Structure and Agency in Sociology

This article discusses the relationship between structure and agency in sociology and their importance in making sense of society. It also explores how social scientific imagination plays a role in this debate.

STRUCTURE AND AGENCY 1
Structure and agency
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Introduction
Structure and agency are two main topics in sociology that brings a controversial debate among
many people. The term structures refer to the system of sociology which restricts and influence
the behaviors of individuals (Burkitt, 2016: p.330). On the other side, the agency in sociology
means the ability of people to come up with their personal decisions and perform them without
external interference (Dahl, 2018: p.180). In the debate of structure and agency, many people are
trying to check the extent to human behaviors are prescribed and the ability of human being to
act independently in various circumstances. In this assignment, it is going to elaborate on the
topic structure and agency and identify how the concepts are essential in making sense in the
society.
The relationship between structure and agency
The relationship between structure and agency have caused a hot debate between philosophers.
Generally, structure and agency need to go together to build a coherent society. Structure mainly
relates to both material and non- material things (Frankel, 2017: p.20), for example, social norms
and traditions. For instance, considering a football club that has some players and a set of
authority. Every player is free to behave according to his or her wish. However, the
administration should able to accommodate the behaviors according to the rules of that particular
sports team. A player cannot behave the way he or she wants but must conform to what the
authority says regarding how the players should act. The structure of the sports team shows that
the club has a set of rules that every member in that club needs to have to coexist freely with
authority. In this case, the rules have limited the behaviors of the members to some extent. The
concept contradict agency which allows everybody to make his or her own decision and be free
to implement it without intimidation

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The second example that shows the relationship between structure and agency is the situation of
a family (Smith and Jenks, 2017: p.45). Every family have its own rules and practices. Every
child from that family needs to conform to the rules of the family to make them be in good terms
with the parents. The rules of that family form the social system of the family, and it becomes the
structure. On the other side, there are cases where the children of the family are free to go out
and mingle with other families freely. In this situation, it is agency because the child can play the
way he or she likes most without restrictions from the parents. However, while mingling with
others, his or her behaviors should conform to what the family way of life requires.
Social scientific imagination
Many scientists give different information concerning structure and agency. For instance,
Giddens claims that people cannot view structure as an institution but rather the knowledge one
gains on how to do various things (James and Prout, 2015: p.15). When an individual is growing,
the way the person behaves in life depend on the rules he or she have encountered and resources
such as the people around the person. After learning from the people and following the rules, one
always makes decisions basing on the behaviors that had influenced his or her life.
How the above points assist the society
The above points concerning structure and agency teach the society various lessons. The first
issue is that when a child is born, it is the responsibility of the family members to teach the child
the social norms that assist the child in making a sound decision (Maines, 2017: p.233). As one
grows, he or she continuous to become independent in matters of decision making. However, the
old behaviors or rules influence how one decides future. For instance, if a child was not taught
the social norms in the society and at a later age, he or she joins a football club, the personal

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decisions may go contrary to what the authority expects. The other thing is that society should
allow room for own decisions. Everyone should appreciate others decisions even though they are
opposed to theirs, thus creating harmony in the community. From the scientific imagination,
many people misinterpret structure and agency. Many thinks that structure refers to a set of
institutions or group of people that command the leadership of a place or society.
In summary, structure and agency are two critical aspects of sociology. However, the individual
need to practice the two concepts to make the society a better place to live. People should respect
what the law of the land requires as they make their personal decision. There are consequences
for every decision one makes.

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References
Burkitt, I., 2016. Relational agency: Relational sociology, agency and interaction. European
Journal of Social Theory, 19(3), pp.322-339.
Dahl, G., 2018. Structure, Agency and Victimization: On the Ethics of Scientific Writing.
In Beyond Sociology (pp. 173-191). Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.
Frankel, S., 2017. Structure ‘&’Agency. In Negotiating Childhoods (pp. 11-40). Palgrave
Macmillan, London.
James, A. and Prout, A., 2015. A new paradigm for the sociology of childhood?: Provenance,
promise and problems. In Constructing and reconstructing childhood (pp. 6-28). Routledge.
Maines, D., 2017. The faultline of consciousness: A view of interactionism in sociology.
Routledge.
Smith, J.A. and Jenks, C., 2017. Sociology and Human Ecology: Complexity and Post-Humanist
Perspectives. Routledge.