Culture and Agency: The Place of Culture in Social Theory

Margaret S. Archer

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511557668

Margaret Archer's Culture and Agency was first published in 1988, and proved a seminal contribution to social theory and the case for the role of culture in sociological thought. Described in Sociological Review as 'a timely and sophisticated treatment', the book showed that the 'problems' of culture and agency, on the one hand, and structure and agency, on the other, could be solved using the same analytical framework. In this revised edition of Culture and Agency, Margaret Archer contextualises her argument in 1990s cultural sociology and links it explicitly to her latest book, Realist Social Theory: The Morphogenetic Approach (Cambridge University Press, 1995).

‘A timely and sophisticated treatment.’

Source: Sociological Review

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-viii
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Contents
pp ix-x
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Preface
pp xi-xxx
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1 - The Myth of Cultural Integration
pp 1-22
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Part I - Rejecting cultural conflation
pp 23-24
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2 - ‘Downwards conflation’: on keys, codes and cohesion
pp 25-45
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3 - ‘Upwards conflation’: the manipulated consensus
pp 46-71
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4 - ‘Central conflation’: the duality of culture
pp 72-96
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The different forms of conflation and their deficiencies: a summary of Part I
pp 97-100
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Part II - Reconceptualizing cultural dynamics
pp 101-102
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5 - Addressing the Cultural System
pp 103-142
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6 - Contradictions and complementarities in the Cultural System
pp 143-184
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7 - Socio-Cultural interaction
pp 185-226
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8 - Elaboration of the Cultural System
pp 227-273
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9 - Towards theoretical unification: structure, culture and morphogenesis
pp 274-287
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10 - ‘Social integration and System integration’
pp 288-315
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Notes
pp 316-347
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Index
pp 348-351
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Culture and Agency

The Place of Culture in Social Theory

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-viii

Contents
pp ix-x

Preface
pp xi-xxx

1 - The Myth of Cultural Integration
pp 1-22

Part I - Rejecting cultural conflation
pp 23-24

2 - ‘Downwards conflation’: on keys, codes and cohesion
pp 25-45

3 - ‘Upwards conflation’: the manipulated consensus
pp 46-71

4 - ‘Central conflation’: the duality of culture
pp 72-96

The different forms of conflation and their deficiencies: a summary of Part I
pp 97-100

Part II - Reconceptualizing cultural dynamics
pp 101-102

5 - Addressing the Cultural System
pp 103-142

6 - Contradictions and complementarities in the Cultural System
pp 143-184

7 - Socio-Cultural interaction
pp 185-226

8 - Elaboration of the Cultural System
pp 227-273

9 - Towards theoretical unification: structure, culture and morphogenesis
pp 274-287

10 - ‘Social integration and System integration’
pp 288-315

Notes
pp 316-347

Index
pp 348-351

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Culture and Agency

The Place of Culture in Social Theory

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