How does Giddens solve the problem of agency versus structure?

Sociology is the study the different aspects of humanity and society. It encompasses a very broad and varying range of topics. It can be studied on a large world-wide scale spanning across several countries, which is called Macrosociology. It can also be studied on a small scale looking at only individual families or neighborhoods, which is called Microsociology. Not only does it peer into humans’ interactions with each other but examines why they act the way they do. It considers the environment, as well as how access to different luxuries can contribute to the people that we become. In this fascinating field there are three primary views on exactly what the fundamental driving force behind society is. Symbolic Interactionalism, the belief that symbols and the meaning that they are given, define how we will perceive life, in this philosophy these meanings are influenced by society and the events of individual lives. Functional Analysis, views society as any other organism, in this theory all parts of the whole must work together cohesively to function. Conflict theory takes a somewhat opposite view than Functionalism, this perspective suggests that rather than wanting to work in unison, society’s underlying motive is a power struggle for resources. Over the course of this paper the reader will explore these different perspectives.

Milgram’s agency theory basically states that you the state of mind you are in determines if you’re obedient or not. He argued that normally we operate in the autonomous state, where you assert control over yourself and what we do. An example of this is when faced with danger, most people will turn away to try and avoid conflict. Even if you decide not to walk away, this is still the autonomous state because you’re deciding what to do. There is also the agentic state which says you are subconsciously acting as an agent to some authority figure and that you do what they tell you because you feel as if you are an agent of that person. An example of this would be during the trial of Nazi’s

Sociology is defined as ‘The study of human social life, groups and societies’ (Giddens, 1989). It involves describing and analysing how different forces such as social, cultural, political, and economic have on behaviour and an individuals identity. (Van Kreiken et al.2000). Furthermore, it encompasses the complex connections on a micro level along with those on a macro level thus enabling sociological imagination.

The structure and agency debate is a common one in the field of sociology and different theorists come up with different ways of accounting for the actions of social actors. This essay takes the position that structuration solves the problem of this much contested debate. Initially key concepts and elements of structuration will be pointed out .These elements include structure, agency, social systems and power amongst many others. Subsequently, there will be engagement of a discussion of different schools of thought and finally it will be demonstrated how structuration prevails over the structure-agency debate.

If Sociology is the systematic study of human society, then sociological imagination is what we perceive or think about how people work and or think in a more personal and bias matter. C.W. Mills believes that merging two different theories of social reality of the “individual” and “society”. Mills challenges readers and learners by arguing many basic terms and definitions from what “we” believe are right. Chapters one and two talks about how society portrays what we know rather then the facts. Our bias opinions and beliefs often go against what science has proven.

A key part of engaging in sociology is to adopt a sociological viewpoint or 'think sociologically'. Etymologically, sociology is the 'study of society' but this doesn't differentiate sociology from other forms of social study. Hence, many begin to describe thinking sociologically by what it is not - it is not thinking politically, thinking anthropologically, thinking historically or thinking psychologically, for example (Berger 1966: 11-36; Reiss 1968: 2-3). Others try to determine the nature of sociological thinking by detailing practical phenomena which can be thought about such as social systems and their subsystems, social institutions and social structure, and social aggregates, relationships, groups and organisations (Reiss 1968: 1),

Mills said in his essay, “the most fruitful distinction with which the sociological imagination works is between ‘the personal troubles of milieu’ and ‘the public issues of social structure’” (1959, 4).

My father once told me in life there are subjects and objects. He went on to describe objects as someone who is utilized as a tool and a does not have a drive force on its own. On the other hand, subjects are able to make decisions on their own. Just like modern society some people leads, and others will follow. Subjects will conditionally generate their own ideas and realize these ideas rather than just be assigned tasks that question their beliefs. The author Ralph Ellison illustrates it best. Ellison’s realistic fiction Invisible Man perpetuates the manifestation of manipulation over the minorities in this society. As the narrator embraces every identity he has been given, he starts to become more independent, and a leader in his

The relationship between structure and agency is a key discussion point in sociology. The concept was brought to life by the sociologist Georg Simmel, but has been discussed by many other famous theorists, such as Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. The partnership between structure and agency are crucial to the development of society, and the process of individualization.

Structure and agency are two theoretical terms used to explain the capacity at which we as people are able to be individuals, and to what extent those influences limit our individuality. Structure refers to the ways in which a society is organized. Agency refers to the behaviors and actions of the individuals within the social structure. Agency is limited by the structure due to cultural barriers and inequalities within the structure. In this essay, I will present an overview of why critical theorists are concerned with those inequalities, and I will further identify the problems within the system contributing to the unequal access to the public sphere, relating specifically to class and gender inequalities.

Describe how the concept of agency affected the parties’ legal positions in the case study. Did the agents help or harm their clients? Why?

Allan Johnson chooses to begin his account of sociological practice by introducing the concept of the individual and individualism as an approach to view the world. Johnson argues that the birth of individualism comes from the eighteenth century and the era of European enlightenment. he defines individualism as "a way of thinking which encourages us to explain the world in terms of what goes on inside individuals and nothing else. Early on in chapter 1 Johnson presents individualism and demonstrates the flaws of such a model pointing to the notion that it is easy to assign blame when only focusing on the individual rather than the whole. when looking at the world with such a small scope we miss most of what is actually occurring.

Discursive psychology studies how psychology is constructed, understood and displayed as people interact everyday and most institutional situations. There are many questions about a speaker; such as how does s/he show that they are not prejudiced when involved in social actions? How are actions coordinated? How is the mood of the speaker displayed? To answer such questions it is required to understand the psychology of people as they act and interact in particular settings. Discursive psychology does not start with a ‘technical’ story of mental processes, behavioral regularities or neural events that are happening somewhere below and behind the business of interaction. Rather it starts with the categories, constructions and orientations through which a sense of agency, say, or severe distress or a moment of understanding are displayed in a piece of interaction in a particular setting. Discursive psychology is interested in the psychology of language, i.e. language use that is why it does not focus on discourse. Discursive psychology starts with a view of people social and rational, and with psychology as a domain of practice rather than abstract contemplation. It focuses on discourse as it is the primary arena for action, understanding and

As a way of description, a social structure consists of “rules, institutions, and practices; it is socially embodied in the actions, thoughts, beliefs, and durable dispositions of individual human beings, and often has distributive consequences for individuals and groups” (Deneulin, Web 25/02/2017). It is commonly believed that the society is structured and stratified in such a way that there is always a gap among people, institutions and communities based on their social and professional status. And that unjust power and social structures emanate when a group of people exert their socio-political and economic power and status on the rest of the entire community. These structures are said to be in place in order to protect and promote the interest of the ruling and influential class. One of the protagonists of this opinion is Kunnumpuram who places much emphasis on the imbalanced structural realities and their effects in society: “There stand structural realities which are in themselves unbalanced distorted, unjust and subhuman; these are responsible in the main for the massive poverty and suffering of hundreds of millions of simple and hard-working people, and for the centennial marginalization and humiliation” (The Mission of the Church 152-153). He further opines that wherever a person is found without the means required to meet human needs, and without resources for creative action and participative life in society, there injustice has been in

Anthropologists look at modes of organization and frames of meaning to carefully construct a cohesive cosmology for the culture they are studying. Modes of organization refer to the ways in which human societies are constructed and the composition of its social role relationships. This could include studies of political, family, and economic structure – and how these interactions influence each other. This is particularly important for poverty alleviation efforts because, as Paul Farmer points out in Anthropology of Structural Violence, economic, social, and political systems of