Interesting Reading - "Risk" by Dan Gardner

A few of you have been asking about things to do/read/see to support university applications or as extension.

I have been reading the book "Risk" by Dan Gardner today and highly recomment it. It goes beyond the material covered in the book but is a fascinating account, combining pyschological and sociological research, of how we perceive risk and how this shapes our perception of the world. There are some links directly to our course - for example, Chapter 6 "The Herd Senses Danger", has some interesting examples relating to science as a belief system (A2 unit). Did you know that male scientists are less likely to see nuclear power as risky than female scientists? The sociological and cultural reasons for this are explored and clearly explained.

Well worth reading.

Mr C

For when we do education

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25243274

Interesting, both in terms of feminism and the nature of childhood in some ways.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25138455

Birth rate in the twentieth century

Don't know if this will help you guys but i just found this article on births in the twentieth century.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16853368

Extra links for Migration trends

http://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/briefings/impact-migration-uk-population-growth

and

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/9713954/Interactive-graphic-how-UK-migration-has-changed-1964-2011.html

You may or may not find these useful!

Are we returning to a Victorian ('adult') childhood? BBC news article.

The following article was on the BBC news this week, about sexual behaviour and assault amongst children and links to some of Postman's ideas.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25090896

Russell Brand and Jeremy Paxman

Now, ever since I watched this when it aired on T.V, I haven't stopped discussing it with my parents, so I thought getting some ideas from you lot would be really interesting.
So if you scroll down to the bottom of the article, it is the actual clip if you haven't seen it already.
I think this links with Marxism and I just wanted to know your reactions to this:
Do you agree? Why?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2507888/Jeremy-Paxman-Russell-Brand-right-40-alienated-politicians-vote.html

The future of childhood

Is the concept of childhood becoming less and less visible or is there still a very clear divide between childhood and adulthood?

Does the family oppress women?

So after that shocking lesson today, What is your opinion on the family? Do you believe it oppresses women or is the women's role part of society's functioning? Who's perspective do you most favour and why?

Why do you think the word 'feminist' is seen often as negative?

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2013/sep/27/david-cameron-caught-out-f-word-feminist
In this article, David Cameron shows his reluctance to label himself as 'feminist'. Why might this be?
What do you think of his use of the phrase "Classic male childcare."?

New edition of Sociology Review now in...

... can't take it away as it is too new, but you are welcome to read in the Humanities Area and any articles you find useful I am happy to copy.

Find articles on:

The age of the 'super-dad'.
Childhood
Concept Checklist:  The Family
Why is sociology so important?

Mr C

Feminism

What feminist theory do you think is the most relevent for Modern Britain?

False Consciousness

Do you believe in false consciousness?

Nuclear or extended?

If the nuclear family is the more common type in the modern era is this the same in every society or does it vary depending on where you live, and which is better?

Do a couple need to be married to be classed as a family?

Murdock or Parsons - who has the better definition of a family?

¨Would Parsons’ definition include any more families than Murdock’s?

¨Can you think of any historical examples to support Parsons?

¨What has happened to those “functions” no longer fulfilled by the family? Has the need gone away?

¨Can you think of any objections/counter-examples?

Collective Child-rearing

What are your thoughts?

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/19/kibbutz-child-noam-shpancer

Do we still need the family?

To what extent have the functions of the family been taken over by other social institutions such as the education system, social services and the NHS?  Do we really need families any more?

How much control should the government have over the family?

If we agree that the family is of fundamental importance to the rearing of children and the stability of adults, how much control should society be able to exercise over it?  Can we step in if they are not raising their children properly?  If adults are thinking about getting divorced can society act to prevent this?  What if a couple want to have children but are not suitable, could we stop it?