This course is about a lot more than just getting a qualification. Most students leave the course with a real sense of what their society and culture is all about and why they act and think in the way that they do. Discussion skills are much improved as students frequently have the opportunity to debate and listen to other points of view. Equally, we tend to see that a more confident and fluent written style has developed and that students are well-equipped for independent learning and research. Course Content Socialization, Culture & Identity The key themes of socialization, culture and identity are at the heart of this unit. An exploration of these will allow you to focus on your personal identity, roles and responsibilities within society and to develop a lifelong interest in social issues. We look at issues such as gender, disability, ethnicity, age, sexuality and social class and explore sociological reasons for the different identities in society. Our in-depth focus in this unit is ‘youth,’ where we consider various youth subcultures such as Skinheads and Punks alongside issues and debates in youth deviance. Researching & Understanding Social Inequalities This unit introduces and explores the methods of sociological research and develops your knowledge and understanding of social inequality and difference. It develops links between sociological theory and the practical methods of sociological research so you’ll begin to see what methods and approaches particular sociologists choose and why. When considering inequalities we look at contemporary issues such as the gender pay gap, the widening gap between rich and poor and the ethnic penalty. Debates in Contemporary Society In this unit we will examine some key debates and how these relate to a contemporary global society. We consider issues such as relationships and identity in an online age, the impact of globalization and the digital divide. In the second half of this unit, we focus on crime and deviance, a topic that our students love. We consider different types of crime, reasons for criminality and how society tries to solve the problem of crime. All in all this is a course that really considers the world in which we live and some of the key issues and debates that characterize both our wider society and our personal identities.