STRUCTURE AND AGENCY - CONTESTED CONCEPTS IN HUMAN-GEOGRAPHY

The concepts of 'structure' and 'agency' have been of central signific ance to geographic research. This paper focuses on recent debates in c ritical social geography, and the contributions of Marxist, feminist, and postmodern perspectives to rethinking the structure-agency questio n. Significant changes in conceptualizing structure and agency are out lined, from early work in Marxist geography to current efforts to grap ple with postmodern culture and identity. The paper demonstrates that critical geographic approaches to structure and agency have become mor e inclusive and nuanced, as researchers have addressed challenges pose d by critiques and new perspectives. It concludes by considering the s ignificance of place, space, and social difference in mediating proces ses of social change and thus in concrete explanations oi how the 'dia lectical dance' of structure and agency unfolds within particular loca les.