Confused about Culture and Identity? This slim volume provides a concise introduction to various aspects of the topic, relating it to sociological perspectives and areas such as class, gender, age and ethnicity. Each short section is organised around an "explain and evaluate" cycle, followed by a section summary and a handy Study Guide section. The latter includes suggestions for group work, practice questions in data response format and coursework suggestions. Activities and study suggestions are also liberally sprinkled throughout the text. Although a lot of the information is necessarily brief, it's also accessible, making this essential reading for teachers and students doing the AEB syllabus.

Part of the "Society In Action" series, this covers the major "culture and identity" syllabus areas (class, gender, age and ethnicity). There  are also sections on socialisation, semiology and, of course, modernity / postmodernity. The latter area is something all AEB students in particular should be familiar with since, in examination terms, it's almost obligatory to discuss postmodernism if you want to achieve a decent grade. As usual with this series, the text includes questions designed to test interpretation, application and evaluation skills and there are some useful coursework suggestions throughout the book. As usual, there are extensive "further reading" lists at the end of each chapter.

An important text, in terms of the way Goffman expounds his "dramaturgical analogy", it is nevertheless a "difficult read" for A-level students (Goffman writes in a fairly turgid, convoluted, style). However, for students involved in project work that focuses on an understanding of social roles or the nuances of social interaction at the individual level, this is a text that may well repay the effort required to read it.

This is a book that tries to give a social and cultural context to a range of cultural practices (novels, poetry, theatre, cinema, pop music, TV and the like) by identifying the significant features of cultural and artistic life in Britain. In basic terms it consists of a series of socio-cultural overviews / commentaries that are interesting to read (if you're a teacher) and probably something to dip-into if you're not...

This is a stonking collection of readings, ranging from classic material from the Chicago School, Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, McRobbie, Frith, Polsky and Laud Humphreys to modern material on mediated and virtual subcultures (no, me neither). It's also covers the cultural significance of identity and territory, amongst other things. All-in-all, a brilliant collection that no serious student of cultural identity should be without (and it's surprisingly cheap too).

A series of up-to-the-minute readings on various aspects of popular culture that will bring you up-to-speed (if that's your bag) on areas like clubbing, dj culture, Northern Soul (remember that?), rave culture and so forth. It's more of an introduction for teachers too old and too tired to walk-the-walk but who still want to talk-the-talk...

A useful addition to the armoury of any teacher who needs to get a fix on modern club culture. Although the main audience seems to be cultural studies, there's enough sociological material / analysis here to make it a worthwhile read. At times it's a bit obvious (would you have guessed that alcohol is the main drug used by clubbers?); at times it reads a bit like the text equivalent of "Sociology teacher down the disco", but overall there's enough perceptive analysis to make this a useful book for sociologists.

Part of the "Skills-based Sociology" series, the general aim is to provide a solid introduction to this increasingly-important section of the Sociology specifications (it's aimed at both AQA and OCR AS / A2 level). Each chapter has a variety of questions and exercises dotted throughout in a way that compliments the well-written content. There's substantial coverage of material that appears on the OCR AS specification, as well as much useful information about all aspects of the culture and identity debate (mass and popular culture, youth and so forth). My one caveat, however, is that AS students may find much of the material "over-theoretical" for both the "Individual and Society" module (OCR) and the content of the AS specification in general.