Structure

“Structure” refers to the way humans organise themselves economically, socially, and politically. It also refers to the way language and thought is organised. Obvious examples of social structures can be found in the organisation of class (upper/middle/lower), gender (male/female), race (black/white, Aryan/Semitic), religion (priest/laity), economy (boss/worker), and politics (state/citizen). The structures often appear quite natural to us. Yet closer analysis demonstrates that what we humans construct as class, gender, race, religion, economy, and politics. Moreover, these structures clearly have political implications. Changes in these structures (e.g. the transformation from a society based on king/subject to a society based on state/citizen) are often revolutionary and mark the changes in eras of human history. Copyright 2013 Nicholas Herriman / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.