Unit 4 - You Can't Fight City Hall, Or Can You?

Group Discussion

The debate over which is primary in social change, structure or agency, is not just an academic debate. Debates over how to do social change take place every day in social service agencies, the criminal justice system, education, and government. We're in the midst of a presidential race focused on how to do social change.

I'd like you to examine media sources for statements, by any candidate or supporter, that represent the structural and agency positions on any kind of social change. You can use newspapers, television, radio, the Internet, or any other media to find your quotations. Each person should find at least two statements representing structuralist positions and two statements representing agency positions on change. BE SURE TO INCLUDE THE SOURCES FOR YOUR QUOTES. Citations should be provided in enough detail that someone else could find the original if they want to.

Note that agency positions will be easier to find than structural ones since agency is the dominant perspective in our society right now.