This essay will be focusing on the structure-agency debate and the application of this debate to the sociological reading The Dirty Work of Democracy: a year on the streets with the SAPS (2005) by Antony Atlebeker. This easy will demonstrate how the structure-agency debate can help explain Captain Louis De Kosters attitudes towards police work and his actions. The argument I will be putting forward is in support of Anthony Giddens’ Structuration Theory (1984). I will prove this argument by referring to various sociological readings mainly The Dirty Work of Democracy: a year on the streets with the SAPS by Antony Atlebeker (2005) and Sociological Cambridge 2nd Edition by Anthony Giddens.
Within the structure-agency debate, there are two main concepts; structure and agency. Structure is defined as the complex framework which makes up society including all institutions, groups etc... This framework is where we as human beings interact and engage with each other. The term agency is defined as our ability as individuals to make independent choices, plans and decisions, as well as the ability to put these actions and plans into motion (Van Huyssteen; 2003: 56). The structure-agency debate refers to the question of do we have free will? Or are we a product of our environment and then to what extent? It is a debate between social factors and individuals on what extent do social factors influence and shape our decision making or is it merely up to us? The key positions within the debate are; Structuralists who believe our attitudes and actions are influenced mainly by social factors, Humanists who believe that our attitudes and actions are determined by us, as we are in control and lastly the theory of Structuration developed by Anthony...
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...one’s self-identity and capability for independent thought and action (Giddens cited in Ritzer; 2000: 525). Proving my stance on Giddens’ Structuration theory that “agency and structure cannot be conceived of apart from one another” (Ritzer; 2000: 523).
Reference List
• Atlebeker, A. (2005) The Dirty Work of Democracy: a year on the streets with the SAPS. Johannesburg : Johnathan Bell Publishers
• Ferrante, J. (2013) Sociology: A Global Perspective. Eighth Edition, International Edition. Asia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
• Giddens, A. (1993) Sociology. Second Edition. Cambridge: Polity Press
• Giddens, A. (2001) Sociology. Fourth Edition. Cambridge: Polity Press
• Kendall, D. (2013) Sociology in Our Times. Ninth Edition. Asia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning
• Ritzer, G. (2000) Sociological Theory. Fifth Edition. Maryland: McGraw-Hill International Editions
Van Krieken, R Smith, P Habibis, D McDonald, K Haralambos, M Holborn, M (2000) Sociology: Themes and Perspectives, 2nd edn, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest.
Brinkerhoff, David B., Rose Weitz, Suzanne T. Ortega. Essentials of Sociology Ninth Edition. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
This essay will introduce two competing perspectives of policing, they are the orthodox and revisionist perspectives. This essay will then relate the orthodox and revisionist perspectives to the themes of lack of structure, industrialisation and finally hostility. The essay will then discuss whether the creation of the Metropolitan Police by Sir Robert Peel in 1829 was an effective
Curtis, J. E., Tepperman, L., & Albanese, P. (2012). Sociology: A Canadian perspective(3rd ed.). Don Mills, Ont: Oxford University Press.
I believe that we all have freedom in our minds to do whatever we want in life. I am free to make up my own opinions, which directly influence my daily life. I take into account all outside influences however; I feel I still have say in what I want to do (Sewell pg. 20). Agency gives me the sense to be an individual in this world but there are still times when I require guidance from others. We as a society come together as individuals to work towards understanding one another in many social situations (Sewell pg. 21). Basically, to have any sort of agency we all need structure which in turn gives us a backbone within the walls of being part of society. I believe that structure gives us direction in our daily lives within the set of rules and regulations provided by society. We have a freedom to follow or to not follow these guidelines (Sewell pg. 6).
Scott, J., & Marshall, G. (2009). A dictionary of sociology (3 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University
Faris, Robert E.L., and William Form. "Sociology." Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.
Macionis. J, J. Plummer, K. (2005). Sociology. A global Introduction. Pearson Education Limited. Essex. (UK) Third Edition.
Murray, Jane Lothian, Linden, Rick and Kendall, Diane. (2011). SOCIOLOGY IN OUR TIMES, Fifth Canadian Edition by Nelson Education Limited, Published by Thomson Wadsworth, USA.
idea of “agency” (Gravett 61-71). This idea can most easily be described as a human’s ability to
Schaeffer, R. T. (2009). Sociology: A Brief Introduction. (8th, Ed.) New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Jureidini, R. & Poole, M. Sociology: Australian Connections, Third Edition, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2003.
Henslin, J. (2012). Essentials of sociology: a down-to-earth approach. (10th ed., p. 16-21). Pearson Inc.
Some sociologists believe that humans have the freedom to make their own choices and decide how they behave (agency) while others theorize that human behavior is determined and influenced by the patterns, arrangements, norms and guidelines of society (structure). The third position doesn’t choose either or but rather states that the two; structure and agency equally play a role in shaping human behaviour and attitudes; this perspective is known as structuration; developed by Giddens (as sited in Huyssteen, 2003).
In creating a theory which attributed greater autonomy to individuals, Mill’s “sociological imagination” appealed to many people who did not agree with the structural-functionalist approach and continues to appeal to many people even in these times. Furthermore, it enabled its users to analyze just how much the individual is constrained by his social structure