Sociology AS

Brief revision notes

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Functionalism

  • Families = good -They create structure for society
  • Pre industrial - families work together = unit of production
  • After industrialisation - gender roles, family didn't work together, worked in factories
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Young and Willmott

  • Stage 1 -   Pre industrial - unit of production - Nuclear
  • Stage 2 -   Early industrial - no longer unit of production - Extended
  • Stage 3 -  After industrialisationSymmetrical
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Parsons

  • Pre Industrial =  Unit of production - extended
  • Nuclear = Unit of consumption - loss of functions, gender roles, isolated
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Murdock

Nuclear family performs funtions

  • Reproductive - making second generation
  • Sexual - controlling sexual activity
  • Education- primary socialisation
  • Economic- teaches children about going to work and earning money

* Criticism - not all families are nuclear

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Marxism

Ruling class vs working class

  • Society based on money
  • Family=bad
  • The family teahces communism and capitalism
  • The family is a unit of consumption that contributes to capitalism
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Feminism

  • Patriarchy = men dominant
  • Fight for their rights

Marxist feminist

  • Discrimination come from capitalism
  • Women used as cheap labour
  • Just there to produce children
  • Reliant on the husband

Radical feminist

  • Blame relationships for discrimination
  • Men are in control
  • Men are violent towards women
  • Men = the enemy
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Divorce

  • Laws make it cheaper to get divorce
  • Legal aid
  • Reform act - 1989
  • Socially acceptable
  • Religion is not as popular- not strict about divorce

People get divorce beacuse of empty shell marriages, when the marriage is no longer loving.

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Marriage

  • Used to be not loving
  • But now people want more out of a marriage
  • Women are now less dependant so they can leave the marriage and support themselves
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The New Right

  • Traditional views
  • Family = good
  • Believe in no cohabitation , divorce or homosexuals = bad
  • Strict labour division
  • Conjugal roles

However they believe the famiy is now bad because it is no longer traditional or nuclear.

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Chester

Against the New Right

The family still

  • have values
  • want marriage
  • cohabitate that leads to marriage
  • are nuclear and symmetrical

 -The Neo conventional family

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Rapoports

Disagree with Chester

All families are different

  • cultural
  • generational 
  • social class
  • religion
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Demographic change

The study of population in an area

The UK has seen migration because of

  • Slave trade
  • People from the British Empire
  • From the European Union

The UK is now more multicultural

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Birth Rate

Less children are being born

  • Women are choosing not to have children
  • Having children at a later life

Decline in infant mortality rates

  • Better health care
  • Better diet
  • Better housing

Children used to work but now they cannot.

Past - Economic assets

Now - Economic liability

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Life expectancy

Past - 49 years old

Now- 81 years old

There are now more old people.

Decline in death rate

  • better food
  • better sanitation
  • better housing

Retirement at an older age- paying taxes longer and taking less of out of pension. Government saving money.

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Social Policies

1945- 1979 (equality)

  • No policies for the family
  • Great depression
  • lots of problems
  • welfare state comes along to get rid of the problems

1979-1997 (reform)

  • New Right
  • traditional
  • people are too reliant on benefits
  • introduce child support

1997- 2010 (equality)

  • Help people into work- working tax credit
  • sure start- help deprived families
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Social construction of childhood

Pre industrial 

  • children- economic asset
  • no toys
  • same as adults

Industrialisation

  • work in factories
  • laws later banned this

After industrialisation

  • children have more rights and laws
  • 1989 children act
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March of progress

Western societies- children have improved life

  • better values
  • protected
  • cared for
  • child centred
  • have laws and policies

Marxists - working class children benefit less

Feminists - girls benefit less- protected more

All children are not equal.

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Comments

Katie Hays

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Sorry for the few spelling mistakes

sade

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Thanks a lot

Kherun

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got everything that is in the AQA book, simple and understandable notes.

Thank you

Jay

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Very nice, thank you 

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