Thursday, January 10, 2008

Agency and Structure

"Agency" is defined as the capacity of people to act,
assert and make choices independently.

"Structure", on the other hand, pertains to the factors
(class, ethnicity, gender, faith, affiliation) that influence
the people's agency.

  • There are three theoretical positions:
    -structure over agency (structure determines the agency)
    -agency over structure (agency can define & redefine structure)
    -synthesis
  • The challenge now is how to enhance the
    "agency" of the marginalized sectors of the society.

DS 141 test B

1. going beyond the six building blocks of health 2. trust research 3. care 4. Fatima Castillo 5. Master of Arts in Health Policy Studies (M...