This session is for researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, and professionals working in the fields of sociology and anthropology. A major theme in the fields of sociology and anthropology is the relationship between human agency and social structure. Key issues associated with this theme include the degree to which human behavior is shaped by and influences community and culture, how both interact with organizational structures, and how the dynamic relationships between the individual, the community, and the institutions—these “three protagonists” of society—foster or hamper well-being and human flourishing. According to the Universal House of Justice (28 December 2010), “a new conception of each [protagonist], appropriate for a humanity that has come of age, is emerging.” Moreover: “The relationships that bind them, too, are undergoing a profound transformation.” In view of these developments, this session will explore questions such as: What are the implications of these new conceptions for sociological and anthropological research? What assumptions and insights from the Revelation and the social sciences – such as those concerning human nature, power, normality and deviance, and gender – are most conducive to investigating the nature of the relationships between the three protagonists? In what ways does the harmony of science and religion influence our readings of social reality?
