Post-modernity | AQA A-Level Sociology
Updated: 2 days ago
For Specification 7192
AQA A-Level Sociology | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time:Â 35 minutes
Post-modernity is part of the compulsory Theory and Methods content in AQA A-Level Sociology. This Post-modernity A-Level Sociology revision page focuses on how the concept is used in sociological theory, how it relates to claims about changes in contemporary society and how post-modern interpretations can be evaluated. It builds directly on modern society [Modernity] and contributes to AQA's wider requirement that students understand sociological theories, contemporary social processes and social change.
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Explain where post-modernity fits within AQA's Theory and Methods content.
Explain the relationship between post-modernity and sociological theory at the level supported by the specification.
Examine how claims about changes in contemporary society can be linked to sociological theory.
Apply post-modern interpretations to substantive sociological issues where appropriate.
Compare post-modernity with modernity.
Evaluate post-modern interpretations of contemporary society.
Revision Notes đź“š
Post-modernity A-Level Sociology revision: what AQA requires
AQA requires students studying Theory and Methods to examine:
consensus, conflict, structural and social action theories
the concepts of modernity and post-modernity in relation to sociological theory
the nature of science and the extent to which Sociology can be regarded as scientific
the relationship between theory and methods
debates about subjectivity, objectivity and value freedom
the relationship between Sociology and social policy.
The revision plan separates modernity and post-modernity into consecutive lessons. For this lesson, students are expected to:
explain post-modernity in relation to sociological theory
examine claims about changes in contemporary society
evaluate post-modern interpretations of society.
The focus is therefore not simply on describing social change. You need to consider how sociological theory interprets claims about contemporary society.
What is post-modernity?
The AQA specification identifies post-modernity as a concept that students must examine in relation to sociological theory.
Post-modernity and modernity
AQA deliberately places modernity and post-modernity together in the specification.
This means the concepts should be considered in relation to one another rather than learned as two entirely disconnected topics.
The previous lesson, modernity [Modernity], asks students to explain modernity in relation to sociological theory and evaluate its usefulness for understanding contemporary society.
This lesson develops that debate by considering claims about changes in contemporary society and evaluating post-modern interpretations.
Modernity | Post-modernity |
A concept AQA requires students to examine in relation to sociological theory | A concept AQA requires students to examine in relation to sociological theory |
Used when considering theoretical interpretations of modern society | Used when considering claims about changes in contemporary society |
Evaluated for its usefulness in understanding contemporary society | Post-modern interpretations themselves should be evaluated |
Provides an important point of comparison | Provides an alternative theoretical interpretation for comparison |
⚠️ The supplied specification does not provide a list of detailed differences between modern and post-modern society. Those differences should only be introduced from specification-supported course material.
Post-modernity and contemporary society
AQA makes contemporary UK society the central focus of the Sociology course.
Students should also consider:
comparative dimensions where relevant
the location of UK society within a globalised context.
This makes contemporary social change especially important when studying post-modernity.
When considering a post-modern interpretation, useful questions include:
What change in contemporary society is being claimed?
What sociological evidence is used to support the claim?
How does a post-modern interpretation explain or interpret that change?
Is the same evidence open to another theoretical interpretation?
How convincing is the post-modern explanation?
What conclusion can be reached about its usefulness?
This provides an evaluative framework without introducing theoretical details that are absent from the supplied sources.
Claims about changes in contemporary society
One of the learning objectives specifically requires students to examine claims about changes in contemporary society.
The AQA specification contains many examples of contemporary change across substantive areas.
These can provide contexts for theoretical application.
Education and social change
Students study:
educational policies
selection
marketisation
privatisation
equality of opportunity or outcome
the impact of globalisation on educational policy.
The lesson globalisation and educational policy [Globalisation and educational policy] therefore provides one possible substantive connection.
A student could identify a change in education and then consider how a theory of contemporary society interprets that change.
Culture and identity
Culture and Identity contains several areas concerned with contemporary social change, including:
popular culture
global culture
identity and difference
production
consumption
globalisation.
These are substantive areas in which broader theories about contemporary society might be applied.
When doing so, the key analytical question is:
How does the post-modern theory you have studied interpret the evidence?
Simply describing changes in identity or consumption would not by itself constitute an answer about post-modernity.
Families and households
Families and Households includes:
changing patterns of marriage and cohabitation
separation and divorce
childbearing
the life course
diversity of family and household structures
migration
globalisation.
These provide further examples of contemporary social change.
The correct examination approach is:
evidence of change → theoretical interpretation → analysis → evaluation
rather than:
evidence of change → assume post-modernity has been proved
đź“Ś Sociological evidence and sociological interpretation are not the same thing.
Work, poverty and welfare
AQA students taking this option examine:
the labour process
technology
skill and de-skilling
work and worklessness
the effects of globalisation.
Changes in work therefore provide another potential context for considering broader theoretical interpretations of contemporary society.
Again, the specification supports the topic connection, but not a specific post-modern argument.
Beliefs in society
Beliefs in Society includes:
religion and social change
contemporary religion and religiosity
secularisation
globalisation and the spread of religions.
These topics involve questions about continuity and change, making them suitable contexts for comparing broader theories of society where supported by course materials.
The media
The Media has particularly clear links to contemporary change because AQA requires students to study:
the new media
media and globalisation
popular culture
media representations
media content and audiences.
The existence of new media may therefore provide sociological evidence relevant to claims about changing society.
However:
Evidence that society has changed does not automatically prove one particular theoretical interpretation of that change.
This distinction is essential for evaluation.
Stratification and differentiation
Students studying Stratification and Differentiation examine:
social class, gender, ethnicity and age
class, status and power
life chances
changes in structures of inequality
globalisation
the transnational capitalist class
social mobility.
The lesson changing structures of inequality [Changing structures of inequality] is therefore another useful connection when examining theoretical claims about contemporary society.
A developed response would consider not only whether inequality has changed, but how competing theories interpret those changes.
Crime and deviance
Crime and Deviance includes:
globalisation and crime
media and crime
green crime
human rights and state crimes
surveillance
crime prevention and punishment.
The revision plan later includes modernity, post-modernity and crime [Modernity, post-modernity and crime], requiring students to:
apply ideas concerning modernity to crime and social control
apply ideas concerning post-modernity to contemporary crime
evaluate their usefulness for understanding crime and deviance.
This is an explicit synoptic link between the Theory and Methods content and Crime and Deviance.
Evidence of change versus interpretation of change
This distinction is particularly important for post-modernity.
Imagine that sociologists identify a change in family patterns, media use or work.
There are two separate sociological tasks:
Task 1: Establish the evidence
What has changed?
This concerns the substantive sociological evidence.
Task 2: Interpret the evidence
What does this change tell us about society?
This is where sociological theory becomes important.
Different theories may interpret the same evidence differently.
Therefore:
social change does not automatically demonstrate the correctness of a post-modern interpretation.
It provides evidence that the theoretical interpretation needs to explain.
Post-modernity and social structure
The course previously examined structural approaches [Structural theories].
AQA requires students to understand the significance of social structure and social action as well as modernity and post-modernity.
These theoretical debates may intersect when students evaluate different explanations of society.
However, the supplied specification does not state that post-modern approaches must be classified as structural or social action theories.
⚠️ Do not automatically assign theoretical labels without supporting course material.
Post-modernity and social action
Similarly, students have already studied social action approaches [Social action theories].
When evaluating post-modern interpretations, you may encounter questions about how behaviour, identity and social change should be explained.
The specification supports consideration of the wider structure-action debate, but it does not establish a specific relationship between post-modernity and social action theory.
Any detailed connection would therefore need to come from additional specification-supported teaching material.
Post-modernity and the two core themes
AQA requires two core themes to run throughout the course:
socialisation, culture and identity
social differentiation, power and stratification.
These themes remain relevant when considering post-modern interpretations.
Socialisation, culture and identity
When examining claims about contemporary change, ask whether the evidence concerns changes in:
socialisation
culture
identity.
These are recurring areas across the specification.
Social differentiation, power and stratification
Also consider whether the evidence relates to:
inequality
power
stratification
differences between social groups.
A theory of contemporary society should be evaluated partly by considering how well it helps explain the issues that Sociology actually studies.
Post-modernity and globalisation
Globalisation appears repeatedly throughout the AQA specification.
Students encounter it in relation to:
education
identity
families
work
religion
global development
media
stratification
crime.
AQA also states that contemporary UK society should be considered within its globalised context.
Globalisation can therefore provide important evidence when examining claims about contemporary social change.
However, the specification does not state that globalisation automatically demonstrates post-modernity or provide a specific post-modern explanation of globalisation.
Avoid turning a theoretical argument into an unsupported equation such as:
globalisation = post-modernity
Instead, explain how the particular post-modern theory you have studied interprets globalisation and then evaluate that interpretation.
From description to theoretical analysis
A weak response to a post-modernity question might list several changes in society.
For example:
family patterns have changed
new media exist
globalisation affects society.
These may all concern relevant specification areas, but a list of changes does not explain post-modernity.
A stronger response follows this sequence:
Identify the claim about social change.
Provide relevant sociological evidence.
Explain how a post-modern interpretation understands the change.
Compare it with an alternative theoretical interpretation.
Analyse whether the evidence supports one interpretation more strongly.
Reach a judgement.
This moves from AO1 and AO2 towards developed AO3.
Evaluating post-modern interpretations
The learning objectives require you to evaluate post-modern interpretations of society.
1. Ask whether the interpretation explains the evidence
AQA requires students to examine both:
sociological evidence
sociological explanations.
A post-modern interpretation should therefore be tested against relevant evidence from substantive topics.
Ask:
Does it help explain the change?
Does it account for the evidence convincingly?
Is some evidence more difficult for the interpretation to explain?
2. Compare with modernity
Because AQA explicitly pairs modernity with post-modernity, modern society [Modernity] provides an obvious comparison.
A developed response should explain the precise difference between the interpretations being considered.
Avoid statements such as:
"Modernity disagrees with post-modernity."
That is too vague.
Instead, establish what each theory claims about the particular social issue.
3. Consider different substantive areas
A theory of society may appear more convincing when applied to one issue than another.
For example, evidence from:
media
family life
education
inequality
crime
may not all lead to exactly the same judgement.
This allows a more nuanced conclusion about the usefulness of a broad theoretical interpretation.
4. Consider contemporary UK society
AQA makes contemporary UK society central to the qualification.
Evaluation should therefore keep asking whether the theory provides a convincing understanding of the society students are expected to study.
5. Consider global dimensions
The specification requires comparative and global dimensions where relevant.
An interpretation of contemporary society can therefore also be assessed in the context of globalisation.
6. Reach a supported judgement
AQA's Assessment Objective 3 (AO3)Â requires students to:
present arguments
make judgements
draw conclusions.
Your conclusion should therefore answer a genuine evaluative question:
How convincing is the post-modern interpretation?
Does it explain the evidence more effectively than an alternative?
Is it useful across all areas of contemporary society?
Does its usefulness vary depending on the issue?
The conclusion should arise from your analysis, rather than simply stating that "both sides have strengths and weaknesses".
Post-modernity and Theory and Methods
Post-modernity belongs within a broader Theory and Methods sequence.
After this lesson, students move to Sociology and science [Sociology and science], where they consider the nature of science and whether Sociology can be regarded as scientific.
Later topics include:
theory and methods
subjectivity and objectivity
value freedom
Sociology and social policy.
This wider sequence matters because AQA expects students to develop a critical understanding of theoretical and conceptual issues in sociological debate.
Post-modernity is therefore one part of a much broader question about how sociologists produce and evaluate explanations of society.
Exam application: AO1, AO2 and AO3
AQA's assessment objectives provide a clear structure for revising post-modernity.
AO1: Knowledge and understanding
Demonstrate accurate knowledge of:
the relevant post-modern interpretation
concepts and evidence needed for the question.
AO2: Application
Apply the theoretical interpretation to the specific issue in the question.
If the question concerns the media, for example, your answer should explain how the relevant theory interprets media-related social change, rather than giving a generic description of post-modernity.
AO3: Analysis and evaluation
Analyse and evaluate by:
comparing interpretations
considering sociological evidence
developing arguments
making judgements
drawing conclusions.
đź“Ś Exam focus:Â Evidence that contemporary society has changed and an interpretation of what that change means are two different things. Strong answers connect them rather than treating them as identical.
Key Words 🔑
Key word | Student-friendly definition | How it may be used in an exam |
Post-modernity | A concept AQA requires students to examine in relation to sociological theory and claims about contemporary social change. | Explain and evaluate a post-modern interpretation using supported course material. |
Modernity | A related concept that AQA requires students to study alongside post-modernity. | Use as a comparison when evaluating interpretations of contemporary society. |
Contemporary society | Present-day society, with AQA placing particular emphasis on contemporary UK society. | Apply post-modern interpretations to relevant current sociological issues. |
Social change | Change in social processes, relationships or institutions studied across the Sociology course. | Use relevant evidence when analysing theoretical interpretations. |
Sociological theory | Theoretical approaches used to interpret and explain social issues. | Explain what the evidence means rather than simply describing it. |
Globalisation | A recurring process across the AQA specification and part of the context in which contemporary UK society should be studied. | Use as relevant evidence or context where supported by the theory. |
Social structure | One of the wider theoretical issues students must consider when explaining social issues. | Connect theoretical debates where appropriate. |
AO3 | Analysis and evaluation used to present arguments, make judgements and draw conclusions. | Evaluate post-modern interpretations against evidence and alternative explanations. |
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Treating post-modernity as simply "modern society"
Why this is incorrect: AQA lists modernity and post-modernity as two distinct concepts in relation to sociological theory.
How to improve: Keep the concepts separate and use modernity [Modernity] as a clear theoretical comparison.
Mistake: Assuming every social change proves post-modernity
Why this is incorrect: Evidence of social change and a theoretical interpretation of that evidence are not the same thing.
How to improve: Explain how the particular post-modern theory interprets the change and then evaluate whether that interpretation is convincing.
Mistake: Listing social changes instead of explaining theory
Why this is incorrect: The learning objectives require explanation and evaluation of a sociological interpretation, not merely description of contemporary society.
How to improve: Use the structure:
change → evidence → interpretation → comparison → judgement
Mistake: Using examples without explaining their relevance
Why this is incorrect: An example from media, families or globalisation does not automatically demonstrate AO2.
How to improve: Explain specifically how the example supports or challenges the theoretical claim you are discussing.
Mistake: Automatically classifying post-modernity as a structural or social action theory
Why this is incorrect: The supplied specification does not establish this relationship.
How to improve: Use theoretical classifications only when supported by the specific course material you have studied.
Mistake: Giving a balanced list with no overall judgement
Why this is incorrect: AO3 explicitly includes making judgements and drawing conclusions.
How to improve: Decide what the comparison and evidence actually suggest about the usefulness of the post-modern interpretation.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Identify the concept that AQA requires students to examine alongside post-modernity. [1 mark]
Question 2
Identify two substantive areas of the AQA Sociology course in which students examine contemporary social change. [2 marks]
Question 3
Outline two reasons why evidence of social change does not automatically prove a post-modern interpretation of society. [4 marks]
Question 4
Explain two ways in which post-modernity can be connected to the wider AQA Sociology course. [6 marks]
Question 5
Item A
Sociologists examining contemporary society identify changes in family patterns, media and globalisation. They disagree, however, about how these changes should be interpreted.
Using Item A, explain why sociological theory is important when examining claims about changes in contemporary society. [6 marks]
Question 6
Item B
A student argues that the growth of new media demonstrates that society has changed. Another student agrees that new media represent social change but argues that the evidence alone does not establish which theoretical interpretation is correct.
Using Item B and your knowledge of Theory and Methods, analyse the difference between evidence of social change and a sociological interpretation of social change. [10 marks]
Question 7
Item C
Two sociologists examine the same evidence about contemporary UK society. One interprets the evidence using ideas associated with modernity. The other uses a post-modern interpretation.
Using Item C, analyse why comparing theoretical interpretations can improve sociological explanations of contemporary society. [10 marks]
Question 8
Evaluate post-modern interpretations of contemporary society. [10 marks]
Answers and Mark Scheme
Question 1
Award one mark for:
modernity.
Question 2
Award one mark for each appropriate substantive area, maximum two marks.
Possible answers include:
Education
Culture and Identity
Families and Households
Work, Poverty and Welfare
Beliefs in Society
The Media
Stratification and Differentiation
Crime and Deviance.
The answer should identify areas where the specification includes contemporary social processes or change.
Question 3
Award up to two marks for each developed reason, maximum four marks.
Possible answers include:
Evidence tells sociologists what appears to have changed, while theory provides an interpretation of what that change means.
Different sociological theories may interpret the same evidence differently.
Evidence therefore needs to be analysed rather than assumed to support one theoretical interpretation.
A post-modern explanation should be evaluated against alternative interpretations and relevant evidence.
Question 4
Award up to three marks for each developed connection, maximum six marks.
Possible content includes:
post-modernity can be compared with modernity
theories of contemporary society can be applied to evidence from substantive Sociology
globalisation provides a recurring contemporary context across the specification
the theory can be linked to changes in media, families, work, inequality, crime or other areas
post-modernity forms part of wider sociological theoretical debate.
Higher marks require explanation of the connection rather than simply naming another topic.
Question 5
Indicative content includes:
Item A identifies evidence of contemporary social change.
AQA requires students to examine contemporary social processes and change.
Describing changes is different from interpreting them.
Sociological theories can provide different interpretations of the same evidence.
Modernity and post-modernity are examples of concepts AQA requires students to examine in relation to sociological theory.
The usefulness of an interpretation can then be evaluated by considering evidence and competing explanations.
Higher marks require clear application to Item A.
Question 6
Possible analysis includes:
Item B distinguishes evidence from interpretation.
New media are included in the AQA Media specification and can therefore constitute substantive sociological evidence.
Evidence that media have changed does not by itself establish the theoretical meaning of that change.
Sociological theories provide interpretations of the evidence.
Competing theories may interpret the same development differently.
An effective sociological argument should therefore connect evidence to theory and evaluate alternative explanations.
A judgement should follow from the strength of the interpretation rather than the mere existence of change.
Higher-level responses develop the distinction throughout rather than simply stating it once.
Question 7
Indicative content includes:
AQA explicitly requires students to examine modernity and post-modernity.
Item C provides two competing theoretical interpretations of the same evidence.
Comparison helps identify the precise differences between the interpretations.
Both can be tested against the same sociological evidence.
The student can analyse which interpretation explains the evidence more effectively.
Comparison supports AO3 by helping students develop arguments and judgements.
A conclusion can then assess the relative usefulness of the competing interpretations.
Higher marks require sustained comparison and direct use of Item C.
Question 8
A response based strictly on the supplied sources can evaluate post-modern interpretations by considering:
AQA explicitly includes post-modernity as part of sociological theory
post-modern interpretations are intended to address claims about contemporary social change
contemporary UK society provides the central substantive context
evidence from areas such as media, families, education, inequality or crime can be used when testing theoretical interpretations
modernity provides an alternative theoretical concept for comparison
the existence of social change alone does not demonstrate that a post-modern interpretation is correct
competing interpretations should be assessed using sociological evidence
evaluation should culminate in a reasoned judgement.
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