Individuals and agency Flashcards
individual defintion
distinct being that has rights and freedom in relation to the social structure
is sociology the study of individuals?
- we have a sense of individuality as we make choices
- our autonomy can be constrained/restricted by laws which when we break, we are held on an individual account
sociology questions the relationship between choice and constraint
looks at individuals in their social context, goes beyond thatcher’s argument as individuals go beyond family and kinship networks
Bauman and May thought individual actors come into the view of sociological study in terms of
being members or partners in a network of interdependence
example of being an indiviudal
clothing choices. not just functional but also symbolic
is our social context biologically or culturally constructed?
e.g. age. child has a small body suitable for work such as chimney sweeping. but then society sees child labour as wrong and implemented laws against it. old people are discriminated against; use creams/hair dye to hide ageing. but in southern Africa, signs of ageing show higher status as you will soon progress into the afterlife.
agency and structure do not determine individuals
ethnomethodology takes this view. argue there is no such thing as a social structure and it is individuals who create the world around them (GARFINKEL)
sociology should only be concerned with social structures that determine characteristics of individuals
their agency becomes unimportant. Durkheim took this view early on. Functionalism adopted it; only interested in the functional relationship between social structures. Marxists similarly argue social relations are the proper object of social analysis, Individuals are only the ‘bearers’ of social relations.
who took a compromised view of the relationship between individuals and structure?
Berger and Luckmann (1967)
what did Berger and Luckmann think?
there is a dialectical process in which the meanings given by individuals to their world become institutionalised/turned into social structures and the structures become part of the meaning-systems employed by individuals and limit their actions.
example of what Berger and Luckmann meant about meanings becoming institutionalised
a man and a woman on a desert island. their relationship creates meaning. then their children are born into a society made by their parents which constrains their actions.
Giddnes duality of structure theory
supports berger and luckmann. structure is both the medium and the outcome of the actions which are organised by structures. emphasises ‘knoweldgeability’ of actors who depend on existing knowledge/strategy to achieve their ends.
recent approach to compromised view of duality and structure
rational choice theory
