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Micro-macro synthesis on the example of theories of social practices in sociology

stmm. 2025 (1): 139-154

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2025.01.139

Full text:

NATALIA OTRESHKO, Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Leading Research Fellow at the Department of History and Theory of Sociology, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)

otreshkon@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9563-692X

This article explores the concepts of social practices through the perspectives of Pierre Bourdieu and Anthony Giddens, highlighting their contribution to micro-macro synthesis in contemporary sociology. Micro-macro synthesis seeks to integrate analyses of social phenomena at both individual (micro) and structural/systemic (macro) levels. The concept of practices combined with micro-macro synthesis offers a multidimensional framework for studying social phenomena, emphasizing both individual actions and the influence of structural conditions. This dual focus facilitates understanding how individual behaviors shape society and how societal structures, in turn, affect individual actions.

Bourdieu conceptualizes practice as a product of historical development, shaped by structure and habitus, and embedded within social reality. Practices, for Bourdieu, are governed not by rationality but by the effectiveness of actions in everyday contexts, achieved through the alignment of individual habitus with the structure of available resources. In contrast, Giddens, in his structuration theory, does not isolate practice as a distinct sphere but examines everyday life as a form of social practice, emphasizing routinization. According to Giddens, routinization is the process through which individual behaviors gradually evolve into enduring social structures.

The article also examines the constraints on agent activity within social spaces through the lens of social practice theories. Both Bourdieu’s and Giddens’ approaches provide insights into how social structures influence individual behaviors, shaping the boundaries of human agency.

Keywords: micro-macro synthesis, social space, social practices, subject of action, agent

References

  1. Alexander, J.C. (1988). Action and Its Environments: Toward a New Synthesis. New York: Columbia University Press.

  2. Althusser, L.P. (2006). For Marx (Radical Thinkers). New York, London: Verso Books.

  3. Bourdieu, P. (1992). The Logic of Practice. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

  4. Bourdieu, P., Wacquant, L. (1992). An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. Cambridge: Polity Press.

  5. Brubaker, R. (1985). Rethinking classical theory. The sociological vision of Pierre Bourdieu. Theory and Society, 14(6), 745-775. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174049

  6. Collins, R. (1981). On the Microfoundations of Macrosociology. American Journal of Sociology, 86(5), 984-1014. https://doi.org/10.1086/227351

  7. Giddens, A. (1986). The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Oakland: University of California Press.

  8. Giddens, A. (1979). Central Problems in Social Theory: Action, Structure, and Contradiction in Social Analysis. Oakland: University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-16161-4

  9. Gramsci, A. (1989). Selections from the Prison Notebooks. New York: International Publishers Co.

  10. Lukács, G. (1972). History and Class Consciousness: Studies in Marxist Dialectics. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

  11. Ritzer, G. (2003). Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots: The Basics. New York, London: McGraw-Hill.

  12. Sztompka, P. (1993). The Sociology of Social Change. Edinburgh: Wiley-Blackwell.

  13. Turner, S. (2006). The definitive version of Praxis and Practices and Chance and Probability (pp. 463-465; 425-426). In: Encyclopedia of Social Theory. London: Routledge.

  14. Turner, S. (1994). The Social Theory of Practices: Tradition, Tacit Knowledge, and Presuppositions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

  15. Wacquant, L. (2011). Habitus as Topic and Tool: Reflections on Becoming a Prizefighter. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 8, 81-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2010.544176

Received 20.01.2025

Micro-macro synthesis on the example of theories of social practices in sociology

stmm. 2025 (1): 139-154

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2025.01.139

Full text:

NATALIA OTRESHKO, Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Leading Research Fellow at the Department of History and Theory of Sociology, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)

otreshkon@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9563-692X

This article explores the concepts of social practices through the perspectives of Pierre Bourdieu and Anthony Giddens, highlighting their contribution to micro-macro synthesis in contemporary sociology. Micro-macro synthesis seeks to integrate analyses of social phenomena at both individual (micro) and structural/systemic (macro) levels. The concept of practices combined with micro-macro synthesis offers a multidimensional framework for studying social phenomena, emphasizing both individual actions and the influence of structural conditions. This dual focus facilitates understanding how individual behaviors shape society and how societal structures, in turn, affect individual actions.

Bourdieu conceptualizes practice as a product of historical development, shaped by structure and habitus, and embedded within social reality. Practices, for Bourdieu, are governed not by rationality but by the effectiveness of actions in everyday contexts, achieved through the alignment of individual habitus with the structure of available resources. In contrast, Giddens, in his structuration theory, does not isolate practice as a distinct sphere but examines everyday life as a form of social practice, emphasizing routinization. According to Giddens, routinization is the process through which individual behaviors gradually evolve into enduring social structures.

The article also examines the constraints on agent activity within social spaces through the lens of social practice theories. Both Bourdieu’s and Giddens’ approaches provide insights into how social structures influence individual behaviors, shaping the boundaries of human agency.

Keywords: micro-macro synthesis, social space, social practices, subject of action, agent

References

  1. Alexander, J.C. (1988). Action and Its Environments: Toward a New Synthesis. New York: Columbia University Press.

  2. Althusser, L.P. (2006). For Marx (Radical Thinkers). New York, London: Verso Books.

  3. Bourdieu, P. (1992). The Logic of Practice. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

  4. Bourdieu, P., Wacquant, L. (1992). An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. Cambridge: Polity Press.

  5. Brubaker, R. (1985). Rethinking classical theory. The sociological vision of Pierre Bourdieu. Theory and Society, 14(6), 745-775. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174049

  6. Collins, R. (1981). On the Microfoundations of Macrosociology. American Journal of Sociology, 86(5), 984-1014. https://doi.org/10.1086/227351

  7. Giddens, A. (1986). The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Oakland: University of California Press.

  8. Giddens, A. (1979). Central Problems in Social Theory: Action, Structure, and Contradiction in Social Analysis. Oakland: University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-16161-4

  9. Gramsci, A. (1989). Selections from the Prison Notebooks. New York: International Publishers Co.

  10. Lukács, G. (1972). History and Class Consciousness: Studies in Marxist Dialectics. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

  11. Ritzer, G. (2003). Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots: The Basics. New York, London: McGraw-Hill.

  12. Sztompka, P. (1993). The Sociology of Social Change. Edinburgh: Wiley-Blackwell.

  13. Turner, S. (2006). The definitive version of Praxis and Practices and Chance and Probability (pp. 463-465; 425-426). In: Encyclopedia of Social Theory. London: Routledge.

  14. Turner, S. (1994). The Social Theory of Practices: Tradition, Tacit Knowledge, and Presuppositions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

  15. Wacquant, L. (2011). Habitus as Topic and Tool: Reflections on Becoming a Prizefighter. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 8, 81-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2010.544176

Received 20.01.2025

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