Modalities (sociology)

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Modalities are fundamental to understanding the concept behind Structuration. According to Anthony Giddens the modalities explain the idea behind his analysis of the properties of the Structure. The structure is said to have both constraining and enabling qualities. Giddens refers to these structural modalities as 'rules' and 'resources' respectively. In application, Giddens is separating himself from other structralist by acknowledging the enabling functions that the structure provides.

The 'rules' of the structure could be illustrated by the accordance of the law by a society. There are limits that the structure places on the agency to act in a certain way. In this respect the structure is imposing restrictions upon the agency in order to accomplish societal norms. Norms, however, have changed in the past and are under constant manipulation by the society through the use of structural 'resources'. Civil laws can and have been overturned or rewritten in the past. Laws that have limited human liberties, such as the Jim Crow Laws for the black population in the US, have been overturned by landmark court cases, Brown v. Board of Education, that have deemed them unconstitutional. The resources used in this example could be seen as the use of the lawers to present a case for social reform. It could also be said that the process of using the judicial body to alter the written law is the utilization of the American political system for its facilitating capabilities.

Giddens suggests that it is these modalities that illustate his reliance on the duality of structure because it presents a case where knowledgeable individuals can use the resources available to them to change policies, standards or norms that the structure imposes upon them.