Anthony Giddens

Structure and agency are main concepts in social theory. Structure refers to the general features of social life that happen regularly and do not change. Structure also refers to social institutions or systems, social facts that are independent of the individual and are able to determine and restrict individual action. Agency refers to action; usually the action of individuals or groups. Agency also refers to the thought that individuals are capable of choosing different courses of action. Individuals can choose what to do, though their choices are restricted and shaped in various ways by structural realities (Harrington, 2005). Anthony Giddens structuration theory had many critisisms from Bhaskar and Callinicos, which will be looked at throughout…

Giddens conceptualises structure as rules and resources used by interaction. Rules are generalisable procedures and methodologies that reflexive agents possess in their implicit stocks of knowledge and that they use as methods for action in social systems. These rules of structure disclose a number of important properties: they are implicitly known; informal; widely sanctioned; frequently invoked and used in conversations, interaction rituals, and daily routines. Structure also involves the use…

Hammurabi’s code is composed of a set of rules set forth by a man named Hammurabi. He is known as Babylon’s most prominent ruler; his reign lasting from 1792 to 1750 B.C.E. Hammurabi’s Code reflects the harshness of the social structure in a Mesopotamian society by basing the code on the law of retaliation, not treating all members of the society equally and fairly, and not letting women be full members of the community. The law of retaliation, which is the basis of Hammurabi’s code, displays…

Confucius Civil Service Exam Confucius was an important government official in ancient china who developed a new moral code based on respect, honesty, education, kindness and strong family bonds. One of his theories was that “Women and servants are most difficult to nurture. If one is close to them, they lose their reserve, while if one is distant, they feel resentful.” This can help our understanding of ancient China and of Confucius’ teachings. Confucius puts women and servants in the same…

“A Rose for Emily” In the short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner the main character Emily Grierson is depicted as a person of southern tradition. Throughout the story the life and mental state of Miss Emily is shown through gruesome and ironic events. Her lover a Yankee, Homer Barron is a dividing figure in the social class structure of the south. In “A Rose for Emily” William Faulkner displays the south and its unwillingness to change. Throughout “A Rose for Emily” there are many…

Frequently people living in the United States choose to believe that we are no longer a state that has social classes among us. When the few social classes are recognized, people regularly oversee the inequalities that go along with them. Nonetheless, social class has generally been and remains to be a main judge for a number of social inequalities. These inequalities are related to work, education, and health care they receive. Even though many enhancements have been made regarding social…

To understand how a structural theorist would explain the presence of middle class crime you have to first understand what the Social Structure Theory stands for. Social Structure Theory is defined as “the view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime” (Siegel, 2015, p. 187). What Siegel means is that the lower the social class and more disadvantaged and oppressed the population they have more of a reason to commit crime. Everyone knows that 95% of the wealth is…

expressed in greater detail in the paragraphs to follow. Structuration Structuration provides a means to study the rules and resources, or structures, present in a group. Poole and McPhee (2005) provide an overview of the development of structuration theory. The opening sentence to their chapter reads, “Some ideas and events can be attributed to the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times, rather than to any single scholar or group. Structuration was one such idea” (p. 171). Giddens (1984) provided…

Literature Review – Theoretical Approaches The proposed research adopts translocational positionality as a theoretical framework to examine the versatility of multi-cultural individuals, especially in an ethnoculturally diverse setting, and their care seeking behaviour in the use of CAM. Translocational positionality as a theoretical concept is conceived as a “placement within a set of relations and practices that implicate identification and performativity or action” (Anthias, 2002b p.501).…

cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flow from heaven to the soul (Monet).” Feeling good was originally written in 1965, by Nina Simone. This song has been used in the popular culture such as, “Point of No Return” and “Six Feet Under”. A song cover was later done by Jennifer Hudson in 2011, and Lauryn Hill in 2015. Although Nina Simone wrote the song, Jennifer Hudson sang it better due to melody, rhythm, and instrumentation used in her…