Understanding Structure and Agency

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to the lecture on structure and agency, providing definitions and explanations essential for understanding their relationship in social theory.

Structure

Overarching frameworks for social life that exist beyond individuals, such as social institutions and organizations.

Agency

The capacity of individuals to act independently with freedom, autonomy, and choice.

Interlinked

Structure and agency are not separate or polar opposites; they are connected and mutually dependent.

Capitalism

An economic system that relies on the actions of individuals to exist; it requires individual entrepreneurs, workers, and business people.

Constrain

To limit or restrict individuals in their choices and actions.

Enable

To provide opportunities or tools that allow for action and freedom; structures can enable as well as constrain.

Prevailing structures

The established social norms and institutions that shape individual choices and actions.

Critical analysis

An examination of theories and their implications, particularly in understanding the relationship between structure and agency.

Choice

Options available to individuals, which are often limited by the prevailing structures in which they exist.

Reproduce

To maintain or replicate existing social structures through individual actions and choices.