Structure and Agency

The relationship of social structure to individual and collective agency has been central to sociology from the outset. It remains so in period in which poststructuralists have challenged the idea of stable social structures and even the usefulness in social science of the concept of structure itself. The historical trajectory of the debate about the respective importance of structure and agency and the relationship between the two provides the narrative context of this collection of articles.

Structure and Agency is a collection of classic and contemporary readings on this central sociological theme. Readings from Marx, Weber and Durkheim are included as well as recent pieces by authorities including Margaret Archer, Pierre Bourdieu and Stuart Hall. These four volumes cover respectively the seminal sources of the structure/agency ...

Editor's Introduction: The Structure/Agency ‘Problem’

MikeO'Donnell

The relationship between social structure and agency, both individual and collective, is at the core of sociology and social theory. Arguably, it represents the big issue in defining sociology as a discipline and in shaping its development. Without some consensus on this question it becomes difficult to build an agreed framework of sociological practice and a cumulative and integrated body of knowledge. Accordingly, I will refer as appropriate to ‘the structure/agency problem’.

The issue of whether actions are ‘free’ or ‘determined’ long predates the rise of sociology. Historically, the question was engaged through philosophy and religion. The Reformation became entrenched partly around an irreconcilable split between Catholic belief in free will and Calvinist belief in divine determinism. Sociology has undergone its ...

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