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Mar 2, 2017 · Giddens believes that human beings are thoughtful and creative and thus cannot be wholly predicted in advance. Marx downgraded the centrality of capitalism to being just one of four pillars of late-modernity along with surveillance, military power and industrialism. Giddens draws selectively on a wide range of action theories, including Goffman ...
Oct 1, 2014 · Anthony Giddens is one of the most widely cited social theorists in organization studies, but the focus in this chapter is on only a small part of his voluminous output. This is his structuration theory, which has had a major influence on significant approaches such as the new institutionalism and practice-based approaches to the study of organizations.
- Overview
- Theories of structure and agency
- Giddens’s theory
structuration theory, concept in sociology that offers perspectives on human behaviour based on a synthesis of structure and agency effects known as the “duality of structure.” Instead of describing the capacity of human action as being constrained by powerful stable societal structures (such as educational, religious, or political institutions) or...
The nexus of structure and agency has been a central tenet in the field of sociology since its inception. Theories that argue for the preeminence of structure (also called the objectivist view in this context) resolve that the behaviour of individuals is largely determined by their socialization into that structure (such as conforming to a society’s expectations with respect to gender or social class). Structures operate at varying levels, with the research lens focused at the level appropriate to the question at hand. At its highest level, society can be thought to consist of mass socioeconomic stratifications (such as through distinct social classes). On a mid-range scale, institutions and social networks (such as religious or familial structures) might form the focus of study, and at the microscale one might consider how community or professional norms constrain agency. Structuralists describe the effect of structure in contrasting ways. French social scientist Émile Durkheim highlighted the positive role of stability and permanence, whereas philosopher Karl Marx described structures as protecting the few, doing little to meet the needs of the many.
In contrast, proponents of agency theory (also called the subjective view in this context) consider that individuals possess the ability to exercise their own free will and make their own choices. Here, social structures are viewed as products of individual action that are sustained or discarded, rather than as incommensurable forces.
Sociologists have questioned the polarized nature of the structure-agency debate, highlighting the synthesis of these two influences on human behaviour. A prominent scholar in this respect is British sociologist Anthony Giddens, who developed the concept of structuration. Giddens argues that just as an individual’s autonomy is influenced by structure, structures are maintained and adapted through the exercise of agency. The interface at which an actor meets a structure is termed “structuration.”
Thus, structuration theory attempts to understand human social behaviour by resolving the competing views of structure-agency and macro-micro perspectives. This is achieved by studying the processes that take place at the interface between the actor and the structure. Structuration theory takes the position that social action cannot be fully explained by the structure or agency theories alone. Instead, it recognizes that actors operate within the context of rules produced by social structures, and only by acting in a compliant manner are these structures reinforced. As a result, social structures have no inherent stability outside human action because they are socially constructed. Alternatively, through the exercise of reflexivity, agents modify social structures by acting outside the constraints the structures place on them.
Giddens’s framework of structure differs from that in the classic theory. He proposes three kinds of structure in a social system. The first is signification, where meaning is coded in the practice of language and discourse. The second is legitimation, consisting of the normative perspectives embedded as societal norms and values. Giddens’s final structural element is domination, concerned with how power is applied, particularly in the control of resources.
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Giddens Structuration Theory. Giddens' Structuration Theory is defined as a perspective that emphasizes the duality of structure and agency in shaping social life, where structures are both constituted by human actions and shape those actions in return. AI generated definition based on: International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, 2009.
Anthony Giddens'The constitution of society: An outline of the theory of structuration.. Giddens' most comprehensive work on structuration theory. Available in part for free online via Google Books; This book is intended to provide an accessible introduction to Giddens' work and also to situate structuration theory in the context of other ...
Anthony Giddens is a British political adviser and educator. Trained as a sociologist and social theorist, he lectured at universities in Europe, North America, and Australia before cofounding an academic publishing house, Polity Press, in 1985. In 1997 he became director of the London School of
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Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens MAE (born 18 January 1938) is an English sociologist who is known for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern sociologists and is the author of at least 34 books, published in at least 29 languages, issuing on average more than one book every year.
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