in the News
This simple activity, culled once more from the ATSS archive, has a dual purpose in terms of helping students: 1. Develop a critical and sociological understanding of “news” and how it is socially constructed and presented. 2. Interpret and apply sociological knowledge to real social situations. The activity requires no great preparation and involves students […]
Deviancy Amplification PowerPoint
Deviancy Amplification has become something of a classic example of an Interactionist approach to deviance, predominantly, but not exclusively, because of Jock Young’s seminal analysis (1971) of “The role of the police as amplifiers of deviance, negotiators of reality and translators of fantasy”. This is a little ironic given that Leslie Wilkins’ original formulation of […]
Connecting Walls Collection
CBSC Sociology has been busy creating and posting a huge number of revision Connecting Walls on Twitter and, in the spirit of “pinching other people’s stuff and sharing it with a wider audience”, I’ve pulled all their tweets together into one handy blog post for your – and your students’ – greater convenience. So, if […]
Free Chapter: The Psychology of Addictive Behaviour
The third – and probably final – free chapter from Holt and Lewis’ “A2 Psychology: The Student’s Textbook”, this one covers addictive behaviour in terms of main areas: 1. Models Biological, cognitive and learning models of addiction, including explanations for initiation, maintenance and relapse Explanations for specific addictions, including smoking and gambling 2. Factors affecting […]
Sociology Factsheets: To Buy or DIY?
Like all good ideas, this one is simple but effective. Distil topic notes into key knowledge points, add illustrative examples and brief overviews of advantages and disadvantages, throw in some exam tips and short “test yourself” questions, call it a factsheet and sell it at a very reasonable price to teachers – which is exactly […]