الاكاديمية للدراسات الاجتماعية و الانسانية
Volume 18, Numéro 2, Pages 50-58
2026-07-08
Reconceptualizing Social Structure And Agency: Epistemological Approaches And Theoretical Models In Contemporary Sociology
Authors : Bouzidi Naim .
Abstract
This article addresses the issue of social structure and its relation to agency from an epistemological perspective, by analyzing the major sociological dualisms that have shaped theoretical debates: is structure an objective and autonomous dimension of social reality, or merely an analytical instrument embedded in practices? The discussion begins with classical definitions, then examines the analytical models of N. Elias (figurations, sociogenesis/psychogenesis), P. Bourdieu (fields, capitals, and habitus), and A. Giddens (duality of structure, structuration theory). It then turns to the study of inequality and class structure as the most concrete historical manifestation of structure, before addressing contemporary proposals by J. Goldthorpe and E. O. Wright, who link theory and empirical research. Finally, the article analyzes the complex relationship between culture and social structure, particularly in the context of the nation-state and social classes. It concludes that social structure is neither a mere external framework nor a purely subjective construct, but rather a dynamic process of sociological modeling, marked by the dialectic between continuity and change, constraint and enablement, objectivity and subjectivity.
Keywords
Social structure ; Epistemology ; Social class ; Social dynamics ; Structuralism
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