About this day
For A-level students
Due to popular demand, our outstanding enrichment day for enthusiastic A-level Sociology students will be coming to the Midlands this year! In a cutting-edge and inspiring programme, leading sociologists and academics will address a range of challenging and powerful questions on how society functions, the factors which influence our choices and how we experience life. Presenting a unique opportunity for students to immerse themselves in today’s big sociological issues, this day will take students beyond their classroom experience, and leave them buzzing with new ideas and fresh perspectives.
Topics covered will include race, education, feminism, gender, crime and deviance, identity and disability. This exciting day will be chaired by Professor Pete Fussey from the University of Essex and will include an invaluable lunchtime exam session to propel students to even greater success.
Programme & speakers
Feminism, gender and society Ann Oakley, Sociologist and Writer
Award-winning sociologist and writer Professor Ann Oakley will present a fascinating session on feminism and the impact of gender within the family and society. There will be plenty of opportunity for audience questions.
About Professor Ann Oakley
Ann Oakley is a writer and a sociologist. She is best known for her work on sex, gender and social science and has written numerous academic works and many novels. She is founder-director of and Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the Social Science Research Unit, UCL Social Research Institute. In 2011 the British Sociological Association awarded her one of their first Lifetime Achievement Awards for her extraordinary contribution to the history of the development of sociology in Britain.
How has Black Lives Matter affected racism in education? Kalwant Bhopal, University of Birmingham
This lecture will explore the impact of Black Lives Matter on education. It will argue that Black Lives Matter created a backlash which worked to perpetuate a system of white supremacy in education.
About Professor Kalwant Bhopal
Kalwant Bhopal is Professor of Education and Social Justice at the University of Birmingham. Her research focuses on processes of racism, exclusion and marginalisation in white spaces. Her book, White Privilege: the myth of a post-racial society, came out in 2018 and her most recent book is Race and Education.
What's so sociological about disability? Tom Shakespeare CBE, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Tom will show how ‘disability’ is ripe for sociological analysis, from the point of view of medical sociology, social policy, cultural sociology, or political sociology. But it’s not just an academic issue; it’s about changing lives and transforming the world.
About Professor Sir Tom Shakespeare CBE
Tom Shakespeare is a Professor of Disability Research. His primary research interests are in disability studies, medical sociology, and social and ethical aspects of genetics. He has focused on qualitative research about the lives of disabled people and the barriers that they face and led projects about disability and sexuality.
What is to be done about gender-based violence? Marian Duggan, University of Kent
This session explores the complexities inherent in recognising, responding to, and reducing gender-based violence. We’ll explore the impact of an increasingly digital world on the links between online and offline gender-based harms. We’ll also examine the strengths and limitations of criminal justice approaches to violence against women to assess whether increased criminalisation can keep people safe.
About Dr Marian Duggan
Marian Duggan is Reader in Criminology at the University of Kent and Publications Chair for the British Society of Criminology. Dr Duggan researches UK-based sexual and domestic violence prevention policies and initiatives, including Clare’s Law. She has published a selection of books, chapters and journal articles on domestic violence, hate crime, homophobia and victim policy.
Seven typical British children today - injustice and hope Danny Dorling, University of Oxford
If we found seven typical children to represent today’s UK, who would they be? What would their stories reveal? Imagine these children were born in the autumn of 2018, they would be aged six today and at school. Amid a devastating cost-of-living crisis, this could be a depressing story, when even the best-off of the seven is disadvantaged. Yet aspirations endure, and there are many signs that things could be getting better. What do we miss when we focus only on the super-rich and the most deprived? What kinds of lives are British children living between the extremes? But the situation of children never improves without concerted action. So, how can we reverse the trends that have in recent years been leaving most children worse off than their parents?
About Professor Danny Dorling
Danny Dorling is a sociologist, social geographer and the Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography at Oxford University. He has co-authored dozens of books and journals on social inequalities. His work concerns housing, health, employment, education and poverty and his most recent book, Seven Children, was published in 2024.