Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@@The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration.
TL;DR: Giddens as mentioned in this paper has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade and outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form.
Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address key implications in momentous current global energy choices, both for social science and for society, by considering contending forms of transformation centring on renewable energy, nuclear power and climate geoengineering.
Abstract: This paper addresses key implications in momentous current global energy choices – both for social science and for society. Energy can be over-used as a lens for viewing social processes. But it is nonetheless of profound importance. Understanding possible ‘sustainable energy’ transformations requires attention to many tricky issues in social theory: around agency and structure and the interplay of power, contingency and practice. These factors are as much shaping of the knowledges and normativities supposedly driving transformation, as they are shaped by them. So, ideas and hopes about possible pathways for change – as well as notions of ‘the transition’ itself – can be deeply constituted by incumbent interests. The paper addresses these dynamics by considering contending forms of transformation centring on renewable energy, nuclear power and climate geoengineering. Several challenges are identified for social science. These apply especially where there are aims to help enable more democratic exercise of social agency. They enjoin responsibilities to ‘open up’ (rather than ‘close down’), active political spaces for critical contention over alternative pathways. If due attention is to be given to marginalised interests, then a reflexive view must be taken of transformation. The paper ends with a series of concrete political lessons.
420 citations
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: Edwardsville are not liable for any legal actions that may arise involving the article's content, including but not limited to, copyright infringement as discussed by the authors. But they are not responsible for the content of the article.
Abstract: Edwardsville are not liable for any legal actions that may arise involving the article's content, including but not limited to, copyright infringement.
416 citations
TL;DR: Using stories of citizens' resistance to legalized authority, the act of storytelling extends temporally and socially what might otherwise be an individual, discrete, and ephemeral transaction.
Abstract: Using stories of citizens’ resistance to legalized authority, the authors propose that the act of storytelling extends temporally and socially what might otherwise be an individual, discrete, and ephemeral transaction. Adopting a concept of power as a contingent outcome in a social transaction, they emphasize that not only dominant, institutionalized power but also resistance to institutionalized authority draws from a common pool of sociocultural resources, including symbolic, linguistic, organizational, and material phenomena. Although such acts of resistance may not cumulate to produce institutional change, they may nonetheless have consequences beyond the specific social transaction: the authors propose that a chief means for extending the social consequences of resistance is to transform an act of resistance into a story about resistance. Based upon an appreciation of the structural conditions of power and authority, stories of resistance can become instructions about both the sources and the limitat...
412 citations
Cites background from "Locating the 17th Book of Giddens@@..."
...…to achieve foreseen and intended effects” in a social interaction (Wrong 1979), as “the mobilization of people’s concerted activities” (Smith 1990, p. 80), and as the recursive accumulation of these interactions and activities in a pattern of domination (Giddens 1979, p. 88; cf. Lukes 1974)....
[...]
...…social structures.2 Recent work in practice theory emphasizes connections between what Goffman (1967) called the interaction order of face-to-face exchanges and social structures understood as ongoing productions of social interaction (Connell 1987; Giddens 1979, 1984; Bourdieu 1977; Sewell 1992)....
[...]
TL;DR: The issue addressed here is whether the spread of rationalization, or what I have termed ''McDonaldization'' is inexorable as mentioned in this paper, and the issue is examined spatially and temporally.
Abstract: The issue addressed here is whether the spread of rationalization, or what I have termed `McDonaldization', is inexorable. That issue is examined spatially and temporally. Spatially, what we are wi...
412 citations
TL;DR: The relationship between history and organization theory has been examined in this paper, where three epistemological dualisms derived from historical theory are used to explain the relationship between historical theory and organizational history.
Abstract: If history matters for organization theory, then we need greater reflexivity regarding the epistemological problem of representing the past; otherwise, history might be seen as merely a repository of ready-made data. To facilitate this reflexivity, we set out three epistemological dualisms derived from historical theory to explain the relationship between history and organization theory: (1) in the dualism of explanation, historians are preoccupied with narrative construction, whereas organization theorists subordinate narrative to analysis; (2) in the dualism of evidence, historians use verifiable documentary sources, whereas organization theorists prefer constructed data; and (3) in the dualism of temporality, historians construct their own periodization, whereas organization theorists treat time as constant for chronology. These three dualisms underpin our explication of four alternative research strategies for organizational history: corporate history, consisting of a holistic, objectivist narrative of a corporate entity; analytically structured history, narrating theoretically conceptualized structures and events; serial history, using replicable techniques to analyze repeatable facts; and ethnographic history, reading documentary sources "against the grain." Ultimately, we argue that our epistemological dualisms will enable organization theorists to justify their theoretical stance in relation to a range of strategies in organizational history, including narratives constructed from documentary sources found in organizational archives. Copyright of the Academy of Management, all rights reserved.
411 citations
References
More filters