"Break Every Chain" Tasha Cobbs, First Baptist Church of Glenarden

"Take Me to the King" Tamela Mann, First Baptist Church of Glenarden

Essay Map for Gender and Crime Question

Essay Map – A2 Sociology OCR Unit 3

Outline and assess sociological explanations of gender differences in patterns of crime. [50]

Introduction

Official statistics support sociological arguments that there are gender differences in patterns of crime, in 2002 over 80% of know offenders where men.  The total prison population on 30 June 2011 stood at 85,374 offenders - of this women accounted for 5%, a consistent figure with the four preceding years. 21% of women in prison under immediate custodial sentence were serving sentences of 12 months or less compared with 10% of men. (The Guardian 2012)  Clearly crime is gendered, nevertheless it can be asserted that official statistics on gender differences in crime may not be valid as critics have noted that very little victimisation is reported to the police. Nevertheless,  some earlier sociological explanations of crime such as Pollack chivalry thesis has asserted that women’s crime are underestimated because they have been treated more leniently.  Although Hood offers some support for this view, regardless others have argued that some of the gender differentials in crime statistics may be as a result of the fact that women tend to commit less serious crime than men and thus are less likely to convicted and imprisoned.  Additionally functionalists such as Parsons asserted that the gendered pattern of crime is a result of gender role socialisation.  Moreover, feminists especially Marxist feminist such as Carlen and Heidensohn have argued women are often victims of crime and for women who are perpetrators of crime this may be a result of poverty and rejection of the class and gender deal.  Such women are perceived as doubly deviant and subject to greater risk of criminalisation and imprisonment.  Messerschmidt using the work of Connell has provided an insightful if tautological analysis of masculinity and crime.   Finally postmodernist such as Smart have asserted that the gendered nature of crime can only truly be understood through transgressive criminology and the movement outside of malestream criminology. Make your judgement    

Main Body

Paragraph 1

Briefly discuss statistics and gender differences in crime

Comparison of victimisation and self-report studies

(Support with Graham and Bowling)

Discussion of the accuracy of the official statistics,

Assess the usefulness of such statistics on gender differences in crime

Paragraph 2

Examine male patterns of crime

The importance of sub-cultures, studies – Merton, Cohen, Cloward & Ohlin, Matza (functionalism)

Criticisms of sub-cultural approaches

Labelling, Marxist, Left Realism and or Postmodernism

Link to the question

Paragraph 3

Outline Messerschmidt and Connell’s analysis of hegemonic masculinity

Support with Katz and Lyng, Winlow

Evaluate the tautological issues of this approach suggest usefulness

Link back to the question

Paragraph 4

Typically female crimes such as shop lifting are less likely to be reported. For example property crime is less likely to be noticed or reported than the violent or sexual crimes committed by men. Similarly prostitution, committed by more women is more likely to go unreported. Even when women’s crimes are reported they’re less likely to be prosecuted.

Assess the question with Pollack –outline his theory “chivalry thesis”

Support with Hood and Campbell

Analysis with Farrington and Morris

Critique the validity of his theory – nature of criminal act/doubly deviant

Link back to the question

Paragraph 5

The impact of feminism on female crime,

Adler – outline her theory “liberation thesis” 

Critique the validity of her theory – crime statistics suggest most crime is working class

“Women and social control” - Feminists Heidensohn, Carlen, Worrall and Walklate (control theory)

Link back to the question

Paragraph 6

Smart’s transgressive criminology

Critique the validity of her theory

Link back to the question

Conclusion

Clearly there are distinct and apparent gender differences in patterns of crime, which has meant that criminology has come to be labelled as malestream by feminists.  Nevertheless more recent studies, such as Messerschmidt or Carlen over the past 30 years have examined and suggested insightful explanations for gender differences in patterns of crime, whilst such theories may have explicitly provided sociological explanations for long ignored gender differences in patterns of crime.  Yet they still especially Messeschmidt’s approach hold some deep seated tautological weaknesses which limits their usefulness as a sociological explanation of gender differences in crime.

Paragraph 6 is not essential as it may not be possible to include this in 45 minutes

Mark Scheme

Candidates are expected to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of sociological explanations of gender differences in patterns of crime. They will address both male and female patterns of crime and they will deploy relevant theories accurately and in detail. Candidates are likely to discuss issues such as the official statistics on gender differences in criminal activity, victimisation and self-report studies, the importance of sub-cultures, the impact of feminism on female crime, masculinity and crime, women and social control. By way of evaluation, expect to see discussion of the accuracy of the official statistics, whether female crime is increasing, comparisons with victimisation and self report studies, the validity of the chivalry thesis and criticisms of sub-cultural approaches. Explanations may include; Theories: Feminism, Marxism, Postmodernism, cultural theory, control theory, etc. Concepts such as: Artefact, biology, chivalry, deindustrialisation, femininity, focal concerns, gender stereotyping, labelling, masculinity, self report studies, status frustration, subcultures, etc. Studies such as: Adler, Alien, Box, Campbell, Carlen, Carrabine, Connell, Farrington & Morris, Graham & Bowling, Heidensohn, Hood, Messerschmidt, Pollak, Smart, Walklate, 

How to tackle a turning point essay

A2 OCR History F966/02 Russia and her Rulers

How to tackle a turning point essay

Turning Point Essays

·         In the June 2011 and January 2012 Chief Examiner’s reports these essays have been identified as causing candidates problems.

·         This is because ‘they simply produce a list of possible turning points and then analyse each one in turn, but this does not allow synthesis or comparison between different turning points’.

·         In other words although 4 or 5 possible turning points are discussed, each has its own separate paragraph with comparison missing until the end.

·         The Chief Examiner recommends 2 good approaches:

·         Select 4 or 5 major events and then approach the essay thematically by analysing their impact in terms of issues such as political, social, economic etc. In this way candidates will ensure that they compare the events in each paragraph and can conclude that event X might be most important in terms of political change, but event Y is more important in terms of economic development.

·         However this approach is hard to use if the question specifies ‘most important turning point in the development of Russian government’. Then writing about social or economic developments seriously damages the essay.

·         The Chief Examiner recommends 2 good approaches:

·         Select 4 or 5 major events and then analyse events separately, but in each paragraph make comparison with both the named turning point in the essay question and with other possible turning points so that synthesis is clearly present.

•         ‘Unfortunately some candidates still use abbreviations such as Alex II, AIII, N2 or PG; some even state at the start that this is what they will do. This short-hand neither looks good nor reads well’.

Chief Examiner’s Report – June 2011

·         A turning point essay requires you to focus on a specific event or individual, as being the most significant or important event or turning point during the period of Russia history from 1855 to 1964.

·         For instance Stalin, being an important turning point

·         Question styles

·         Government before / after 1917

·         Aims – what did each ruler want to achieve

·         Methods – how did each ruler rule; their policies (reform / repression)

·         Outcomes – how successful was each ruler in achieving their aims

·         Essays asking whether one ruler was better than the rest at ‘something specific’.

·         Essays comparing the nature of Russian government before and after 1917

·         TURNING POINT essays especially related to turning points in how Russia was governed

·         Essays about opposition

·         Which ruler / regime controlled opposition most successfully

·         When and why was opposition more / less successful

·         Living and working conditions – society and the economy

·         Peasants

·         Proletariat                          (or BOTH together)

·         Essays about whether WARS or REVOLUTIONS changed Russian government most

•         Turning Point Essays, The Tsarist and Communist Rulers

•         A good case could be made that Alexander II’s accession to the throne in 1855 was a significant turning point in the government of Russia. His decision to ‘reform from above’ led to the Emancipation Edict in 1861. In one fell swoop he ended serfdom and brought Russia and its peasants out of medieval feudalism.

•         However, this case is flawed. The inadequacies of emancipation were quickly apparent. The lives of the peasants remained grim as exemplified by the famine of 1891.

•         For the purposes of an essay about RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT is it relevant? How can you make this relevant? by explaining how freeing the serfs led to changes in government?

•         In 1881 the assassination of Alexander II, the ‘Tsar Liberator’, brought a final end to the period of reform dominated by his emancipation of the serfs in 1861. His successor, Alexander III, ruled repressively and autocratically; his reign is often referred to as ‘the Reaction’.

•         It has been argued that the assassination of Alexander II marked the last chance that the Romanovs might reform sufficiently to save their doomed dynasty. This argument has some validity but Alexander II, faced with a rising tide of opposition abandoned any serious attempt to reform and modernise Russia long before the Peoples Will sentenced him to death.

•         Alexander III’s reactionary policies restored stability during his reign, but as Trotsky has argued, his legacy to Nicholas II was to be the revolutions of 1905 and 1917.

•         The Romanovs were on collision course with catastrophe; Alexander II’s assassination was a significant event but it was not the most important turning-point in the development of Russian government in this period.

•         The Russian Revolution of 1905 led to the October Manifesto, the apparent abandonment of autocracy and introduction of a constitution & the formation of the Duma, 4 of which existed between 1906 and 1917.

•         It could be argued that this was an important turning-point in the development of Russian government because it was the only period in which Russian government deviated from its autocratic / dictatorial norm.

•         However, Nicholas II’s announcement of the Fundamental Laws and reassertion of autocracy before the Duma had even sat, his sacking of the first two Dumas within months of the elections and his blatant rigging of subsequent elections for the third and fourth Dumas all suggest that this was a façade.

•         Nicholas II announced the October Manifesto as a ‘divide and rule’ strategy to avoid being overthrown in 1905. The differences this made to the reality of absolute rule were negligible and short-lived.

•         The ending of autocracy when Nicholas II abdicated in February 1917 gave Russian Government a window of opportunity in which to develop a constitutional and democratic model.

•         However the Provisional Government made so many mistakes that it was swept aside in October before the planned elections to the new Constitutional Assembly could take place.

•         The revolutions of 1917 profoundly changed the course of Russian history, ending the Romanov dynasty and creating the world’s first communist state. Even if Berdiaev was correct when stating that ‘All of the past is repeating itself, and acts only behind new masks’, this was a fundamental change of significant importance in Russian and world history.

•         The replacement of autocratic Tsarism with the world’s first communist government during the revolutions of 1917 was of major importance. By 1956 a significant part of the world was communist and predominantly under the direct influence of the USSR. All of this was a direct result of the events of 1917 and the Bolshevik seizure of power.

•         Lenin seized power in October 1917, finally ending the liberal dream that Russia might develop a constitutional / democratic government in the period studied.

•         He established the world’s first communist state and destroyed the power of the old elites – the Russian Orthodox Church and the landowning class; everyone was a ‘comrade’ now;

•         However his dictatorial style of government, including his banning of factions in the Communist Party and crushing of the Kronstadt Revolt owed much to the ‘autocratic’ model, winning him the label the “red tsar”.

•         Stalin’s rise to power was of immense significance.

•         Stalin’s acquisition of total power had a huge impact as the countless victims of de-kulakisation, the terror, the gulags and the Show Trials could testify. As Khrushchev admitted in 1956 under Stalin ‘Soviet citizens came to fear their own shadows’. Stalin’s betrayal of the principles of the revolution led to what Lynch has described as ‘the replacement of one form of state authoritarianism by another’.

•         Since the opening up of the old Soviet archives many historians now claim that Stalinism grew directly out of Leninism, Volkogonov, stating: ‘everything done in Russia after Lenin’s death was done according to his blueprint’.

•         Khrushchev’s announcement of de-Stalinisation in his ‘secret speech’ of 1956 promised the Russian people reform from above.

•         Khrushchev’s ‘Thaw’ was a welcome respite after the brutal excesses of Stalin but his reforms didn’t lead to a significant overhaul of the communist system.

•         In 1956 Khrushchev crushed the Hungarian Revolt despite his criticisms of Stalin’s regime and his announcement of ‘peaceful co-existence’.

Task 1

·         Using the above notes plan and write in timed conditions (with and without notes) the following turning point questions.

1.      How far do you agree that the October revolution of 1917 was the most important turning point in the development of Russia government in the period from 1855 to 1964? (June 2010)

2.      “The nature of Russia government was changed more by Stalin than any other ruler.”  How far do you agree with this view of the period from 1855 to 1964? (January 2010)

3.      Stalin’s rise to power was the most important turning point in the development of Russian government.  How far do agree with this view of the period from 1855 to 1964? (June 2012)

The mumpreneur project: AS History Russia (OCR) Last Minute Tips

The mumpreneur project: AS History Russia (OCR) Last Minute Tips: 1.        There are 4 main topics that you need to know and could be asked a question on; 2.        You will only be question on three ...

AS History Russia (OCR) Last Minute Tips

1.       There are 4 main topics that you need to know and could be asked a question on;

2.       You will only be question on three

a.        The Tsars

                                                               i.      social, economic, political policies, opposition and unrest, (1894-1905/1905-1914)

                                                             ii.      1905 revolution – causes and consequences, stability/restoration of authority between 1905-1914 (remember this stability was more apparent than real)

                                                            iii.      Reasons for abdication

                                                           iv.      Role of world war I

b.      The Provisional Government

                                                               i.      Impact of World War I

                                                             ii.      Weaknesses or reasons for failure of provisional government

                                                            iii.      Assess the reasons for the March/October 1917 revolution

                                                           iv.      Strengths of the Bolsheviks

                                                             v.      Role of the Peasants

c.       Bolsheviks/Communists

                                                               i.      Why where they able to seizure power in October 1917

                                                             ii.      Strengths of the Red/Trotsky/Red Army

                                                            iii.      Lenin’s strengths and weakness

                                                           iv.      War communism

                                                             v.      NEP

                                                           vi.      Lenin’s consolidation of power

                                                          vii.      Lenin and Red Terror

                                                        viii.      Why they were able to win the civil war?  Strength of Reds, Lenin/Trotsky/Red Army/ Weakness of Whites and Greens, unpatriotic, Role of foreign intervention

                                                           ix.      Assess reasons for why the won the … Civil War, October Revolution etc..

                                                             x.      How they consolidated power

                                            

d.      Stalin

                                                               i.      Rise to power

                                                             ii.      Leadership debate

                                                            iii.      Stalin’s consolidation of power

                                                           iv.      Great terror

                                                             v.      Stalin’s economic policies – 5 year plans, collectivisation

                                                           vi.      Show trials

                                                          vii.      Social costs of Stalin’s economic policies.

                                          

3.       Remember you only have 45 minutes so use your time wisely

a.       Plan your essay within 5 minutes

b.      Leave 5 minutes at the end to read through

c.       You have 35 minutes to write the full essay

                                                               i.      So spend 5 minutes on your introduction

1.       Define any key terms

2.       Explain what they main arguments are offering a balanced overview

3.       Make a judgement

                                                             ii.      Spend 5 minutes on each paragraph

1.       Remember to PEEEL your arguments and sustain your analysis and evaluation throughout.

2.       Remember to evaluate the usefulness of the point you are making with a different point or interpretation and repeat for each paragraph.

3.       Then link back to the question at the end of each paragraph in your mini-conclusion, suggesting which is the most credibly, persuasive and compelling argument and why.

4.       In your first paragraph tackle the most significant factor

5.       Discuss the less significant factors in your other paragraphs and make that explicit

6.       If there is a trigger or catalyst factor, or short-term factor, please explain that.

7.       If there is a longer-term factor that is secondary but was deeply significant factor, explain that.

8.       Have 4/5 paragraphs in your main body, each paragraph tackling a different factor

9.       DO NOT SAY ALL FACTORS ARE SIGNIFICANT, THEY CANNOT BE

10.   Don’t forget to write a conclusion, recap on the main issues and answer the question with your judgment.  Remember there is no right answer.