The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration

by Anthony Giddens

Overview

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's 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520057289
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	03/25/1986
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	417
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

A.Giddens

Table of Contents

Preface 
Abbreviations 
Introduction 
1 Elements of the Theory of Structuradon 
The Agent, Agency 
Agency and Power 
Structure, Structuration 
The Duality of Structure 
Forms of Institution 
Time, the Body, Encounters 
2 Consciousness, Self and Social Encounters 
Reflexivity, Discursive and Practical Consciousness 
The Unconscious, Time, Memory 
Erikson: Anxiety and Trust 
Routinization and Motivation 
Presence, Co-Presence and Social Integration 
Goffman: Encounters and Routines 
Seriality 
Talk, Reflexivity 
Positioning 
Critical Notes: Freud on Slips of the Tongue 
3 Time, Space and Regionallzadon 
Time-Geography 
Critical Comments 
Modes of Regionalization 
Mutual Knowledge versus Common Sense 
Generalizations in Social Science 
The Practical Connotations of Social Science 
Critical Notes: Social Science, History and Geography 
Glossary 
Bibliography 
Index