Social Structure in the Light of the New Sociologies of the Individual

• Main Author: Esteban Torres
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) 2015-01-01
• Series: Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas (REIS)
• Subjects: Social Classes; Social Stratification; Social Structure; Individuals; Institutions; Microsociology; Sociology of Individuals
• Online Access: http://reis.cis.es/REIS/PDF/REIS_149_07_ENGLISH1420725354648.pdf

The aim of this paper is to present new theorisations of social structure in light of the new sociologies of the individual currently being developed in France. Although these sociologies are little known, they have signifi cant value in rethinking today?s society and sociology. Starting from a review of the concept and the main conceptions of social structure, I will focus on the most signifi cant contributions of these new sociologies of the individual. To do this, on the one hand, it will be shown that the two classical traditions of social structure (institutional or cultural and as a class structure) are insuffi cient to explain today?s society, in which the individual has become the main protagonist and key focus of sociology. On the other hand, in contrast with the old sociologies of the individual, which are centred on the micro level of social interaction, this paper analyses new structural constraints that limit the individual?s action. The paper concludes with an invitation to develop these new sociologies at an individual scale.