A-Level Sociology — Culture, Socialisation & Stratification

Culture and socialisation

• Culture (norms, values, beliefs, customs); subculture, high/popular/mass culture, cultural diversity and hybridity; the effect of globalisation on culture.
• Socialisation: primary (family) and secondary (education, peers, media, religion, workplace); nature vs nurture (feral children, cross-cultural evidence); social control (formal/informal sanctions).

The acquisition of identity

• Identity is socially constructed through socialisation and interaction; sources - class, gender, ethnicity, age, nationality, sexuality.
• Structural views (identity shaped by society) vs social action (identity negotiated/constructed - labelling, the self) vs postmodern (identity as fluid, chosen and consumption-based).

Key debates

• How far identity is imposed vs chosen; the impact of globalisation, media and consumption on modern identity.

Applying it

• Use these ideas to underpin the study of families, education, stratification and change.

Analyse how culture is transmitted through socialisation and how identity is shaped by structure vs individual agency/choice, using structural, action and postmodern views.

Diagram