HUMANITIES | Culture and Beliefs
This Unit focuses on the personal and group beliefs, norms and values of different cultures and sub-groups. Many of the core ideas in this unit run through the whole GCSE Humanities course, as well providing strong links to other subjects in particular RE, Citizenship, History, Geography, English and many others. Core ideas are not in the Exam Board Specification and include ideas such as right and wrong, socialisation, responsible citizenship, right action and concepts such as global stewardship.
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Culture & Beliefs is broken into four main areas:
1. There are common and contrasting aspects of culture.
• Culture in the UK today. The similarities to and differences from at least one other European country
• A case study of culture in two contrasting societies: the UK today and one other (a primitive/less developed/historical example)
• Customs, traditions, norms, attitudes, values, religious beliefs and practices, rites of passage, identity, gender roles, communication, technology, social organisation
2. There is a wide variety of factors that influence an individual’s culture and identity.
• The influence of primary and secondary agents of socialisation on the individual and their identity in the UK and in a contrasting culture (historical/primitive/international)
• The contrasting evidence in the nature and nurture debate
• Education, family, peer group, mass media, religion, ethnicity, work, role models
• Genetic and environmental influence
3. Interaction between cultures can bring benefits and can cause conflict and change.
• An international/historical case study examining the causes and effects of migration
• An outline of immigration into the UK, including its causes and effects
• The impact and challenges of living in the UK’s multicultural, democratic society today
• Push and pull factors, immigration, emigration, multiculturalism, nationality, human rights, freedoms, refugees, cost/benefits, rights and responsibilities, ethnic minority groups, citizenship, shared values
4. Individuals and groups have different beliefs, attitudes and values.
A case study evaluating at least one cultural, moral, political, religious or social issue. The case study should include:
• an exploration of what the issue is
• groups with different perspectives
• reasons why the groups hold their views
• the student’s own evaluation of the issue
Centres may choose issues listed below or others which allow a range of perspectives to be explored:
• abortion • euthanasia• animal rights• crime and punishment• censorship• life after death• is there a God?• genetic engineering• monarchy• medical ethics
Case Studies
You will need to be able to recall detailed examples from the following case studies you have learned about in lessons.
The Amish – A Protestant group in America, largely around Pennsylvania, descended from German immigrants. They live in isolated farming communities cut off from mainstream modern everyday life. They do not have modern technology, they have pacifist beliefs and are wary of strangers from outside their community.
The Yanomami – A tribe living deep in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. They were undiscovered until the end of the 20th C. This first contact with the rest of the World has brought immense challenges to the Yanomami people and their way of life. They were and largely still are, self-sufficient feeding and farming the rainforest.
Dog Girl - Oxana Malaya was a girl thought to be socialised by a pack of dogs, she was discovered feral.
William: Child of our time – Part of a documentary by Prof.Robert Winston charting the development and socialisation of a boy as part of a family. William develops traits from his father.
| Humanities Sourcebooklet | C&B Weblinks | Youtube channel | Yanomami Revision | Yanomami Revision Quiz |