By believing in a hands-on approach to research and engaging fully with the issues of our modern society, Sociology at Chesterton will suit students who want to make a difference in the world while developing a greater understanding of social diversity.
Subject Information
Sociology will help you understand what works well but mostly what is dysfunctional in society. You will develop a critical awareness of issues in contemporary society with a respect for social diversity and learn the importance of social action in explaining social issues.
With Sociology, you will hone your writing, argumentative and organisational skills.
Course Details
How does social media affect us? Who commits more crime? Has the repartition of household chores really changed? In lessons, we will debate and research the answer to these questions and many more.
Course Content:
- Socialisation, culture and identity (e.g., Families and relationships; Youth subcultures; Media)
- Researching and understanding social inequalities
- Debates in contemporary society (e.g., Crime and deviance; Education; Religion)
The course will combine exciting lesson activities (with opportunities to conduct your own research) and personal studies. The assessment is 100% externally assessed through three written papers.
There will be enrichment opportunities (e.g., a visit to Cambridge Crown Court) to help contextualise students’ knowledge and understand why studying Sociology matters so much.
Subject Specific Entry Requirements
- Grade 6 in GCSE Sociology (if taken).
Where could Sociology take me?
Studying Sociology supports a range of careers: in law, journalism, police, support work, local government, surveying among others. It also suits very well higher education with refined transferable skills such as organisation, essay writing, oral and written argumentation skills.
Reading List
Books
- Gangleader for a Day – Sudhir Venkatesh
- Chavs – Owen Jones
- Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire – Akala
- Watching the English – Kate Fox
- Mind the Gap – Ferdinand Mount
- The Establishment and how they get away with it – Owen Jones
- Breadline Britain – Stewart Lansley
- Sociological Imagination – C Wright Mills
- Risk Society – Ulrich Beck
- This is London – Ben Judah
- McMafia – Misha Glenny
- Poverty Safari – Darren McGarvey
- Estates- Lynsey Hansley
- Brit(ish) – Afua Hirsch
- How To Be a Woman – Caitlin Moran
- Why I am no longer talking to white people about race – Reno Eddo-Lodge
- Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack – Paul Gilroy
- The Descent of Man – Grayson Perry
Films and Documentaries
- Child of Our Time (BBC)
- Secret Life of 4 / 5 year olds (Channel 4)
- Bowling for Columbine
- When They See Us (Netflix)
- Crime and Punishment Season (ITV)
- Flint Town (Netflix)
- Louis Theroux documentaries
- How The Other Kids Live (Channel 4)
- Teach Us All (Netflix)
- Dispatches (Channel 4)
- Films and Documentaries
- Banged Up: Teens Behind Bars (Channel 4)
- Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds (Channel 4)
- The Hostel for Homeless Young Mums (BBC)
- The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files (BBC)
- Stacey Dooley Investigates
- 63 Up (ITV)
- 12 Years A Slave
- The Help
- Erin Brokovich
- Films and Documentaries
- Sicko
- A Bug’s Life
- Chernobyl (Sky Atlantic)
- Freedom Writers
- McIntyre Undercover
- Girls Incarcerated: Young and Locked Up (Netflix)
Podcasts
- BBC Radio 4: Thinking Allowed – There are lots of episodes you could choose. Organised crime in the UK, The Class Ceiling, Gangs and spirituality, Marx and Marxism, The White Working Class. These are just some of the many you could choose from.
- BBC Radio 4: Woman’s Hour – again lots of episodes to choose from.
- BBC Radio 4: Analysis – There are lots of episodes here looking at different areas of sociology and analysing the data and arguments presented. The real gender pay gap, The Early Years Miracle, The problem with boys, Whiteness, The Forgotten half, Do children of married parents do better?
- The Sociology Show
