Structuration theories

The question of the relation between the individual and society, or individual subject and social structure, has been a core preoccupation of social theory. Broadly speaking, this question has been dealt with in most versions of social theory either by emphasizing the creative powers of the individual self or by stressing the determining role of social structures in our lives. This chapter concentrates on two major attempts in contemporary social theory – the seminal contributions of Anthony Giddens and Pierre Bourdieu – that consider in more detailed ways how individual action and structure actually presuppose one another.