Define Giddens’s duality of structure. Explain how concepts such as rules, resources, structure and agency play into this definition.

What will be an ideal response?


The individual and society form an interdependent duality that he terms the duality of structure. By this Giddens means that social structures are both the “medium and outcome” of the practices they organize. Giddens defines structure as rules and resources drawn upon by individuals “in the production and reproduction of social action” (Giddens 1984:19). rules are defined as “techniques or generalizable procedures applied in the enactment/reproduction of social practices” (ibid.:21). Resources refer to “‘the capabilities of making things happen,’ of bringing about particular states of affairs” (Giddens 1981:170). The significance of Giddens’s notion of the duality of structure lies in his attempt to overcome the dualism that plagues social theory, the divide between subjectivist/individualist and objectivist/ collectivist approaches that, in fostering either/or views of social life, presents only half of the story.

Sociology

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Sociology

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What will be an ideal response?

Sociology

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Sociology