Blackwell Reference Online

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The British sociologist Anthony Giddens has established himself as a theorist of global stature in each of the three main phases of his work: first, as a major interpreter of the classical tradition and its successors; second, as the author of structuration theory, a very influential treatment of agency and structure in which primacy is granted to neither; third, as a commentator on late modernity and globalization. To an extent equalled, if at all, only by Jürgen Habermas, Giddens's work is distinguished by its comprehensive critical appropriation and imaginative reworking of the main concepts and perspectives of classical and modern theorists. Central to his early and middle work is an incisive critique of functionalism, evolutionism, and historical materialism. His structuration theory has found countless applications throughout the social sciences. The breadth and flair of his coverage of historical and global issues is no less striking. Significantly, he takes issue with currently fashionable conceptions of postmodernity, advancing instead an account of radicalized modernity in which changes characterized as postmodern by recent theorists (including postempiricist epistemology) are treated as already implicit in modernity. Latterly, Giddens has explored the implications of changing conceptions of self-identity, and new sources of risk, in a globalizing society. He has also ... log in or subscribe to read full text