Advances in generative structuralism: Structured agency and multilevel dynamics

Abstract

We set out an approach to theorizing termed generative structuralism. In two stages, respectively, we address two problems in social theory ‐ agency‐structure and micro‐macro linkage ‐ in relation to a central problem in the discipline, namely, the sense of its fragmentation. The first theoretical problem is: How can we create generative models and methods that are responsive to the interpenetration of agency and structure in social practices? We show how Bourdieu's concept of habitus and Giddens's concept of structure can be articulated to generative model‐building ideas and methods. The second theoretical problem is: To what extent can we create generative multilevel models of large‐scale social system dynamics? We address this problem through a strategy illustrated by a model of emergent cultural stratification, including a study of its properties through simulation analysis. In undertaking these tasks, we both describe and illustrate the general character of generative structuralism. In doing so, we combat fragmentation by articulating connections among theoretical concepts, theoretical problems, and theoretical methods drawn from three sociological traditions, which we term, respectively, structured agency theory, network structuralism, and sociological social psychology. In a concluding metatheoretical discussion, we describe generative structuralism as an orienting strategy that can be implemented in a variety of theoretical research programs.