Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The term social structure denotes a more or less enduring pattern of social arrangements within a particular society, group, or social organization. Nonetheless, despite its widespread usage, there is no single agreed concept of social structure that exists in sociology or related disciplines. An early attempt to theorize the notion of social structure was seen in the work of Lévi-Strauss, the French social anthropologist, who attempted to discover the universal rules that underpin everyday activities and custom through cultural systems ( Lévi-Strauss 1967 ). Within sociology, however, the term has been employed in various ways according to the theoretical approach within which the concept is used. For instance, in one of the earliest uses of the term, Herbert Spencer related “social structure” to increasing differentiation and specialization of the biological organism as society “evolved.” Historically speaking, sociological theories exploring the concept of social structure are generally associated with macro or structural perspectives oriented to understanding the nature of social order, and in doing so stand in stark contrast to social action (or micro) approaches which seek meaning and motivation behind human social behavior. Social structural analysis has tended to be identified with two schools of thought. First, it is associated with the theoretical speculations of structural ... log in or subscribe to read full text