Hello
I am thrilled to see the discussion about agency, a concept I have been
tussling with !!
Mark Sherry refers to the work of EP Thompson - any chance of a full
reference please?
In my work I am exploring the use of agency within childhood sociology and
where this fits in with research into disabled childhoods. I have found it
difficult to track down the origins of 'agency' and also very specific
definitions. I have found the way Giddens has used the idea of agency as a
pivotal concept within structuration theory to be useful.
however, there are a number of concerns I have about agency and wonder if
anyone could enlighten me!
1. the definitions 'Actor' and 'Agent' seem to be the same - however
surely an actor follows a script, whereas agent, to me anyway, implies
degrees of choice, based on experience and personal preference.
2. Giddens identifies varying levels of agentic consciousness. ranging
from sub-conscious to motivated. I suppose my concern is that within all
of this there is the implication that an indiviual possesses the 'ability'
to employ agency. Thus opening up the way for some (not all, possibly
none?!) to mis-use this concept to create a hierarchy based on 'ability',
'completeness' etc..
3. Childhood sociology applied the concept of agency in establishing
itself within academia, however is this an appropriate concept in
exploring life as a disabled child? Following Marian's message and
thinking about the risk of relational models 'muddying the waters' could
disability studies learn from the way in which childhood sociology has
adopted/adapted agency as a principal concept?
I realise that perhaps these questions are simplistic and do not
necessarily move the discussion forward but I am only at the beginning of
exploring this myself......
Alison Cocks
PhD student
Department of Sociology
University of Surrey
GU2 7XH
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Alison Cocks
PhD Student
Sociology Department
University of Surrey
Guildford
GU2 7XH
01483 873961
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