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Debates in contemporary society (Component 3, Section A)

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What is globalisation, and how do hyperglobalist, pessimist and transformationalist theories explain it?

Component 3 Section A: the concept of globalisation in its economic, cultural and political dimensions, and the competing theoretical positions of hyperglobalists (optimists), pessimists (sceptics) and transformationalists.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Component 3 guide to globalisation. Covers the economic, cultural and political dimensions, and the hyperglobalist, pessimist and transformationalist theories (Held, Giddens, Castells, Harvey), with the concepts of time-space compression and the network society and the exam skills the debates paper rewards.
15 min answer →

Is global culture leading to homogenisation, or does it produce hybridity and glocalisation?

Component 3 Section A: the impact of globalisation on culture and identity, including cultural homogenisation and Americanisation, McDonaldisation, cultural imperialism, and the alternative of cultural hybridity and glocalisation.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Component 3 guide to global culture and identity. Covers cultural homogenisation and Americanisation, Ritzer's McDonaldisation, cultural imperialism, the global village (McLuhan), and the alternative of cultural hybridity and glocalisation (Robertson), with the debate and exam skills the debates paper rewards.
14 min answer →

How has digital technology transformed surveillance, and what does this mean for power, privacy and freedom?

Component 3 Section A: surveillance and the digital social world, including Foucault's disciplinary power and the panopticon, the surveillance society, big data, and surveillance capitalism.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Component 3 guide to surveillance and the digital world. Covers Foucault's disciplinary power and the panopticon, Lyon's surveillance society, big data and social sorting, and Zuboff's surveillance capitalism, with the debate about power, privacy and freedom and the exam skills the debates paper rewards.
14 min answer →

Does the digital world reproduce inequality through a digital divide, and how is identity constructed online?

Component 3 Section A: the digital divide and digital inequality, and the construction of identity online, including the presentation of self, online community and the postmodern view of consumption and hyperreality.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Component 3 guide to the digital divide and online identity. Covers inequalities of digital access and use by class, age and global region, online presentation of self (Goffman), online community (Turkle), and the postmodern view of consumption and hyperreality (Baudrillard, Bauman), with the exam skills the debates paper rewards.
14 min answer →

How has the digital revolution changed communication and social life, and do optimists or pessimists better describe its effects?

Component 3 Section A: the digital revolution and new media, including the shift to digital and social media, the network society, and the optimistic and pessimistic views of the digital social world.
An OCR A-Level Sociology Component 3 guide to the digital revolution and new media. Covers digital communication, social media and the prosumer, the network society (Castells), and the optimistic versus pessimistic debate including e-democracy, misinformation and corporate control (Cornford and Robins), with the exam skills the debates paper rewards.
15 min answer →