agent definitions — sociology
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overview
sociological theories of agency investigate how individuals and groups navigate social structures. agency is relational, shaped by power, norms, and institutional constraints rather than purely internal cognition.
signature traits
- structure-agency duality: giddens’ structuration theory emphasizes the recursive relationship between individual actions and social systems.
- collective actors: agency extends to organizations, movements, and classes that mobilize resources.
- context dependence: attention to historical, cultural, and institutional settings that enable or hinder action.
illustrative definitions
- 1984 — anthony giddens, the constitution of society: agency is the capacity to make a difference, inseparable from structure.
- later sociological agency debates: explore reflexivity, habitus (bourdieu), and distributed agency in socio-technical networks.
- contemporary digital sociology: examines how platforms and algorithms mediate human agency.
relation to other dimensions
- autonomy spectrum: highlights how autonomy depends on structural positioning; agency can be high even under constraints if actors reshape structures.
- entity frames: blends human and institutional frames—collective entities act through roles, rules, and technologies.
- goal dynamics: negotiation is central; agents renegotiate goals within social relations.
- persistence & embodiment: emphasizes enduring social positions and material infrastructures as part of agency.
open questions
- how should we model socio-technical agency when ai systems shape the structures humans operate within?
- can agentic ai be meaningfully analyzed without accounting for the institutions deploying it?
- what does sociological agency imply for accountability in multi-actor hybrid teams mixing humans and llms?