New social norms revealed by Twitter data?

It is possible to analyse qualitative social media data to reveal social trends in attitudes.  Twitter recently released an analysis of the content of 4 billion tweets made over the past three years, from users based in the United States. (Source) The fastest growing theme which Twitter users are talking about is ‘creator culture’, with … Continue reading “New social norms revealed by Twitter data?”

Education and social control

How do schools try to control pupils? Some of the ways include academic surveillance, CCTV, teaching British Values. Prevent and the use of isolation units. It also explores how effective schools are as agents of social control.

The Sociology of Halloween 2019

Halloween’s not a huge deal in the United Kingdom, but it is still an annual festival/ ritual that everyone recognizes, and I imagine most people can relate to it having gone trick or treating as kid? At the very least you’ll likely be exposed to it via Strictly’s Halloween Special. Some stats on Halloween One … Continue reading “The Sociology of Halloween 2019”

Karen Armstrong – September 11th 2001, Islam and the West

Karen Armstrong argues that there is no inherent incompatibility between the Western and Islamic world, but sees economic and political factors as the main reasons for increasing tensions in recent decades. Armstrong’s arguments can be used to criticise Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civlizations’ thesis, which sees increasing conflict between different cultures/ religions as an inevitable outcome … Continue reading “Karen Armstrong – September 11th 2001, Islam and the West”

Is religion a conservative force?

For the purposes of A-level sociology, ‘conservative’ usually has two meanings: Preventing social change Supporting traditional values. We might also add a third: modest, reserved, austere, not showy. On important analytical point is that some Fundamentalist groups want to reverse some social changes that have undermined the role of religion in society, taking society back … Continue reading “Is religion a conservative force?”

Goop – New Age Nonsense?

The Good Thinking Society, a charity which campaigns against pseudo-science has recently reported Gwneth Paltrow’s Goop to UK watchdogs, because it believes some of the wellness products the site sells are actually harmful. Probably the best example of this is a product called ‘The Mother Load’ which lists 110% of the recommended daily value of … Continue reading “Goop – New Age Nonsense?”

Applying material from the item, analyse two reasons for gender differences in the membership of religious organisations.

This is one possible example of a 10 mark ‘with item’ question which could come up in the AQA’s A level sociology paper 2: topics in sociology (section B: beliefs in society option).  Read the item, and then answer the question below. Item Feminists have criticized many traditional religions such as Christianity and Islam for … Continue reading “Applying material from the item, analyse two reasons for gender differences in the membership of religious organisations.”

Evaluate the view that religious beliefs and organisations are barriers to social change (20)

The above question appears on the AQA’s 2016 Paper 2 Specimen Paper. The Question and the Item (as on the paper) Read Item B and answer the question that follows. Item B Many sociologists argue that religious beliefs and organisations act as conservative forces and barriers to social change. For example, religious doctrines such as … Continue reading “Evaluate the view that religious beliefs and organisations are barriers to social change (20)”

Outline and explain two ways in which religion might promote social change

This is a suggested answer to the first type of 10 mark question you’ll find in section A of the AQA’s second sociology paper (paper 2, topics in sociology). For some general advice on how to answer (both types of) 10 mark questions – please see this post.  A 10 mark question (which has no … Continue reading “Outline and explain two ways in which religion might promote social change”

Outline and explain two reasons why some groups are more likely to join World Rejecting New Religious Movements than others (10)

This is a suggested answer to the first type of 10 mark question you’ll find in section A of the AQA’s second sociology paper (paper 2, topics in sociology). It’s good practice to firstly identify a type of group and then try to link them to a specific world rejecting NRM (or more than one … Continue reading “Outline and explain two reasons why some groups are more likely to join World Rejecting New Religious Movements than others (10)”